Hadronuclear interpretation of the possible neutrino emission from PKS B1424-418, GB6 J1040+0617 and PKS 1502+106

In addition to neutrino event IceCube-170922A which is observed to be associated with a γ-ray flare from blazar TXS 0506+056, there are also several neutrino events that may be associated with blazars. Among them, PKS B1424-418, GB6 J1040+0617 and PKS 1502+106 are low synchrotron peaked sources, which are usually believed to have the broad line region in the vicinity of the central black hole. They are considered as counterparts of IceCube event 35, IceCube-141209A and IceCube-190730A, respectively. By considering the proton-proton (pp) interactions between the dense gas clouds in the broad line region and the relativistic protons in the jet, we show that the pp model that is applied in this work can not only reproduce the multi-waveband spectral energy distribution but also suggest a considerable annual neutrino detection rate. We also discuss the emission from the photopion production and Bethe-Heitler pair production with a sub-Eddington jet power that is suggested in our model and find that it has little effect on the spectrum of total emission for all of three sources.

Finding Rare Quasars: VLA Snapshot Continuum Survey of FRI Quasar Candidates Selected from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS)

The radiative and jet power in active galactic nuclei is generated by accretion of material on to supermassive galactic-centre black holes. For quasars, where the radiative power is by definition very high, objects with high radio luminosities form ∼10 per cent of the population, although it is not clear whether this is a stable phase. Traditionally, quasars with high radio luminosities have been thought to present jets with edge-brightened morphology (Fanaroff-Riley II−FR II) due to the limitations of previous radio surveys (i.e., FRIs were not observed as part of the quasar population). The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) with its unprecedented sensitivity and resolution covering wide sky areas has enabled the first systematic selection and investigation of quasars with core-brightened morphology (Fanaroff-Riley I−FR). We carried out a Very Large Array (VLA) snapshot survey to reveal inner structures of jets in selected quasar candidates; 15 (25 per cent) out of 60 sources show clear inner jet structures that are diagnostic of FRI jets and 13 quasars (∼22 per cent) show extended structures similar to those of FRI jets. Black hole masses and Eddington ratios do not show a clear difference between FRI and FRII quasars. FRII quasars tend to have higher jet powers than FRI quasars. Our results show that the occurrence of FRI jets in powerful radiatively efficient systems is not common, probably mainly due to two factors: galaxy environment and jet power.

Remnant Radio Galaxy Candidates of Small Angular Sizes

Remnant radio galaxies (RRGs), characterized by the cessation of AGN activity, represent a short-lived last phase of radio galaxy’s life-cycle. Hitherto, searches for RRGs, mainly based on the morphological criteria, have identified large angular size sources resulting into a bias towards the remnants of powerful FR-II radio galaxies. In this study we make the first attempt to perform a systematic search for RRGs of small angular sizes (<30′′) in the XMM−LSS field. By using spectral curvature criterion we discover 48 remnant candidates exhibiting strong spectral curvature i.e., α150MHz325MHz−α325MHz1.4GHz≥ 0.5. Spectral characteristics at higher frequency regime (>1.4 GHz) indicate that some of our remnant candidates can depict recurrent AGN activity with an active core. We place an upper limit on the remnant fraction (frem) to be 3.9%, which increases to 5.4% if flux cutoff limit of S150MHz≥ 10 mJy is considered. Our study unveils, hitherto unexplored, a new population of small-size (<200 kpc) remnant candidates that are often found to reside in less dense environments and at higher redshifts (z) > 1.0. We speculate that a relatively shorter active phase and/or low jet power can be plausible reasons for the small size of remnant candidates.

Simulating the Negative Jet Feedback Mechanism in Common Envelope Jet Supernovae

We use the stellar evolution code MESA to study the negative jet feedback mechanism in common envelope jet supernovae (CEJSNe), in which a neutron star (NS) launches jets in the envelope of a red supergiant (RSG). We find that the feedback reduces the mass accretion rate to be χ j ≃ 0.04–0.3 times the mass accretion rate without the operation of jets. We mimic the effect of the jets on the RSG envelope by depositing the energy that the jets carry into the envelope zones outside the NS orbit. The energy deposition inflates the envelope, therefore reducing the density in the NS vicinity, which in turn reduces the mass accretion rate in a negative feedback cycle. In calculating the above values for the negative jet feedback coefficient (the further reduction in the accretion rate) χ j, we adopt the canonical ratio of jet power to actual accretion power of 0.1, and the results of numerical simulations that show the actual mass accretion rate to be a fraction of 0.1–0.5 of the Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton mass accretion rate.

The Origin of Radio Emission in Black Hole X-ray Binaries

We studied the relation of accretion-jet power and disk luminosity, especially the jet efficiencies and disk radiative efficiencies for different accretion disks as well as black hole (BH) spin, in order to explore the origin of radio emission in black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs). We found that jet efficiency increases more rapidly (efficient) than the nearly constant disk radiative efficiency for thin disk component in high accretion regime, which could account for the steep track (μ>1) in the observed radio and X-ray luminosity relations (LR∝LXμ), but the thin disk component may not be able to explain the standard track (μ≈0.6) in the BHXBs. For hot accretion flows (HAF), the resulting jet efficiency changes along with the large range of accretions from quiescent state to nearly Eddington state, which could account for the standard track in the BHXBs. The BH spin-jet is discussed for the magnetic arrested disk (MAD) state; in this state, the spin-jet power might contribute to a linear correlation between jet power and mass accretion rate for a given source. More accurate observations are required to test the results.

Time-dependent lepto-hadronic modeling of the emission from blazar jets with SOPRANO: the case of TXS 0506+056, 3HSP J095507.9+355101 and 3C 279

The observation of a very-high-energy neutrino by IceCube (IceCube-170922A) and its association with the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056 provided the first multimessenger observations of blazar jets, demonstrating the important role of protons in their dynamics and emission. In this paper, we present SOPRANO, a new conservative implicit kinetic code which follows the time evolution of the isotropic distribution functions of protons, neutrons and the secondaries produced in photo-pion and photo-pair interactions, alongside with the evolution of photon and electron/positron distribution functions. SOPRANO is designed to study leptonic and hadronic processes in relativistic sources such as blazars and gamma-ray bursts. Here, we use SOPRANO to model the broadband spectrum of TXS 0506+056 and 3HSP J095507.9+355101, which are associated with neutrino events, and of the extreme flaring blazar 3C 279. The SEDs are interpreted within the guise of both a hadronic and a hybrid model. We discuss the implications of our assumptions in terms of jet power and neutrino flux.

FR-type radio sources at 3 GHz VLA-COSMOS: Relation to physical properties and large-scale environment

Context. Radio active galactic nuclei (AGN) are traditionally separated into two Fanaroff-Riley (FR) type classes, edge-brightened FRII sources or edge-darkened FRI sources. With the discovery of a plethora of radio AGN of different radio shapes, this dichotomy is becoming too simplistic in linking the radio structure to the physical properties of radio AGN, their hosts, and their environment. Aims. We probe the physical properties and large-scale environment of radio AGN in the faintest FR population to date, and link them to their radio structure. We use the VLA-COSMOS Large Project at 3 GHz (3 GHz VLA-COSMOS), with a resolution and sensitivity of 0.″75 and 2.3 μJy beam−1 to explore the FR dichotomy down to μJy levels. Methods. We classified objects as FRIs, FRIIs, or hybrid FRI/FRII based on the surface-brightness distribution along their radio structure. Our control sample was the jet-less/compact radio AGN objects (COM AGN), which show excess radio emission at 3 GHz VLA-COSMOS exceeding what is coming from star-formation alone; this sample excludes FRs. The largest angular projected sizes of FR objects were measured by a machine-learning algorithm and also by hand, following a parametric approach to the FR classification. Eddington ratios were calculated using scaling relations from the X-rays, and we included the jet power by using radio luminosity as a probe. Furthermore, we investigated their host properties (star-formation ratio, stellar mass, morphology), and we explore their incidence within X-ray galaxy groups in COSMOS, and in the density fields and cosmic-web probes in COSMOS. Results. Our sample is composed of 59 FRIIs, 32 FRI/FRIIs, 39 FRIs, and 1818 COM AGN at 0.03 ≤ z ≤ 6. On average, FR objects have similar radio luminosities (L3 GHz ∼ 1023 W Hz−1 sr−1), spanning a range of 1021−26 W Hz−1 sr−1, and they lie at a median redshift of z ∼ 1. The median linear projected size of FRIIs is 106.636.9238.2 kpc, larger than that of FRI/FRIIs and FRIs by a factor of 2−3. The COM AGN have sizes smaller than 30 kpc, with a median value of 1.71.54.7 kpc. The median Eddington ratio of FRIIs is 0.0060.0050.007, a factor of 2.5 less than in FRIs and a factor of 2 higher than in FRI/FRII. When the jet power is included, the median Eddington ratios of FRII and FRI/FRII increase by a factor of 12 and 15, respectively. FRs reside in their majority in massive quenched hosts (M* > 1010.5 M⊙), with older episodes of star-formation linked to lower X-ray galaxy group temperatures, suggesting radio-mode AGN quenching. Regardless of their radio structure, FRs and COM AGN are found in all types and density environments (group or cluster, filaments, field). Conclusions. By relating the radio structure to radio luminosity, size, Eddington ratio, and large-scale environment, we find a broad distribution and overlap of FR and COM AGN populations. We discuss the need for a different classification scheme, that expands the classic FR classification by taking into consideration the physical properties of the objects rather than their projected radio structure which is frequency-, sensitivity- and resolution-dependent. This point is crucial in the advent of current and future all-sky radio surveys.

The effects of resolution on black hole accretion simulations of jets

ABSTRACT We perform three general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black hole accretion designed to test how sensitive results are to grid resolution in the jet region. The cases differ only in numerics, modelling the same physical scenario of a radiatively inefficient, geometrically thick, magnetically arrested flow on to a rapidly spinning black hole. Properties inferred with the coarsest grid generally agree with those found with higher resolutions, including total jet power and its decomposition into different forms, velocity structure, non-axisymmetric structure, and the appearance of resolved millimetre images. Some measures of variability and magnetization are sensitive to resolution. We conclude that most results obtained by limiting resolution near the jet for computational expediency should still be reliable, at least in so far as they would not be improved with a finer grid.

Aspects of Gas Turbine Thermal Efficiency

In the family of heat engines, the gas turbine is unique in that it is used to produce two different kinds of useful power. By converting combusted fuel heat into work, a gas turbine engine can produce external shaft power (e.g., to drive a connected electric generator) or jet power (e.g., as a jet engine, to produce thrust forces to propel an aircraft). This means that the gas turbine’s thermodynamic figure of merit, thermal efficiency, is multifaceted, and calls for a nuanced examination.