scholarly journals 8.2. Magnetic fields and black holes in galactic nuclei

1998 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 341-348
Author(s):  
R. D. Blandford

Recent observations have strengthened the dynamical arguments for the presence of black holes in X-ray binary systems, the Galactic center and the nuclei of the majority of bright galaxies. They have also drawn attention to the fact that accretion does not always proceed in the simple, stationary manner envisaged in early theories. I wish to discuss four related topics that are relevant to understanding the behavior of accreting black holes. (In view of the length constraints imposed by conference proceedings I shall make no attempt to give adequate bibliographic references for what follows.)

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S324) ◽  
pp. 338-341
Author(s):  
René W. Goosmann

AbstractThree dedicated X-ray polarimetry mission projects are currently under phase A study at NASA and ESA. The need for this new observational window is more apparent than ever. On behalf of the consortium behind the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE) we present here some prospects of X-ray polarimetry for our understanding of supermassive and stellar mass black hole systems. X-ray polarimetry is going to discriminate between leptonic and hadronic jet models in radio-loud active galactic nuclei. For leptonic jets it also puts important constraints on the origin of the seed photons that constitute the high energy emission via Comptonization. Another important application of X-ray polarimetry allows us to clarify the accretion history of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. In a few Black Hole X-ray binary systems, X-ray polarimetry allows us to estimate in a new, independent way the angular momentum of the black hole.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. L132-L137 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Tremou ◽  
S Corbel ◽  
R P Fender ◽  
P A Woudt ◽  
J C A Miller-Jones ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The radio–X-ray correlation that characterizes accreting black holes at all mass scales – from stellar mass black holes in binary systems to supermassive black holes powering active galactic nuclei – is one of the most important pieces of observational evidence supporting the existence of a connection between the accretion process and the generation of collimated outflows – or jets – in accreting systems. Although recent studies suggest that the correlation extends down to low luminosities, only a handful of stellar mass black holes have been clearly detected, and in general only upper limits (especially at radio wavelengths) can be obtained during quiescence. We recently obtained detections of the black hole X-ray binary (XRB) GX 339–4 in quiescence using the Meer Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) radio telescope and Swift X-ray Telescope instrument on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, probing the lower end of the radio–X-ray correlation. We present the properties of accretion and of the connected generation of jets in the poorly studied low-accretion rate regime for this canonical black hole XRB system.


Author(s):  
C.-E. Green ◽  
M. R. Cunningham ◽  
J. A. Green ◽  
J. R. Dawson ◽  
P. A. Jones ◽  
...  

AbstractThe intensity ratios of HCO+/HCN and HNC/HCN (1-0) reveal the relative influence of star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN) or black holes on the circum-nuclear gas of a galaxy, allowing the identification of X-ray dominated regions (XDRs) and Photon-dominated regions (PDRs). It is not always clear in the literature how this intensity ratio calculation has been, or should be performed. This paper discusses ratio calculation methods for interferometric data.


1989 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
G. H. Rieke

Viewed from outside the Local Group, the Galactic Center would be a paragon of ordinariness, both with regard to its stellar population and its nonstellar emission in the radio, infrared, and X-ray.Nonetheless, at a very modest level it shows evidence for many of the processes that we believe dominate the properties of exotic galactic nuclei.


2000 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 681-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Geppert ◽  
D. Page ◽  
M. Colpi ◽  
T. Zannias

The interpretation of Soft–Gamma–Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X–Ray Pulsars (AXPs) as Magnetars (Thompson & Duncan 1996) raises again the issue of the generation of the ultra–strong magnetic fields (MFs) in neutron stars (NSs) and the related question of where these fields are anchored: in the core, penetrating the whole star, or confined to the crust. Recently, Heyl & Kulkarni (1998) considered the magneto–thermal evolution of magnetars with a core field. Since the assumption of a crustal field is at least not in disagreement with the observations of isolated pulsars (Urpin & Konenkov 1997) and of NSs in binary systems (Urpin, Geppert & Konenkov 1998, Urpin, Konenkov & Geppert 1998), here we would like to address the question whether the observations of SGRs and AXPs can be interpreted as magnetars having a crustal MF. Given the strength of the MF in magnetars we take into account, in an approximate manner, the strongly non–linear Hall effect on its decay. We intend to provide a contribution to an unified picture of NS MF evolution based on the crustal field hypothesis.


1974 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
M. J. Rees

The physics of spherically symmetrical accretion onto a compact object is briefly reviewed. Neither neutron stars nor stellar-mass black holes are likely to be readily detectable if they are isolated and accreting from the interstellar medium. Supermassive black holes in intergalactic space may however be detectable. The effects of accretion onto compact objects in binary systems are then discussed, with reference to the phenomena observed in variable X-ray sources.


1989 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 639-643
Author(s):  
Ervin J. Fenyves ◽  
Stephen N. Balog ◽  
David B. Cline ◽  
M. Atac

It is generally accepted that massive black holes are the most likely source for the energy radiated from active galactic nuclei, and may explain the enormous amount of energy emitted by quasars, radio galaxies, Seyfert galaxies, and BL Lacertid objects. Although the detailed mechanisms of the black hole formation in galactic nuclei are not clear at present, it seems to be quite possible that the formation of massive black holes is a general outcome of the evolution of galactic nuclei.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (3) ◽  
pp. 3616-3626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko Nomura ◽  
Ken Ohsuga ◽  
Chris Done

ABSTRACT Based on recent X-ray observations, ultrafast outflows from supermassive black holes are expected to have enough energy to dramatically affect their host galaxy but their launch and acceleration mechanisms are not well understood. We perform two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations of UV line-driven disc winds in order to calculate the mass-loss rates and kinetic power in these models. We develop a new iterative technique that reduces the mass accretion rate through the inner disc in response to the wind mass-loss. This makes the inner disc less UV bright, reducing the wind power compared to previous simulations which assumed a constant accretion rate with radius. The line-driven winds in our simulations are still extremely powerful, with around half the supplied mass accretion rate being ejected in the wind for black holes with mass 108–$10^{10}\, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$ accreting at L/LEdd = 0.5–0.9. Our results open up the way for estimating the growth rate of supermassive black hole and evaluating the kinetic energy ejected into the interstellar medium (active galactic nuclei feedback) based on a physical model of line-driven disc winds.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1730021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Mezcua

Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses in the range [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M[Formula: see text], are the link between stellar-mass BHs and supermassive BHs (SMBHs). They are thought to be the seeds from which SMBHs grow, which would explain the existence of quasars with BH masses of up to 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M[Formula: see text] when the Universe was only 0.8 Gyr old. The detection and study of IMBHs has thus strong implications for understanding how SMBHs form and grow, which is ultimately linked to galaxy formation and growth, as well as for studies of the universality of BH accretion or the epoch of reionization. Proving the existence of seed BHs in the early Universe is not yet feasible with the current instrumentation; however, those seeds that did not grow into SMBHs can be found as IMBHs in the nearby Universe. In this review, I summarize the different scenarios proposed for the formation of IMBHs and gather all the observational evidence for the few hundreds of nearby IMBH candidates found in dwarf galaxies, globular clusters, and ultraluminous X-ray sources, as well as the possible discovery of a few seed BHs at high redshift. I discuss some of their properties, such as X-ray weakness and location in the BH mass scaling relations, and the possibility to discover IMBHs through high velocity clouds, tidal disruption events, gravitational waves, or accretion disks in active galactic nuclei. I finalize with the prospects for the detection of IMBHs with up-coming observatories.


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