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At least 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

DISCOVERY OF AN ACTIVE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN THE BULGELESS GALAXY NGC 4561

We present XMM-Newton observations of the Chandra-detected nuclear X-ray source in NGC 4561. The hard X-ray spectrum can be described by a model composed of an absorbed power law with {Gamma} = 2.5{sup +0.4}{sub -0.3} and column density N{sub H} = 1.9{sup +0.1}{sub -0.2} Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 22} atoms cm{sup -2}. The absorption-corrected luminosity of the source is L(0.2-10.0 keV) =2.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 41} erg s{sup -1}, with bolometric luminosity over 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 42} erg s{sup -1}. Based on the spectrum and the luminosity, we identify the nuclear X-ray source in NGC 4561 to be an active galactic nucleus (AGN), with a black hole (BH) of mass M{sub BH} >2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} M{sub Sun }. The presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of this bulgeless galaxy shows that BH masses are not necessarily related to bulge properties, contrary to general belief. Observations such as these call into question several theoretical models of BH-galaxy coevolution that are based on merger-driven BH growth; secular processes clearly play an important role. Several emission lines are detected in the soft X-ray spectrum of the source which can be well parameterized by an absorbed diffuse thermal plasma with non-solar abundances of some heavy elements. Similar soft X-ray emission is observed in spectra of Seyfert 2 galaxies and low-luminosity AGNs, suggesting an origin in the circumnuclear plasma.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

MAGNETICALLY LEVITATING ACCRETION DISKS AROUND SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

In this paper, we report on the formation of magnetically levitating accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The structure of these disks is calculated by numerically modeling tidal disruption of magnetized interstellar gas clouds. We find that the resulting disks are entirely supported by the pressure of the magnetic fields against the component of gravitational force directed perpendicular to the disks. The magnetic field shows ordered large-scale geometry that remains stable for the duration of our numerical experiments extending over 10% of the disk lifetime. Strong magnetic pressure allows high accretion rate and inhibits disk fragmentation. This in combination with the repeated feeding of magnetized molecular clouds to an SMBH yields a possible solution to the long-standing puzzle of black hole growth in the centers of galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

SPATIALLY RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPY OF THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER RZ 2109 AND THE NATURE OF ITS BLACK HOLE

We present optical Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) spectroscopy of RZ 2109, a globular cluster (GC) in the elliptical galaxy NGC 4472. This GC is notable for hosting an ultraluminous X-ray source as well as associated strong and broad [O III] {lambda}{lambda}4959, 5007 emission. We show that the HST/STIS spectroscopy spatially resolves the [O III] emission in RZ 2109. While we are unable to make a precise determination of the morphology of the emission-line nebula, the best-fitting models all require that the [O III] {lambda}5007 emission has a half-light radius in the range 3-7 pc. The extended nature of the [O III] {lambda}5007 emission is inconsistent with published models that invoke an intermediate-mass black hole origin. It is also inconsistent with the ionization of ejecta from a nova in the cluster. The spatial scale of the nebula could be produced via the photoionization of a strong wind driven from a stellar mass black hole accreting at roughly its Eddington rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

VARIABILITY FROM NON-AXISYMMETRIC FLUCTUATIONS INTERACTING WITH STANDING SHOCKS IN TILTED BLACK HOLE ACCRETION DISKS

We study the spatial and temporal behavior of fluid in fully three-dimensional, general relativistic, magnetohydrodynamical simulations of both tilted and untilted black hole accretion flows. We uncover characteristically greater variability in tilted simulations at frequencies similar to those predicted by the formalism of trapped modes, but ultimately conclude that its spatial structure is inconsistent with a modal interpretation. We find instead that previously identified, transient, overdense clumps orbiting on roughly Keplerian trajectories appear generically in our global simulations, independent of tilt. Associated with these fluctuations are acoustic spiral waves interior to the orbits of the clumps. We show that the two non-axisymmetric standing shock structures that exist in the inner regions of these tilted flows effectively amplify the variability caused by these spiral waves to markedly higher levels than in untilted flows, which lack standing shocks. Our identification of clumps, spirals, and spiral-shock interactions in these fully general relativistic, magnetohydrodynamical simulations suggests that these features may be important dynamical elements in models that incorporate tilt as a way to explain the observed variability in black hole accretion flows.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

X-RAY PROPERTIES OF INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLES IN ACTIVE GALAXIES. III. SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION AND POSSIBLE EVIDENCE FOR INTRINSICALLY X-RAY-WEAK ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

We present a systematic X-ray study, the third in a series, of 49 active galactic nuclei with intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH; {approx}10{sup 5}-10{sup 6} M{sub Sun }) using Chandra observations. We detect 42 out of 49 targets with a 0.5-2 keV X-ray luminosity 10{sup 41}-10{sup 43} erg s{sup -1}. We perform spectral fitting for the 10 objects with enough counts (>200), and they are all well fit by a simple power-law model modified by Galactic absorption, with no sign of significant intrinsic absorption. While we cannot fit the X-ray spectral slope directly for the rest of the sample, we estimate it from the hardness ratio and find a range of photon indices consistent with those seen in more luminous and massive objects. The X-ray-to-optical spectral slope ({alpha}{sub ox}) of our IMBH sample is systematically flatter than in active galaxies with more massive black holes, consistent with the well-known correlation between {alpha}{sub ox} and UV luminosity. Thanks to the wide dynamic range of our sample, we find evidence that {alpha}{sub ox} increases with decreasing M{sub BH} as expected from accretion disk models, where the UV emission systematically decreases as M{sub BH} decreases and the disk temperature increases. We also find a long tail toward low {alpha}{sub ox} values. While some of these sources may be obscured, given the high L{sub bol}/L{sub Edd} values in the sample, we argue that some may be intrinsically X-ray-weak, perhaps owing to a rare state that radiates very little coronal emission.

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DOE OSTI2013

ON THE ORIENTATION AND MAGNITUDE OF THE BLACK HOLE SPIN IN GALACTIC NUCLEI

Massive black holes (BHs) in galactic nuclei vary their mass M {sub BH} and spin vector J {sub BH} due to accretion. In this study we relax, for the first time, the assumption that accretion can be either chaotic, i.e., when the accretion episodes are randomly and isotropically oriented, or coherent, i.e., when they occur all in a preferred plane. Instead, we consider different degrees of anisotropy in the fueling, never confining to accretion events on a fixed direction. We follow the BH growth evolving contemporarily with mass, spin modulus a, and spin direction. We discover the occurrence of two regimes. An early phase (M {sub BH} {approx}< 10{sup 7} M {sub Sun }) in which rapid alignment of the BH spin direction to the disk angular momentum in each single episode leads to erratic changes in the BH spin orientation and at the same time to large spins (a {approx} 0.8). A second phase starts when the BH mass increases above {approx}> 10{sup 7} M {sub Sun} and the accretion disks carry less mass and angular momentum relative to the hole. In the absence of a preferential direction, the BHs tend to spin-down in this phase. However, when a modest degree of anisotropy in the fueling process (still far from being coherent) is present, the BH spin can increase up to a {approx} 1 for very massive black holes (M {sub BH} {approx}> 10{sup 8} M {sub Sun }), and its direction is stable over the many accretion cycles. We discuss the implications of our results in the realm of the observations of BH spin and jet orientations.

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DOE OSTI2013

UPDATED MASS SCALING RELATIONS FOR NUCLEAR STAR CLUSTERS AND A COMPARISON TO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

We investigate whether or not nuclear star clusters and supermassive black holes (SMBHs) follow a common set of mass scaling relations with their host galaxy's properties, and hence can be considered to form a single class of central massive object (CMO). We have compiled a large sample of galaxies with measured nuclear star cluster masses and host galaxy properties from the literature and fit log-linear scaling relations. We find that nuclear star cluster mass, M {sub NC}, correlates most tightly with the host galaxy's velocity dispersion: log M {sub NC} = (2.11 {+-} 0.31)log ({sigma}/54) + (6.63 {+-} 0.09), but has a slope dramatically shallower than the relation defined by SMBHs. We find that the nuclear star cluster mass relations involving host galaxy (and spheroid) luminosity and stellar and dynamical mass, intercept with but are in general shallower than the corresponding black hole scaling relations. In particular, M {sub NC}{proportional_to}M {sup 0.55{+-}0.15} {sub Gal,dyn}; the nuclear cluster mass is not a constant fraction of its host galaxy or spheroid mass. We conclude that nuclear stellar clusters and SMBHs do not form a single family of CMOs.

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DOE OSTI2013

A MODEL FOR THE CORRELATION OF HARD X-RAY INDEX WITH EDDINGTON RATIO IN BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES

Observations show that there is a positive correlation between the Eddington ratio {lambda} and hard X-ray index {Gamma} for {lambda} {approx}> 0.01, and there is an anti-correlation between {lambda} and {Gamma} for {lambda} {approx}< 0.01 in black hole X-ray binaries (with {lambda} = L {sub bol}/L {sub Edd}). In this work, we theoretically investigate the correlation between {Gamma} and {lambda} within the framework of a disk-corona model. We improve the model by taking into account all cooling processes, including synchrotron and self-Compton radiations in the corona, Comptonization of the soft photons from the underlying accretion disk, and the bremsstrahlung radiations. Presuming that the coronal flow above the disk can reach up to the 0.1 Eddington rate at the outer region, we calculate the structure of the two-phase accretion flows and the emergent spectra for accretion rates from 0.003 to 0.1. We find that at accretion rates larger than bsim0.01 Eddington rate, a fraction of coronal gas condenses into the disk and an inner disk can be sustained by condensation. In this case, the X-ray emission is dominated by the scattering of the soft photon from the underlying disk in the corona. The emission from the inner disk and corona can produce the positive correlation between {lambda} and {Gamma}. While at accretion rates lower than bsim0.01 Eddington accretion rate, the inner disk vanishes completely by evaporation, and the accretion is dominated by advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs), in which the X-ray emission is produced by the Comptonization of the synchrotron and bremsstrahlung photons of ADAF itself. The emission from ADAFs can produce the anti-correlation between {lambda} and {Gamma}. We show that our model can roughly explain the observed evolution of {Gamma}{sub 3-25keV} with L {sub 0.5-25keV}/L {sub Edd} for the black hole X-ray transient H1743-322 in the decay of 2003 from the thermal-dominated state to low/hard state.

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DOE OSTI2013

REVISITING THE SCALING RELATIONS OF BLACK HOLE MASSES AND HOST GALAXY PROPERTIES

New kinematic data and modeling efforts in the past few years have substantially expanded and revised dynamical measurements of black hole masses (M {sub .}) at the centers of nearby galaxies. Here we compile an updated sample of 72 black holes and their host galaxies, and present revised scaling relations between M {sub .} and stellar velocity dispersion ({sigma}), V-band luminosity (L), and bulge stellar mass (M {sub bulge}), for different galaxy subsamples. Our best-fitting power-law relations for the full galaxy sample are log{sub 10}(M {sub .}) = 8.32 + 5.64log{sub 10}({sigma}/200 km s{sup -1}), log{sub 10}(M {sub .}) = 9.23 + 1.11log{sub 10}(L/10{sup 11} L {sub Sun }), and log{sub 10}(M {sub .}) = 8.46 + 1.05log{sub 10}(M {sub bulge}/10{sup 11} M {sub Sun }). A log-quadratic fit to the M {sub .}-{sigma} relation with an additional term of {beta}{sub 2} [log{sub 10}({sigma}/200 km s{sup -1})]{sup 2} gives {beta}{sub 2} = 1.68 {+-} 1.82 and does not decrease the intrinsic scatter in M {sub .}. Including 92 additional upper limits on M {sub .} does not change the slope of the M {sub .}-{sigma} relation. When the early- and late-type galaxies are fit separately, we obtain similar slopes of 5.20 and 5.06 for the M {sub .}-{sigma} relation but significantly different intercepts-M {sub .} in early-type galaxies are about two times higher than in late types at a given sigma. Within early-type galaxies, our fits to M {sub .}({sigma}) give M {sub .} that is about two times higher in galaxies with central core profiles than those with central power-law profiles. Our M {sub .}-L and M {sub .}-M {sub bulge} relations for early-type galaxies are similar to those from earlier compilations, and core and power-law galaxies yield similar L- and M {sub bulge}-based predictions for M {sub .}. When the conventional quadrature method is used to determine the intrinsic scatter in M {sub .}, our data set shows weak evidence for increased scatter at M {sub bulge} < 10{sup 11} M {sub Sun} or L{sub V} < 10{sup 10.3} L {sub Sun }, while the scatter stays constant for 10{sup 11} < M {sub bulge} < 10{sup 12.3} M {sub Sun} and 10{sup 10.3} < L{sub V} < 10{sup 11.5} L {sub Sun }. A Bayesian analysis indicates that a larger sample of M {sub .} measurements would be needed to detect any statistically significant trend in the scatter with galaxy properties.

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DOE OSTI2013

ON THE COMPLEMENTARITY OF PULSAR TIMING AND SPACE LASER INTERFEROMETRY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL DETECTION OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE BINARIES

Gravitational waves coming from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are targeted by both the Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) and Space Laser Interferometry (SLI). The possibility of a single SMBHB being tracked first by PTA, through inspiral, and later by SLI, up to merger and ring-down, has been previously suggested. Although the bounding parameters are drawn by the current PTA or the upcoming Square Kilometer Array (SKA), and by the New Gravitational Observatory (NGO), derived from the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), this paper also addresses sequential detection beyond specific project constraints. We consider PTA-SKA, which is sensitive from 10{sup -9} to p Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} Hz (p = 4, 8), and SLI, which operates from s Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} up to 1 Hz (s = 1, 3). An SMBHB in the range of 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8}-2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 9} M {sub Sun} (the masses are normalized to a (1 + z) factor, the redshift lying between z = 0.2 and z = 1.5) moves from the PTA-SKA to the SLI band over a period ranging from two months to fifty years. By combining three supermassive black hole (SMBH)-host relations with three accretion prescriptions, nine astrophysical scenarios are formed. They are then related to three levels of pulsar timing residuals (50, 5, 1 ns), generating 27 cases. For residuals of 1 ns, sequential detection probability will never be better than 4.7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} yr{sup -2} or 3.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6} yr{sup -2} (per year to merger and per year of survey), according to the best and worst astrophysical scenarios, respectively; put differently this means one sequential detection every 46 or 550 years for an equivalent maximum time to merger and duration of the survey. The chances of sequential detection are further reduced by increasing values of the s parameter (they vanish for s = 10) and of the SLI noise, and by decreasing values of the remnant spin. The spread in the predictions diminishes when timing precision is improved or the SLI low-frequency cutoff is lowered. So while transit times and the SLI signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) may be adequate, the likelihood of sequential detection is severely hampered by the current estimates on the number-just a handful-of individual inspirals observable by PTA-SKA, and to a lesser extent by the wide gap between the pulsar timing and space interferometry bands, and by the severe requirements on pulsar timing residuals. Optimization of future operational scenarios for SKA and SLI is briefly dealt with, since a detection of even a single event would be of paramount importance for the understanding of SMBHBs and of the astrophysical processes connected to their formation and evolution.

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DOE OSTI2013

HYPERACCRETING BLACK HOLE AS GAMMA-RAY BURST CENTRAL ENGINE. I. BARYON LOADING IN GAMMA-RAY BURST JETS

A hyperaccreting stellar-mass black hole has been long speculated as the best candidate for the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Recent rich observations of GRBs by space missions such as Swift and Fermi pose new constraints on GRB central engine models. In this paper, we study the baryon-loading processes of a GRB jet launched from a black hole central engine. We consider a relativistic jet powered by {nu} {nu}-bar -annihilation or by the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism. We consider baryon loading from a neutrino-driven wind launched from a neutrino-cooling-dominated accretion flow. For a magnetically dominated BZ jet, we consider neutron drifting from the magnetic wall surrounding the jet and subsequent positron capture and proton-neutron inelastic collisions. The minimum baryon loads in both types of jet are calculated. We find that in both cases a more luminous jet tends to be more baryon poor. A neutrino-driven ''fireball'' is typically ''dirtier'' than a magnetically dominated jet, while a magnetically dominated jet can be much cleaner. Both models have the right scaling to interpret the empirical {Gamma}-L{sub iso} relation discovered recently. Since some neutrino-driven jets have too much baryon loading as compared with the data, we suggest that at least a good fraction of GRBs should have a magnetically dominated central engine.

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DOE OSTI2013

SWIFT X-RAY TELESCOPE TIMING OBSERVATIONS OF THE BLACK HOLE BINARY SWIFT J1753.5-0127: DISK-DILUTED FLUCTUATIONS IN THE OUTBURST PEAK

After a careful analysis of the instrumental effects on the Poisson noise to demonstrate the feasibility of detailed stochastic variability studies with the Swift X-Ray Telescope (XRT), we analyze the variability of the black hole X-ray binary SWIFT J1753.5-0127 in all XRT observations during 2005-2010. We present the evolution of the power spectral components along the outburst in two energy bands: soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard (2-10 keV), and in the hard band we find results consistent with those from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The advantage of the XRT is that we can also explore the soft band not covered by RXTE. The source has previously been suggested to host an accretion disk extending down to close to the black hole in the low hard state, and to show low-frequency variability in the soft-band intrinsic to this disk. Our results are consistent with this, with stronger low-frequency variability at low intensities in the soft than in the hard band. From our analysis, we are able to present the first measurements of the soft-band variability in the peak of the outburst. We find the soft band to be less variable than the hard band, especially at high frequencies, opposite to what is seen at low intensity. Both results can be explained within the framework of a simple two emission-region model where the hot flow is more variable in the peak of the outburst and the disk is more variable at low intensities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE BLACK HOLE-BULGE MASS RELATION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH SURVEY

We present results from a study to determine whether relations-established in the local universe-between the mass of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies are in place at higher redshifts. We identify a well-constructed sample of 18 X-ray-selected, broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South Survey with 0.5 < z < 1.2. This redshift range is chosen to ensure that Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging is available with at least two filters that bracket the 4000 A break, thus providing reliable stellar mass estimates of the host galaxy by accounting for both young and old stellar populations. We compute single-epoch, virial black hole (BH) masses from optical spectra using the broad Mg II emission line. For essentially all galaxies in our sample, their total stellar mass content agrees remarkably well, given their BH masses, with local relations of inactive galaxies and active SMBHs. We further decompose the total stellar mass into bulge and disk components separately with full knowledge of the HST point-spread function. We find that {approx}80% of the sample is consistent with the local M{sub BH}-M{sub *,{sub Bulge}} relation even with 72% of the host galaxies showing the presence of a disk. In particular, bulge-dominated hosts are more aligned with the local relation than those with prominent disks. We further discuss the possible physical mechanisms that are capable of building up the stellar mass of the bulge from an extended disk of stars over the subsequent 8 Gyr.

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DOE OSTI2013

EFFECTS OF CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK GAS EVOLUTION ON THE SPIN OF CENTRAL BLACK HOLES

Mass and spin are the only two parameters needed to completely characterize black holes (BHs) in general relativity. However, the interaction between BHs and their environment is where complexity lies, as the relevant physical processes occur over a large range of scales. That is particularly relevant in the case of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), hosted in galaxy centers, and surrounded by swirling gas and various generations of stars. These compete with the SMBH for gas consumption and affect both dynamics and thermodynamics of the gas itself. How the behavior of such a fiery environment influences the angular momentum of the gas accreted onto SMBHs, and, hence, BH spins, is uncertain. We explore the interaction between SMBHs and their environment via first three-dimensional sub-parsec resolution simulations (ranging from {approx}0.1 pc to {approx}1 kpc scales) that study the evolution of the SMBH spin by including the effects of star formation, stellar feedback, radiative transfer, and metal pollution according to the proper stellar yields and lifetimes. This approach is crucial in investigating the impact of star formation processes and feedback effects on the angular momentum of the material that could accrete on the central hole. We find that star formation and feedback mechanisms can locally inject significant amounts of entropy in the surrounding medium, and impact the inflow inclination angles and Eddington fractions. As a consequence, the resulting trends show upper-intermediate equilibrium values for the spin parameter of a {approx_equal} 0.6-0.9, corresponding to radiative efficiencies {epsilon} {approx_equal} 9%-15%. These results suggest that star formation feedback taking place in the circumnuclear disk during the infall alone cannot induce very strong chaotic trends in the gas flow, quite independently from the different numerical parameters.

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DOE OSTI2013

ROTATING ACCRETION FLOWS: FROM INFINITY TO THE BLACK HOLE

Accretion onto a supermassive black hole of a rotating inflow is a particularly difficult problem to study because of the wide range of length scales involved. There have been broadly utilized analytic and numerical treatments of the global properties of accretion flows, but detailed numerical simulations are required to address certain critical aspects. We use the ZEUS code to run hydrodynamical simulations of rotating, axisymmetric accretion flows with Bremsstrahlung cooling, considering solutions for which the centrifugal balance radius significantly exceeds the Schwarzschild radius, with and without viscous angular momentum transport. Infalling gas is followed from well beyond the Bondi radius down to the vicinity of the black hole. We produce a continuum of solutions with respect to the single parameter M-dot{sub B}/ M-dot{sub Edd}, and there is a sharp transition between two general classes of solutions at an Eddington ratio of M-dot{sub B}/M-dot{sub Edd}{approx}few Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -2}. Our high inflow solutions are very similar to the standard Shakura and Sunyaev results. But our low inflow results are to zeroth order the stationary Papaloizou and Pringle solution, which has no accretion. To next order in the small, assumed viscosity they show circulation, with disk and conical wind outflows almost balancing inflow. These solutions are characterized by hot, vertically extended disks, and net accretion proceeds at an extremely low rate, only of order {alpha} times the inflow rate. Our simulations have converged with respect to spatial resolution and temporal duration, and they do not depend strongly on our choice of boundary conditions.

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DOE OSTI2013

GRB060218 AS A TIDAL DISRUPTION OF A WHITE DWARF BY AN INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLE

The highly unusual pair of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB060218 and an associated supernova, SN2006aj, has puzzled theorists for years. A supernova shock breakout and a jet from a newborn stellar mass compact object have been proposed to explain this pair's multiwavelength signature. Alternatively, we propose that the source is naturally explained by another channel: the tidal disruption of a white dwarf (WD) by an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). This tidal disruption is accompanied by a tidal pinching, which leads to the ignition of a WD and a supernova. Some debris falls back onto the IMBH, forms a disk, which quickly amplifies the magnetic field, and launches a jet. We successfully fit soft X-ray spectra with the Comptonized blackbody emission from a jet photosphere. The optical/UV emission is consistent with self-absorbed synchrotron emission from the expanding jet front. The temporal dependence of the accretion rate M-dot (t) in a tidal disruption provides a good fit to the soft X-ray light curve. The IMBH mass is found to be about 10{sup 4} M{sub Sun} in three independent estimates: (1) fitting the tidal disruption M-dot (t) to the soft X-ray light curve, (2) computing the jet base radius in a jet photospheric emission model, and (3) inferring the mass of the central black hole based on the host dwarf galaxy's stellar mass. The position of the supernova is consistent with the center of the host galaxy, while the low supernova ejecta mass is consistent with that of a WD. The high expected rate of tidal disruptions in dwarf galaxies is consistent with one source observed by the Swift satellite over several years at a distance of 150 Mpc measured for GRB060218. Encounters with WDs provide much fuel for the growth of IMBHs.

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DOE OSTI2013

CHANDRA IDENTIFICATION OF 26 NEW BLACK HOLE CANDIDATES IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF M31

We have previously identified 10 M31 black hole candidates (BHCs) in M31 from their X-ray properties alone. They exhibit ''hard state'' emission spectra that are seen at luminosities {approx}<10% Eddington in X-ray binaries (XBs) containing a neutron star (NS) or black hole, at luminosities that significantly exceed the NS threshold. Nine of these are associated with globular clusters (GCs); hence, these are most likely low mass X-ray binaries; eight are included in this survey. We have recently discovered that analysis of the long term 0.5-4.5 keV variability of XBs via structure functions allows us to separate XBs from active galactic nuclei, even though the emission spectra are often similar; this has enabled us to search for BHCs outside of GCs. We have identified 26 new BHCs (12 strong, 14 plausible) within 20' of the M31 nucleus (M31*), using 152 Chandra observations spaced over {approx}13 yr; some of our classifications were enhanced with XMM-Newton observations. Of these, seven appear within 100'' of M31*; this supports the theory suggesting that this region experiences enhanced XB production via dynamical processes similar to those seen in GCs. We have found a parameter space where our BHCs are separated from Galactic NS binaries: we show that modeling a simulated hard state spectrum with a disk blackbody + blackbody model yields parameters that lie outside the space occupied by NS binaries that are modeled this way. The probability that our BHCs all lie within the NS parameter space is {approx}3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -29}.

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DOE OSTI2013

CALIBRATING C-IV-BASED BLACK HOLE MASS ESTIMATORS

We present the single-epoch black hole mass estimators based on the C IV {lambda}1549 broad emission line, using the updated sample of the reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei and high-quality UV spectra. By performing multi-component spectral fitting analysis, we measure the C IV line widths (FWHM{sub C{sub IV}} and line dispersion, {sigma}{sub C{sub IV}}) and the continuum luminosity at 1350 A (L{sub 1350}) to calibrate the C-IV-based mass estimators. By comparing with the H{beta} reverberation-based masses, we provide new mass estimators with the best-fit relationships, i.e., M{sub BH}{proportional_to}L{sub 1350}{sup 0.50{+-}0.07}{sigma}{sub C{sub IV}{sup 2}} and M{sub BH}{proportional_to}L{sub 1350}{sup 0.52{+-}0.09} FWHM{sub C{sub IV}{sup 0.56{+-}0.48}}. The new C-IV-based mass estimators show significant mass-dependent systematic difference compared to the estimators commonly used in the literature. Using the published Sloan Digital Sky Survey QSO catalog, we show that the black hole mass of high-redshift QSOs decreases on average by {approx}0.25 dex if our recipe is adopted.

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