Polarimetric features during the prompt phase of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) have been essential for elucidating the debated emission mechanisms and gaining insight into the inner structure of GRBs. However, the potential impact of photon-Axion-Like-Particle (ALP) mixing in extragalactic magnetic fields, leading to significant modifications to the initial polarization state, has been overlooked in discussions concerning prompt phase constraints. In this work, we first examine the statistical characteristics of linear polarization degree ($\Pi_{L}$) in GRBs, by utilizing data from polarimetric missions focusing on sub-MeV emissions. Our analysis, conducted with a restricted sample of GRBs spanning various redshifts, reveals a diverse distribution of $\Pi_{L}$, which currently shows no correlation with the GRBs' spectral parameters or properties of candidate host galaxies. We then explore alternations to the initial $\Pi_{L}$ due to photon-ALP mixing within a domain-like structure of the intergalactic magnetic field (${\bf B}_{\rm IGM} $). With the existence of ALPs with $m_{a}$$~$$\lesssim$$~$$10^{-14}$$~$eV and $g_{a\gamma}~$$\simeq$$~0.5\times10^{-11}$, the mixing leads to a decrease in the polarization degree of initially fully linearly polarized photons, while it induces a certain degree of polarization to initially unpolarized photons. To ensure that the effect of mixing is small enough to be negligible, the mixing term $\Delta_{a\gamma} \equiv 1/2\ g_{a\gamma} {\bf B}_{\rm IGM}$ should be less than $1.5\times 10^{-4}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. Currently, the number of GRBs with both sub-MeV polarization measurement and redshift confirmation remains very limited. Certification of redshift for GRBs with low $\Pi_{L}$ would further constrain the parameter space of ALPs or provide an independent means to determine the upper limit on ${\bf B}_{\rm IGM}$.
Abstract The unidentified infrared emission features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3, and 12.7 μ m are ubiquitously seen in a wide variety of astrophysical regions and commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. However, the unambiguous identification of any individual, specific PAH molecules has proven elusive until very recently, when two isomers of cyanonapthalene, which consists of two fused benzene rings and substitutes a nitrile (–CN) group for a hydrogen atom, were discovered in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, based on their rotational transitions at radio frequencies. To facilitate the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to search for cyanonapthalenes in astrophysical regions, we model the vibrational excitation of cyanonapthalenes and calculate their infrared emission spectra in a number of representative astrophysical regions. The model emission spectra and intensities will allow JWST to quantitatively determine or place an upper limit on the abundances of cyanonapthalenes.
Abstract We conduct an in-depth spectral analysis of ∼1 Ms XMM-Newton data of the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy RE J1034+396. The long exposure ensures high spectral quality and provides us with a detailed look at the intrinsic absorption and emission features toward this target. Two warm-absorber (WA) components with different ionization states ( log(ξ/ergcms−1)∼4 and log(ξ/ergcms−1)∼2.5–3 ) are required to explain the intrinsic absorption features in the Reflection Grating Spectrometer spectra. The estimated outflow velocities are around −1400 km s −1 and −(100–300) km s −1 for the high- and low-ionization WA components, respectively. Both absorbers are located beyond the broad-line region and cannot significantly affect the host environment. We analyze the warm absorbers in different flux states. We also examine the 2007 May observation in the low and high phases of quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO). In contrast to previous analyses showing a negative correlation between the high-ionization WA and the QPO phase, we have found no such variation in this WA component. We discover a broad emission bump in the spectral range of ∼12–18 Å, covering the primary features of the high-ionization WA. This emission bump shows a dramatic change in different source states, and its intensity may positively correlate with the QPO phase. The absence of this emission bump in previous work may contribute to the suggested WA–QPO connection.
Since the launch of the Einstein X-ray Observatory in the 1970s, a number of broad absorption features have been reported in the X-ray spectra of BL Lac objects. These features are often interpreted as arising from high-velocity outflows intrinsic to the BL Lac object, therefore providing important information about the inner environment around the central engine. However, such absorption features have not been observed more recently with high-resolution X-ray telescopes such as Chandra and XMM-Newton. In this paper, we report the detection of a transient X-ray absorption feature intrinsic to the BL Lac object H 2356-309 with the Chandra X-ray Telescope. This BL Lac object was observed during XMM-Newton cycle 7 and Chandra cycles 8 and 10, as part of our campaign to investigate X-ray absorption produced by the warm–hot intergalactic medium residing in the foreground large-scale superstructure. During one of the 80 ks Chandra cycle 10 observations, a transient absorption feature was detected at 3.3σ (or 99.9% confidence level, accounting for the number of "trials"), which we identify as the O viii Kα line produced by an absorber intrinsic to the BL Lac object. None of the other 11 observations showed this line. We constrain the ionization parameter (25 ≲ Ξ ≲ 40) and temperature (105 K
As the Universe evolves, it develops a web of filamentary structure of matter. This cosmic web is filled with gas, with the most diffuse gas lying in the intergalactic regions. At low redshift, the gas is predominantly warm-hot, and one of its best tracers is X-ray absorption in sightlines to background quasars. In this chapter, we present the theoretical background for the formation of the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) and present the physical properties of the WHIM from cosmological hydro-dynamical simulations. We discuss the feasibility of detecting the WHIM with X-ray absorption lines, with high-resolution and high signal-to-noise spectra. We present detailed discussion of observing techniques, including the WHIM ionization balance, observable lines, the curve of growth, and the diagnostics using the X-ray lines. We present the current efforts of detecting the WHIM with gratings on board Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories. We discuss the criticality of WHIM detections reported in literature, where robust detections are likely from the circumgalactic medium of intervening galaxies, or intragroup medium, rather than truly diffuse gas in the intergalactic medium. Secure detections of the most diffuse gas in the low-redshift large-scale structure may have to await next generation of X-ray telescopes. We end our chapter with the discussion of future missions carrying dispersive and nondispersive spectrometers. We present figure-of-merit parameters for line detectability as well as for the number of WHIM systems that can be detected with future missions. These will define our ability to account for the missing low-redshift baryons and to understand the evolution of the Universe over half of its life.
We make use of a 500 ks Chandra HRC-S/LETG spectrum of the blazar H 2356-309, combined with a lower signal-to-noise ratio (S/N; 100 ks) pilot LETG spectrum of the same target, to search for the presence of warm-hot absorbing gas associated with two large-scale structures (LSSs) crossed by this sight line and to constrain its physical state and geometry. Strong (log NO vii ⩾ 1016 cm−2) O vii Kα absorption associated with a third LSS crossed by this line of sight (the Sculptor Wall (SW)), at z = 0.03, has already been detected in a previous work. Here, we focus on two additional prominent filamentary LSSs along the same line of sight, one at z = 0.062 (the Pisces-Cetus Supercluster (PCS)) and another at z = 0.128 (the "Farther Sculptor Wall" (FSW)). The combined LETG spectrum has an S/N of ∼11.6–12.6 per resolution element in the 20–25 Å and an average 3σ sensitivity to intervening O vii Kα absorption line equivalent widths (EWs) of EWO vii ≳ 14 mÅ in the available redshift range (z < 0.165). No statistically significant (i.e., ⩾3σ) individual absorption is detected from any of the strong He- or H-like transitions of C, O, and Ne (the most abundant metals in gas with solar-like composition) at the redshifts of the PCS and FSW structures and down to the EW thresholds mentioned above. However, we are still able to constrain the physical and geometrical parameters of the putative absorbing gas associated with these structures, by performing a joint spectral fit of various marginal detections and upper limits of the strongest expected lines with our self-consistent hybrid-ionization WHIM spectral model. At the redshift of the PCS, we identify a warm phase with log T = 5.35+0.07−0.13 K and log NH = (19.1 ± 0.2) cm−2 possibly co-existing with a much hotter and statistically less significant phase with log T = 6.9+0.1−0.8 K and log NH = 20.1+0.3−1.7 cm−2 (1σ errors). These two separate physical phases are identified through, and mainly constrained by, C v Kα (warm phase) and O viii Kα (hot phase) absorption, with single line significances of 1.5σ each. For the second LSS, at z ≃ 0.128, only one hot component is hinted in the data, through O viii Kα (1.6σ) and Ne ix Kα (1.2σ). For this system, we estimate log T = 6.6+0.1−0.2 K and log NH = 19.8+0.4−0.8 cm−2. Our column density and temperature constraints on the warm-hot gaseous content of these two LSSs, combined with the measurements obtained for the hot gas permeating the SW, allow us to estimate the cumulative number density per unit redshifts of O vii WHIM absorbers at three different EW thresholds of 0.4 mÅ, 7 mÅ, and 25.8 mÅ. This is consistent with expectations only at the very low end of EW thresholds, but exceeds predictions at 7 mÅ and 25.8 mÅ (by more than 2σ). We also estimate the cosmological mass density of the WHIM based on the four absorbers we tentatively detect along this line of sight, obtaining ΩWHIMb = (0.021+0.031−0.018)(Z/Z☉)−1, consistent with the cosmological mass density of the intergalactic "missing baryons" only if we assume high metallicities (Z ∼ Z☉).
Abstract We observed the quasar PG 1211+143 using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015 April as part of a joint campaign with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Jansky Very Large Array. Our ultraviolet spectra cover the wavelength range 912–2100 Å. We find a broad absorption feature ( ) at an observed wavelength of 1240 Å. Interpreting this as H i Ly α , in the rest frame of PG 1211+143 ( z = 0.0809), this corresponds to an outflow velocity of −16,980 (outflow redshift ), matching the moderate ionization X-ray absorption system detected in our Chandra observation and reported previously by Pounds et al. With a minimum H i column density of , and no absorption in other UV resonance lines, this Ly α absorber is consistent with arising in the same ultrafast outflow as the X-ray absorbing gas. The Ly α feature is weak or absent in archival ultraviolet spectra of PG 1211+143, strongly suggesting that this absorption is transient, and intrinsic to PG 1211+143. Such a simultaneous detection in two independent wavebands for the first time gives strong confirmation of the reality of an ultrafast outflow in an active galactic nucleus.
Abstract We report the discovery of three H i absorbers toward low-power radio active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in a pilot H i absorption survey with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Compared to past studies, FAST observations have explored lower radio powers by ∼0.4 dex and detected these weakest absorbers at given redshifts. By comparing the gas properties and kinematics of sources along radio powers, we aim to explore the interplay between AGN and the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). Compared to brighter sources at similar redshifts, our observations suggest a slightly lower detection rate of H i absorption lines (∼11.5%) in low-power radio AGNs with log(P1.4GHz/WHz−1)=21.8–23.7 . The low-power sources with log(P1.4GHz/WHz−1)<23 have a lower detection rate of ∼6.7%. Due to the incompleteness of the sample, these detection rates may represent the lower limits. The selection of more extended sources and dilution by H i emission at lower redshifts may contribute to the lower detection rate of H i absorption lines. These detected absorbers present relatively narrow line widths and comparable column densities consistent with previous observations. One absorber has a symmetric profile with a large velocity offset, while the other two show asymmetric profiles that can be decomposed into multiple components, suggesting various possibilities of gas origins and kinematics. These H i absorbers may have connections with rotating disks, gas outflows, galactic gas clouds, gas fueling of the AGN, and jet–ISM interactions, which will be further investigated with the upcoming systematic survey and spatially resolved observations.
Abstract We present a study of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) with pseudobulges (bulges with Sérsic index n < 2) in a local close major-merger galaxy pair sample (H-KPAIR). With data from new aperture photometries in the optical and near-infrared bands (aperture size of 7 kpc) and from the literature, we find that the mean Age of central stellar populations in Spirals with pseudobulges is consistent with that of disky galaxies and is nearly constant against the bulge-to-total ratio (B/T). Paired Spirals have a slightly lower fraction of pure disk galaxies (B/T ≤ 0.1) than their counterparts in the control sample. Compared to SFGs with classical bulges, those with pseudobulges have a higher (>2 σ ) mean of specific star formation rate (sSFR) enhancement (sSFR enh = 0.33 ± 0.07 versus sSFR enh = 0.12 ± 0.06) and broader scatter (by ∼1 dex). The eight SFGs that have the highest sSFR enh in the sample all have pseudobulges. A majority (69%) of paired SFGs with strong enhancement (having sSFR more than 5 times the median of the control galaxies) have pseudobulges. The Spitzer data show that the pseudobulges in these galaxies are tightly linked to nuclear/circum-nuclear starbursts. Pseudobulge SFGs in S+S and in S+E pairs have significantly (>3 σ ) different sSFR enhancement, with the means of sSFR enh = 0.45 ± 0.08 and −0.04 ± 0.11, respectively. We find a decrease in the sSFR enhancements with the density of the environment for SFGs with pseudobulges. Since a high fraction (5/11) of pseudobulge SFGs in S+E pairs are in rich groups/clusters (local density N 1Mpc ≥ 7), the dense environment might be the cause for their low sSFR enh .
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