Disk Emission Research Articles

A MeerKAT 1.28 GHz Atlas of Southern Sources in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample

Abstract The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS) comprises galaxies and unresolved mergers stronger than S = 5.24 Jy at λ = 60 μm with Galactic latitudes ∣b∣ > 5°. Nearly all are dusty star-forming galaxies whose radio continuum and far-infrared luminosities are proportional to their current rates of star formation. We used the MeerKAT array of 64 dishes to make 5 × 3 minutes snapshot observations at ν = 1.28 GHz covering all 298 southern (J2000 δ < 0°) RBGS sources identified with external galaxies. The resulting images have θ ≈ 7.″5 FWHM resolution and rms fluctuations σ ≈ 20 μJy beam−1 ≈ 0.26 K low enough to reveal even faint disk emission. The rms position uncertainties are σ α ≈ σ δ ≈ 1″ relative to accurate near-infrared positions, and the image dynamic ranges are DR ≳ 104: 1. Cropped MeerKAT images of all 298 southern RBGS sources are available in FITS format from 10.48479/dnt7-6q05.

Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XIV. Revealing Disk Substructures in Multiwavelength Continuum Emission

Abstract Constraining dust properties of planet-forming disks via high-angular-resolution observations is fundamental to understanding how solids are trapped in substructures and how dust growth may be favored or accelerated therein. We use ALMA dust continuum observations of the Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) disks and explore a large parameter space to constrain the radial distribution of solid mass and maximum grain size in each disk, including or excluding dust scattering. In the nonscattering model, the dust surface density and maximum grain size profiles decrease from the inner disks to the outer disks, with local maxima at the bright ring locations, as expected from dust trapping models. The inferred maximum grain sizes from the inner to outer disks decrease from 1 cm to 1 mm. For IM Lup, HD 163296, and MWC 480 in the scattering model, two solutions are compatible with their observed inner disk emission: one solution corresponding to a maximum grain size of a few millimeters (similar to the nonscattering model), and the other corresponding to a size of a few hundred micrometers. Based on the estimated Toomre parameter, only IM Lup—which shows a prominent spiral morphology in millimeter dust—is found to be gravitationally unstable. The estimated maximum Stokes number in all the disks lies between 0.01 and 0.3, and the estimated turbulence parameters in the rings of AS 209 and HD 163296 are close to the threshold where dust growth is limited by turbulent fragmentation. This paper is part of the MAPS special issue of the Astrophysical Journal Supplement.

Deriving column-integrated thermospheric temperature with the N<sub>2</sub> Lyman–Birge–Hopfield (2,0) band

Abstract. This paper presents a new technique to derive thermospheric temperature from space-based disk observations of far ultraviolet airglow. The technique, guided by findings from principal component analysis of synthetic daytime Lyman–Birge–Hopfield (LBH) disk emissions, uses a ratio of the emissions in two spectral channels that together span the LBH (2,0) band to determine the change in band shape with respect to a change in the rotational temperature of N2. The two-channel-ratio approach limits representativeness and measurement error by only requiring measurement of the relative magnitudes between two spectral channels and not radiometrically calibrated intensities, simplifying the forward model from a full radiative transfer model to a vibrational–rotational band model. It is shown that the derived temperature should be interpreted as a column-integrated property as opposed to a temperature at a specified altitude without utilization of a priori information of the thermospheric temperature profile. The two-channel-ratio approach is demonstrated using NASA GOLD Level 1C disk emission data for the period of 2–8 November 2018 during which a moderate geomagnetic storm has occurred. Due to the lack of independent thermospheric temperature observations, the efficacy of the approach is validated through comparisons of the column-integrated temperature derived from GOLD Level 1C data with the GOLD Level 2 temperature product as well as temperatures from first principle and empirical models. The storm-time thermospheric response manifested in the column-integrated temperature is also shown to corroborate well with hemispherically integrated Joule heating rates, ESA SWARM mass density at 460 km, and GOLD Level 2 column O/N2 ratio.

The inner flow geometry in MAXI J1820+070 during hard and hard-intermediate states

Context. We present a systematic X-ray spectral-timing study of the recently discovered, exceptionally bright black hole X-ray binary system MAXI J1820+070. Our analysis focuses on the first part of the 2018 outburst, covering the rise throughout the hard state, the bright hard and hard-intermediate states, and the transition to the soft-intermediate state. Aims. We address the issue of constraining the geometry of the innermost accretion flow and its evolution throughout an outburst. Methods. We employed two independent X-ray spectral-timing methods applied to archival NICER data of MAXI J1820+070. We first identified and tracked the evolution of a characteristic frequency of soft X-ray thermal reverberation lags (lags of the thermally reprocessed disc emission after the irradiation of variable hard X-ray photons). This frequency is sensitive to intrinsic changes in the relative distance between the X-ray source and the disc. Then, we studied the spectral evolution of the quasi-thermal component responsible for the observed thermal reverberation lags. We did so by analysing high-frequency covariance spectra, which single out spectral components that vary in a linearly correlated way on the shortest sampled timescales and are thus produced in the innermost regions of the accretion flow. Results. The frequency of thermal reverberation lags steadily increases throughout most of the outburst, implying that the relative distance between the X-ray source and the disc decreases as the source softens. However, near transition this evolution breaks, showing a sudden increase (decrease) in lag amplitude (frequency). On the other hand, the temperature of the quasi-thermal component in covariance spectra, due to disc irradiation and responsible for the observed soft reverberation lags, consistently increases throughout all the analysed observations. Conclusions. This study proposes an alternative interpretation to the recently proposed contracting corona scenario. Assuming a constant height for the X-ray source, the steady increase in the reverberation lag frequency and in the irradiated disc temperature in high-frequency covariance spectra can be explained in terms of a decrease in the disc inner radius as the source softens. The behaviour of thermal reverberation lags near transition might be related to the relativistic plasma ejections detected at radio wavelengths, suggesting a causal connection between the two phenomena. Throughout most of the hard and hard-intermediate state, the disc is consistent with being truncated (with an inner radius Rin ≳ 10 Rg), reaching close to the innermost stable circular orbit only near transition.

Revealing the nature of the transient source MAXI J0637-430 through spectro-temporal analysis

ABSTRACT We study the spectral and temporal properties of MAXI J0637-430 during its 2019–2020 outburst using Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), AstroSat , and Swift–XRT data. The source was in a disc dominant state within a day of its detection and traces out a ‘c’ shaped profile in the HID, similar to the ‘mini’-outbursts of the recurrent BHB 4U 1630-472. Energy spectrum is obtained in the 0.5−10 keV band with NICER and Swift–XRT, and 0.5−25 keV with AstroSat. The spectra can be modelled using a multicolour disc emission (DISKBB) convolved with a thermal Comptonization component (thcomp). The disc temperature decreases from 0.6 to 0.1 keV during the decay with a corresponding decrease in photon index (Γ) from 4.6 to 1.8. The fraction of Compton-scattered photons (fcov) remains <0.3 during the decay upto 2020 mid-January and gradually increases to 1 as the source reaches hard state. Power density spectra generated in the 0.01−100 Hz range display no quasi-periodic oscillations, although band-limited noise is seen towards the end of 2020 January. During AstroSat observations, Γ lies in the range 2.3−2.6 and rms increases from 11 to 20 per cent, suggesting that the source was in an intermediate state till 2019 November 21. Spectral fitting with the relativistic disc model (kerrbb), in conjunction with the soft-hard transition luminosity, favour a black hole with mass $3\!-\!19\, \mathrm{ M}_{\odot }$ with retrograde spin at a distance <15 kpc. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of our findings.

If you like C/O variations, you should have put a ring on it

Context. The C/O ratio as traced with C2H emission in protoplanetary disks is fundamental for constraining the formation mechanisms of exoplanets and for our understanding of volatile depletion in disks, but current C2H observations show an apparent bimodal distribution that is not well understood, indicating that the C/O distribution is not described by a simple radial dependence. Aims. The transport of icy pebbles has been suggested to alter the local elemental abundances in protoplanetary disks through settling, drift, and trapping in pressure bumps, resulting in a depletion of volatiles in the surface layer and an increase in the elemental C/O. Methods. We combine all disks with spatially resolved ALMA C2H observations with high-resolution continuum images and constraints on the CO snow line to determine if the C2H emission is indeed related to the location of the icy pebbles. Results. We report a possible correlation between the presence of a significant CO-ice dust reservoir and high C2H emission, which is only found in disks with dust rings outside the CO snow line. In contrast, compact dust disks (without pressure bumps) and warm transition disks (with their dust ring inside the CO snow line) are not detected in C2H, suggesting that such disks may have never contained a significant CO ice reservoir. Conclusions. This correlation provides evidence for the regulation of the C/O profile by the complex interplay of CO snow line and pressure bump locations in the disk. These results demonstrate the importance of including dust transport in chemical disk models for a proper interpretation of exoplanet atmospheric compositions and a better understanding of volatile depletion in disks, in particular the use of CO isotopologs to determine gas surface densities.

Variability of Disk Emission in Pre-main Sequence and Related Stars. V. Occultation Events from the Innermost Disk Region of the Herbig Ae Star HD 163296

Abstract HD 163296 is a Herbig Ae star that underwent a dramatic ∼0.8 magnitude drop in brightness in the V photometric band in 2001 and a brightening in the near-IR in 2002. Because the star possesses Herbig–Haro objects traveling in outflowing bipolar jets, it was suggested that the drop in brightness was due to a clump of dust entrained in a disk wind, blocking the line of sight toward the star. In order to quantify this hypothesis, we investigated the brightness drop at visible wavelengths and the brightening at near-IR wavelengths of HD 163296 using the Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Code, HOCHUNK3D. We created three models to understand the events. Model 1 describes the quiescent state of the system. Model 2 describes the change in structure that led to the drop in brightness in 2001. Model 3 describes the structure needed to produce the observed 2002 brightening of the near-IR wavelengths. Models 2 and 3 utilize a combination of a disk wind and central bipolar flow. By introducing a filled bipolar cavity in Models 2 and 3, we were able to successfully simulate a jet-like structure for the star with a disk wind and created the drop and subsequent increase in brightness of the system. On the other hand, when the bipolar cavity is not filled, Model 1 replicates the quiescent state of the system.

Influence of inhomogeneous stochasticity on the falsifiability of mean-field theories and examples from accretion disc modelling

ABSTRACT Despite spatial and temporal fluctuations in turbulent astrophysical systems, mean-field theories can be used to describe their secular evolution. However, observations taken over time scales much shorter than dynamical time scales capture a system in a single state of its turbulence ensemble. Comparing with mean-field theory can falsify the latter only if the theory is additionally supplied with a quantified precision. The central limit theorem provides appropriate estimates to the precision only when fluctuations contribute linearly to an observable and with constant coherent scales. Here, we introduce an error propagation formula that relaxes both limitations, allowing for non-linear functional forms of observables and inhomogeneous coherent scales and amplitudes of fluctuations. The method is exemplified in the context of accretion disc theories, where inhomogeneous fluctuations in the surface temperature are propagated to the disc emission spectrum – the latter being a non-linear and non-local function of the former. The derived precision depends non-monotonically on emission frequency. Using the same method, we investigate how binned spectral fluctuations in telescope data change with the spectral resolving power. We discuss the broader implications for falsifiability of a mean-field theory.

H2S observations in young stellar disks in Taurus

Context. Studying gas chemistry in protoplanetary disks is key to understanding the process of planet formation. Sulfur chemistry in particular is poorly understood in interstellar environments, and the location of the main reservoirs remains unknown. Protoplanetary disks in Taurus are ideal targets for studying the evolution of the composition of planet forming systems. Aims. We aim to elucidate the chemical origin of sulfur-bearing molecular emission in protoplanetary disks, with a special focus on H2S emission, and to identify candidate species that could become the main molecular sulfur reservoirs in protoplanetary systems. Methods. We used IRAM 30 m observations of nine gas-rich young stellar objects (YSOs) in Taurus to perform a survey of sulfur-bearing and oxygen-bearing molecular species. In this paper we present our results for the CS 3–2 (ν0 = 146.969 GHz), H2CO 21,1−11,0 (ν0 = 150.498 GHz), and H2S 11,0−10,1 (ν0 = 168.763 GHz) emission lines. Results. We detected H2S emission in four sources out of the nine observed, significantly increasing the number of detections toward YSOs. We also detected H2CO and CS in six out of the nine. We identify a tentative correlation between H2S 11,0−10,1 and H2CO 21,1−11,0 as well as a tentative correlation between H2S 11,0−10,1 and H2O 818−707. By assuming local thermodynamical equilibrium, we computed column densities for the sources in the sample, with N(o-H2S) values ranging between 2.6 × 1012 cm−2 and 1.5 × 1013 cm−2.

Transient obscuration event captured in NGC 3227

From Swift monitoring of a sample of active galactic nuclei (AGN) we found a transient X-ray obscuration event in Seyfert-1 galaxy NGC 3227, and thus triggered our joint XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations to study this event. Here in the first paper of our series we present the broadband continuum modelling of the spectral energy distribution for NGC 3227, extending from near infrared (NIR) to hard X-rays. We use our new spectra taken with XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and the HST Cosmic Origins Spectrograph in 2019, together with archival unobscured XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph data, in order to disentangle various spectral components of NGC 3227 and recover the underlying continuum. We find the observed NIR-optical-UV continuum is explained well by an accretion disk blackbody component (Tmax = 10 eV), which is internally reddened by E(B − V) = 0.45 with a Small Magellanic Cloud extinction law. We derive the inner radius (12 Rg) and the accretion rate (0.1 M⊙ yr−1) of the disk by modelling the thermal disk emission. The internal reddening in NGC 3227 is most likely associated with outflows from the dusty AGN torus. In addition, an unreddened continuum component is also evident, which likely arises from scattered radiation, associated with the extended narrow-line region of NGC 3227. The extreme ultraviolet continuum, and the ‘soft X-ray excess’, can be explained with a ‘warm Comptonisation’ component. The hard X-rays are consistent with a power-law and a neutral reflection component. The intrinsic bolometric luminosity of the AGN in NGC 3227 is about 2.2 × 1043 erg s−1 in 2019, corresponding to 3% Eddington luminosity. Our continuum modelling of the new triggered data of NGC 3227 requires the presence of a new obscuring gas with column density NH = 5 × 1022 cm−2, partially covering the X-ray source (Cf = 0.6).

A study of superluminous stars with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope

ABSTRACT The γ-ray emission from stars is induced by the interaction of cosmic rays with stellar atmospheres and photon fields. This emission is expected to come in two components: a stellar disc emission, where γ-rays are mainly produced in atmospheric showers generated by hadronic cosmic rays, and an extended halo emission, where the high density of soft photons in the surroundings of stars create a suitable environment for γ-ray production via inverse Compton (IC) scattering by cosmic ray electrons. Besides the Sun, no other disc or halo from single stars has ever been detected in γ-rays. However, by assuming a cosmic ray spectrum similar to that observed on Earth, the predicted γ-ray emission of superluminous stars, e.g. Betelgeuse and Rigel, could be high enough to be detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) after its first decade of operations. In this work, we use 12 yr of Fermi-LAT observations along with IC models to study nine superluminous nearby stars, both individually and via stacking analysis. Our results show no significant γ-ray emission, but allow us to restrict the stellar γ-ray fluxes to be on average <3.3 × 10−11 ph cm−2 s−1 at a 3σ confidence level, which translates to an average local density of electrons in the surroundings of our targets to be less than twice of that observed for the Solar system.

Influence of quantum correction on black hole shadows, photon rings, and lensing rings * *J.P. is supported by the China Scholarship Council. M.G. is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (11947210) and funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M660278). X.H.F. is supported by NSFC (11905157, 11935009)

We calculate photon sphere and critical curve for a quantum corrected Schwarzschild black hole, finding that they violate universal inequalities proved for asymptotically flat black holes that satisfy the null energy condition in the framework of Einstein gravity. This violation seems to be a common phenomenon when considering quantum modification of Einstein gravity. Furthermore, we study the shadows, lensing rings, and photon rings in the quantum corrected Schwarzschild black hole. The violation leads to a larger bright lensing ring in the observational appearance of the thin disk emission near the black hole compared with the classical Schwarzschild black hole. Our analysis may provide observational evidence for the quantum effect of general relativity.

Limits on Millimeter Continuum Emission from Circumplanetary Material in the DSHARP Disks

Abstract We present a detailed analysis for a subset of the high-resolution (∼35 mas, or 5 au) ALMA observations from the Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP) to search for faint 1.3 mm continuum emission associated with dusty circumplanetary material located within the narrow annuli of depleted emission (gaps) in circumstellar disks. This search used the Jennings et al. frank modeling methodology to mitigate contamination from the local disk emission and then deployed a suite of injection–recovery experiments to statistically characterize point-like circumplanetary disks in residual images. While there are a few putative candidates in this sample, they have only marginal local signal-to-noise ratios and would require deeper measurements to confirm. Associating a 50% recovery fraction with an upper limit, we find that these data are sensitive to circumplanetary disks with flux densities ≳50–70 μJy in most cases. There are a few examples where those limits are inflated (≳110 μJy) owing to lingering nonaxisymmetric structures in their host circumstellar disks, most notably for a newly identified faint spiral in the HD 143006 disk. For standard assumptions, this analysis suggests that these data should be sensitive to circumplanetary disks with dust masses ≳ 0.001 – 0.2 M ⊕ . While those bounds are comparable to some theoretical expectations for young giant planets, we discuss how plausible system properties (e.g., relatively low host planet masses or the efficient radial drift of solids) could require much deeper observations to achieve robust detections.

Polarization images of accretion flow around supermassive black holes: Imprints of toroidal field structure

Abstract With unprecedented angular resolution, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has opened a new era of black hole studies. We have previously calculated the expected polarization images of M 87* with EHT observations in mind. There, we demonstrated that circular polarization (CP) images, as well as linear polarization (LP) maps, can convey quite useful information, such as the flow structure and magnetic field configuration around the black hole. In this paper, we make new predictions for the cases in which disk emission dominates over jet emission, bearing Sgr A* in mind. Here we set the proton-to-electron temperature ratio of the disk component to be Tp/Te ∼ 2 so as to suppress jet emission relative to emission from accretion flow. As a result, we obtain ring-like images and triple-forked images around the black hole for face-on and edge-on cases, respectively. We also find significant CP components in the images (≳10% in fraction), with both positive and negative signs, amplified through the Faraday conversion, not depending sensitively on the inclination angles. Furthermore, we find a “separatrix” in the CP images, across which the sign of CP is reversed and on which the LP flux is brightest, that can be attributed to the helical magnetic field structure in the disk. These results indicate that future full polarization EHT images are a quite useful tracer of the magnetic field structure. We also discuss to what extent we will be able to extract information regarding magnetic field configurations under the scattering in the interstellar plasma, in future EHT polarimetric observations of Sgr A*.

Suzaku observations of Jovian diffuse hard X-ray emission

Abstract We report on results of systematic analyses of the entire three X-ray data sets of Jupiter taken by Suzaku in 2006, 2012, and 2014. Jovian diffuse hard X-ray emission was discovered by Suzaku in 2006 when the solar activity went toward its minimum. The diffuse emission was spatially consistent with the Jovian inner magnetosphere and was spectrally fitted with a flat power-law function suggesting non-thermal emission. Thus, a scenario in which ultra-relativistic (tens of MeV) electrons in the Jovian inner magnetosphere inverse-Comptonize solar visible photons into X-ray bands has been hypothetically proposed. We focused on the dependence of the Jovian diffuse hard X-ray emission on the solar activity to verify this scenario. The solar activity in 2012 and 2014 was around the maximum of the 24th solar cycle. By combining the imaging and spectral analyses for the three data sets, we successfully separated the contribution of the diffuse emission from the emission of Jupiter’s body (i.e., the aurora and disk emission). The 1–5 keV luminosity of the diffuse emission has been stable and did not vary significantly, and did not simply depend on the solar activity, which is also known to affect the high-energy electron distribution in the Jovian inner magnetosphere scarcely. The luminosity of the body emission both in 0.2–1 and 1–5 keV, in contrast, probably depended on the solar activity and varied by a factor of 2–5. These results strongly supported the inverse-Compton scattering scenario by the ultra-relativistic electrons. In this paper, we estimate spatial and spectral distributions of the inverse-Compton scattering X-rays by Jovian magnetospheric high-energy electrons with reference to the Divine–Garrett model and found a possible agreement in an inner region (≲10 RJ) for the X-ray observations.

Compact disks. An explanation to faint CO emission in Lupus disks

Context. ALMA disk surveys have shown that a large fraction of observed protoplanetary disks in nearby star-forming regions (SFRs) are fainter than expected in CO isotopolog emission. Disks not detected in 13CO line emission are also faint and often unresolved in the continuum emission at an angular resolution of around 0.2 arcsec. Aims. Focusing on the Lupus SFR, the aim of this work is to investigate whether this population comprises radially extended and low-mass disks – as commonly assumed so far – or intrinsically radially compact disks, an interpretation that we propose in this paper. The latter scenario was already proposed for individual sources or small samples of disks, while this work targets a large population of disks in a single young SFR for which statistical arguments can be made. Methods. We ran a new grid of physical–chemical models of compact disks with the physical–chemical code DALI in order to cover a region of the parameter space that has not been explored before with this code. We compared these models with 12CO and 13CO ALMA observations of faint disks in the Lupus SFR, and report the simulated integrated continuum and CO isotopolog fluxes of the new grid of compact models. Results. Lupus disks that are not detected in 13CO emission and have faint or undetected 12CO emission are consistent with compact disk models. For disks with a limited radial extent, the emission of CO isotopologs is mostly optically thick and scales with the surface area, that is, it is fainter for smaller objects. The fraction of compact disks is potentially between roughly 50% and 60% of the entire Lupus sample. Deeper observations of 12CO and 13CO at a moderate angular resolution will allow us to distinguish whether faint disks are intrinsically compact or extended but faint, without the need to resolve them. If the fainter end of the disk population observed by ALMA disk surveys is consistent with such objects being very compact, this will either create a tension with viscous spreading or require MHD winds or external processes to truncate the disks.

Spitzer Mid-infrared Study of Sh 2-208: Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks in Low-metallicity Environments

Abstract This study presents sensitive mid-infrared (MIR) photometry obtained with the Spitzer/IRAC for a young cluster in Sh 2-208 (S208) located in one of the lowest-metallicity H ii regions in the Galaxy, [ O / H ] = − 0.8 dex. Previous studies suggested that the cluster is ∼0.5 Myr old and has a distance of D = 4 kpc, which is consistent with the astrometric distance from Gaia EDR3. In a ∼ 3 .′ 5 × 4 ′ field, 96 sources were detected in at least one MIR band at ≥10σ, covering intermediate-mass stars with a ∼1.0 M ⊙ mass detection limit. A total of 41 probable cluster members were identified based on the spatial distributions of spectral energy distribution slopes derived from the near-infrared (NIR) K S and IRAC bands and extinctions of the sources. The cumulative distribution of the spectral energy distribution slopes for the S208 cluster was not significantly different from those of other clusters in solar-metallicity environments with approximately the same age for intermediate-mass stars, if one also considers nondetected MIR sources identified as S208 cluster members from NIR observations. This suggests that the degree of dust growth/settling does not significantly change with metallicities as different as ∼1 dex. The fraction of stars with MIR disk emissions for the cluster members with ≥1 M ⊙ was 64%–93%, which is comparable to the results in solar-metallicity environments. Although this may suggest that dominant disk dispersal mechanisms for intermediate-mass stars have either no or very weak dependence on metallicity, it can be argued alternatively that this may suggest that the disk dispersal process does not work effectively at this young stage.

Thermonuclear Explosions and Accretion-induced Collapses of White Dwarfs in Active Galactic Nucleus Accretion Disks

Abstract White dwarfs (WDs) embedded in the gaseous disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can rapidly accrete materials from these disks and grow in mass to reach, or even exceed, the Chandrasekhar limit. Binary WD (BWD) mergers are also believed to occur in AGN accretion disks. We study observational signatures from these events. We suggest that mass-accreting WDs and BWD mergers in AGN disks can lead to thermonuclear explosions that drive an ejecta shock breakout from the disk surface and power a slow-rising, relatively dim Type Ia supernova (SN). It is possible that such SNe Ia may be outshone by the emission of the AGN disk around a supermassive black hole (BH) with a mass of M SMBH ≳ 108 M ⊙. In addition, accretion-induced collapses (AICs) of WDs in AGN disks may sometimes occur, which may form highly magnetized millisecond neutron stars (NSs). The subsequent spindown process of this nascent magnetar can deposit its rotational energy into the disk materials, resulting in a magnetar-driven shock breakout and a luminous magnetar-powered transient. We show that such an AIC event could power a rapidly evolving and luminous transient for a magnetic field of B ∼ 1015 G. The rising time and peak luminosity of the transient, powered by a magnetar with B ∼ 1014 G, are predicted to have similar properties to those of superluminous SNe. AIC events taking place in the inner parts of disks around relatively less massive supermassive BHs (M SMBH ≲ 108 M ⊙) are more likely to power transients that are much brighter than the AGN disk emission, and hence easily identified.

AGNs on the Move: A Search for Off-nuclear AGNs from Recoiling Supermassive Black Holes and Ongoing Galaxy Mergers with the Zwicky Transient Facility

Abstract A supermassive black hole (SMBH) ejected from the potential well of its host galaxy via gravitational wave recoil carries important information about the mass ratio and spin alignment of the pre-merger SMBH binary. Such a recoiling SMBH may be detectable as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) broad-line region offset by up to 10 kpc from a disturbed host galaxy. We describe a novel methodology using forward modeling with The Tractor to search for such offset AGNs in a sample of 5493 optically variable AGNs detected with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). We present the discovery of nine AGNs that may be spatially offset from their host galaxies and are candidates for recoiling SMBHs. Five of these offset AGNs exhibit double-peaked broad Balmer lines, which may have arisen from unobscured accretion disk emission, and four show radio emission indicative of a relativistic jet. The fraction of double-peaked emitters in our spatially offset AGN sample is significantly larger than the 16% double-peaked emitter fraction observed for ZTF AGNs overall. In our sample of variable AGNs we also identified 52 merging galaxies, including a new spectroscopically confirmed dual AGN. Finally, we detected the dramatic rebrightening of SDSS 1133, a previously discovered variable object and recoiling SMBH candidate, in ZTF. The flare was accompanied by the reemergence of strong P Cygni line features, indicating that SDSS 1133 may be an outbursting luminous blue variable star.

Spectral and timing evolution of MAXI J1631–479 during the 2018–19 outburst with NICER

ABSTRACT The X-ray transient MAXI J1631–479 went into outburst on 2018 December 21 and remained active for about seven months. Owing to various constraints it was monitored by NICER only during the decay phase of the outburst for about four months. The NICER observations were primarily in the soft state with a brief excursion to the hard intermediate state. While the soft state spectrum was dominated by thermal disc emission, the hard intermediate state spectrum had maximum contribution from the thermal Comptonization. Almost all intermediate-state power spectra had a Type-C low frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (within 4–10 Hz), often accompanied by a harmonic component. The frequency of these oscillations increased and the fractional rms decreased with inner-disc temperature suggesting a geometric origin. The rms spectra during the intermediate state had a hard shape from above 1 keV. Below 1 keV the shape could not be constrained in most cases, while only a few observations showed a rise in amplitude.