arXiv subjects

Agnieszka Janiuk

Publications and source records attributed to Agnieszka Janiuk.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Long Gamma Ray Bursts from binary black holes

We consider a scenario for the longest duration gamma ray bursts, resulting from the collapse of a massive rotating star in a close binary system with a companion black hole. The primary black hole born during the core collapse is first being spun up and increases its mass during the fallback of the stellar envelope just after its birth. As the companion black hole enters the outer envelope, it provides an additional angular momentum to the gas. After the infall and spiral-in towards the primary, the two black holes merge inside the circumbinary disk. The second episode of mass accretion and high final spin of the post-merger black hole prolongs the gamma ray burst central engine activity. The observed events should have two distinct peaks in the electromagnetic signal, separated by the gravitational wave emission. The gravitational recoil of the burst engine is also possible.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Accretion and outflow from a magnetized, neutrino cooled torus around the gamma ray burst central engine

We calculate the structure and short-term evolution of a gamma ray burst central engine in the form of a turbulent torus accreting onto a stellar mass black hole. Our models apply to the short gamma ray burst events, in which a remnant torus forms after the neutron star-black hole or a double neutron star merger and is subsequently accreted. We study the 2-dimensional, relativistic models and concentrate on the effects of black hole and flow parameters as well as the neutrino cooling. We compare the resulting structure and neutrino emission to the results of our previous 1-dimensional simulations. We find that the neutrino cooled torus launches a powerful mass outflow, which contributes to the total neutrino luminosity and mass loss from the system. The neutrino luminosity may exceed the Blandford-Znajek luminosity of the polar jets and the subsequent annihilation of neutrino-antineutrino pairs will provide an additional source of power to the GRB emission.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Accretion and outflow in the gamma ray bursts from black hole binary systems

We consider a scenario for the longest duration gamma ray bursts, resulting from the collapse of a massive star in a close binary system with a companion black hole. The primary black hole born during the core collapse is spun up and increases its mass during the fallback of the stellar envelope. The companion black hole provides an additional angular momentum to the envelope, which ultimately makes the core BH spinning with a high Kerr parameter. After the infall and spiral-in, the two black holes merge inside the circumbinary disk. The second episode of mass accretion and final, even larger spin of the post-merger black hole prolongs the gamma ray burst central engine activity. The observed events should have two distinct peaks in the electromagnetic signal, separated by the gravitational wave emission. The gravitational recoil of the burst engine is also possible.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Stability of black hole accretion disks

We discuss the issues of stability of accretion disks that may undergo the limit-cycle oscillations due to the two main types of thermal-viscous instabilities. These are induced either by the domination of radiation pressure in the innermost regions close to the central black hole, or by the partial ionization of hydrogen in the zone of appropriate temperatures. These physical processes may lead to the intermittent activity in AGN on timescales between hundreds and millions of years. We list a number of observational facts that support the idea of the cyclic activity in high accretion rate sources. We conclude however that the observed features of quasars may provide only indirect signatures of the underlying instabilities. Also, the support from the sources with stellar mass black holes, whose variability timescales are observationally feasible, is limited to a few cases of the microquasars. Therefore we consider a number of plausible mechanisms of stabilization of the limit cycle oscillations in high accretion rate accretion disks. The newly found is the stabilizing effect of the stochastic viscosity fluctuations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Quasi-star jets as unidentified gamma-ray sources

Gamma-ray catalogs contain a considerable amount of unidentified sources. Many of these are located out of the Galactic plane and therefore may have extragalactic origin. Here we assume that the formation of massive black holes in galactic nuclei proceeds through a quasi-star stage and consider the possibility of jet production by such objects. Those jets would be the sources of collimated synchrotron and Compton emission, extending from radio to gamma rays. The expected lifetimes of quasi-stars are of the order of million of years while the jet luminosities, somewhat smaller than that of quasar jets, are sufficient to account for the unidentified gamma-ray sources. The jet emission dominates over the thermal emission of a quasi-star in all energy bands, except when the jet is not directed towards an observer. The predicted synchrotron emission peaks in the IR band, with the flux close to the limits of the available IR all sky surveys. The ratio of the $γ$-ray flux to the IR flux is found to be very large ($\sim 60$), much larger than in BL Lac objects but reached by some radio-loud quasars. On the other hand, radio-loud quasars show broad emission lines while no such lines are expected from quasi-stars. Therefore the differentiation between various scenarios accounting for the unidentified gamma-ray sources will be possible at the basis of the photometry and spectroscopy of the IR/optical counterparts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Stabilization of radiation pressure dominated accretion disks by viscous fluctuations

The standard thin accretion disk model has been successfully used to explain the soft X-ray spectra of Galactic black hole systems and perhaps the UV emission of Active Galactic Nuclei. However, radiation pressure dominated disks are known to be viscously unstable and should produce large amplitude oscillations that are typically not observed. Instead, these sources exhibit stochastic variability which may naturally arise due to viscous fluctuations in a turbulent disk. Here we investigate whether these aperiodic viscous fluctuations can stabilize the inner radiation pressure dominated disks and hence maybe the answer to a forty year old problem in accretion disk theory.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Accretion and outflow from a magnetized, neutrino cooled torus in the gamma ray burst central engine

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) are the extremely energetic transient events, visible from the most distant parts of the Universe. They are most likely powered by accretion on the hyper-Eddington rates that proceeds onto a newly born stellar mass black hole. This central engine gives rise to the most powerful, high Lorentz factor jets that are responsible for energetic gamma ray emission. We investigate the accretion flow evolution in GRB central engine, using the 2D MHD simulations in General Relativity. We compute the structure and evolution of the extremely hot and dense torus accreting onto the fast spinning black hole, which launches the magnetized jets. We calculate the chemical structure of the disk and account for neutrino cooling. Our preliminary runs apply to the short GRB case (remnant torus accreted after NS-NS or NS-BH merger). We estimate the neutrino luminosity of such an event for chosen disk and central BH mass

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Does Very Short Gamma Ray Bursts originate from Primordial Black Holes? Review

We present the state of current research of Very Short Gamma Ray Bursts (VSGRBs) from seven GRB detectors. We found that VSGRBs form distinct class of GRBs, which in our opinion, in most cases can originate from the evaporating Primordial Black Holes (PBHs). Arguments supporting our opinion: 1. GRBs with time duration (T90) < 100 ms form distinct class: VSGRBs. 2. We observe significant anisotropy in the galactic angular distribution of BATSE VSGRB events. 3. V/Vmax distribution for BATSE VSGRB events indicates the local distance production. 4. VSGBBs have more energetic γ-ray burst than other GRBs with longer duration (KONUS). 5. We observe small number of afterglows in SWIFT VSGRB sample (25%), in contrast with the noticeable afterglow frequency in SGRB sample (78%). 6. Time profile of rising part BATSE VSGRBs is in agreement with the evaporation PBH model.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Discovery of the disturbed radio morphology in the interacting binary quasar FIRST J164311.3+315618

We report the high resolution radio observations and their analysis of a radio-loud compact steep spectrum (CSS) quasar FIRST J164311.3+315618, one of the members of a binary system. The second component of the system is a radio-quiet AGN. The projected separation of this pair is 2.3 arcsec (15 kpc) and it is one of the known smallest separation binary quasars. The multi-band images of this binary system made with the Hubble Space Telescope showed that the host galaxy of the radio-loud quasar is highly disturbed. The radio observations presented here were made with the multi-element radio linked interferometer network (MERLIN) at 1.66 GHz and 5 GHz. We show that the radio morphology of FIRST J164311.3+315618 is complex on both frequencies and exhibits four components, which indicate on the intermittent activity with a possible rapid change of the jet direction and/or restart of the jet due to the interaction with the companion. The radio components that are no longer powered by the jet can quickly fade away. We suggest that this makes the potential distortions of the radio structure to be short-lived phenomena. On the other hand, our numerical simulations show that the influence of the companion can lead to the prolonged current and future activity. FIRST J164311.3+315618 is an unusual and statistically very rare low redshift binary quasar in which probably the first close encounter is just taking place.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

On different types of instabilities in black hole accretion discs. Implications for X-ray binaries and AGN

We discuss two important instability mechanisms that may lead to the limit-cycle oscillations of the luminosity of the accretion disks around compact objects: ionization instability and radiation-pressure instability. Ionization instability is well established as a mechanism of X-ray novae eruptions in black hole binary systems but its applicability to AGN is still problematic. Radiation pressure theory has still very weak observational background in any of these sources. In the present paper we attempt to confront the parameter space of these instabilities with the observational data. At the basis of this simple survey of sources properties we argue that the radiation pressure instability is likely to be present in several Galactic sources with the Eddington ratios above 0.15, and in AGN with the Eddington ratio above 0.025. Our results favor the parameterization of the viscosity through the geometrical mean of the radiation and gas pressure both in Galactic sources and AGN. More examples of the quasi-regular outbursts in the timescales of 100 seconds in Galactic sources, and hundreds of years in AGN are needed to formulate firm conclusions. We also show that the disk sizes in the X-ray novae are consistent with the ionization instability. This instability may also considerably influence the lifetime cycle and overall complexity in the supermassive black hole environment.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Probing the accretion disk - jet connection via instabilities in the inner accretion flow. From microquasars to quasars

We present various instability mechanisms in the accreting black hole systems which might indicate at the connection between the accretion disk and jet. The jets observed in microquasars can have a persistent or blobby morphology. Correlated with the accretion luminosity, this might provide a link to the cyclic outbursts of the disk. Such duty-cycle type of behavior on short timescales results from the thermal instability caused by the radiation pressure domination. The same type of instability may explain the cyclic radioactivity of the supermassive black hole systems. The somewhat longer timescales are characteristic for the instability caused by the partial hydrogen ionization. The distortions of the jet direction and complex morphology of the sources can be caused by precession of the disk-jet axis.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Instabilities in the Gamma Ray Burst central engine. What makes the jet variable?

Both types of long and short gamma ray bursts involve a stage of a hyper-Eddington accretion of hot and dense plasma torus onto a newly born black hole. The prompt gamma ray emission originates in jets at some distance from this 'central engine' and in most events is rapidly variable, having a form of spikes and subpulses. This indicates at the variable nature of the engine itself, for which a plausible mechanism is an internal instability in the accreting flow. We solve numerically the structure and evolution of the neutrino-cooled torus. We take into account the detailed treatment of the microphysics in the nuclear equation of state that includes the neutrino trapping effect. The models are calculated for both Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes. We find that for sufficiently large accretion rates (> 10 Msun/s for non-rotating black hole, and >1 Msun/s for rotating black hole, depending on its spin), the inner regions of the disk become opaque, while the helium nuclei are being photodissociated. The sudden change of pressure in this region leads to the development of a viscous and thermal instability, and the neutrino pressure acts similarly to the radiation pressure in sub-Eddington disks. In the case of rapidly rotating black holes, the instability is enhanced and appears for much lower accretion rates. We also find the important and possibly further destabilizing role of the energy transfer from the rotating black hole to the torus via the magnetic coupling.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Origin of the complex radio structure in BAL QSO 1045+352

We present new more sensitive high-resolution radio observations of a compact broad absorption line (BAL) quasar, 1045+352, made with the EVN+MERLIN at 5 GHz. They allowed us to trace the connection between the arcsecond structure and the radio core of the quasar. The radio morphology of 1045+352 is dominated by a knotty jet showing several bends. We discuss possible scenarios that could explain such a complex morphology: galaxy merger, accretion disk instability, precession of the jet and jet-cloud interactions. It is possible that we are witnessing an ongoing jet precession in this source due to internal instabilities within the jet flow, however, a dense environment detected in the submillimeter band and an outflowing material suggested by the X-ray absorption could strongly interact with the jet. It is difficult to establish the orientation between the jet axis and the observer in 1045+352 because of the complex structure. Nevertheless taking into account the most recent inner radio structure we conclude that the radio jet is oriented close to the line of sight which can mean that the opening angle of the accretion disk wind can be large in this source. We also suggest that there is no direct correlation between the jet-observer orientation and the possibility of observing BALs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Observational constraints on the nature of very short gamma-ray bursts

We discuss a very peculiar subgroup of gamma-ray bursts among the BATSE sources. These bursts are very short ($T_{90} \le $0.1 s), hard, and came predominantly from a restricted direction of the sky (close to the Galactic anti-center). We analyze their arrival times and possible correlations, as well as the profiles of individual bursts. We find no peculiarities in the arrival times of Very Short Bursts (VSBs) despite their highly non-uniform spatial distribution. There is no dependence in the burst shapes on location. Bursts coming both from the burst-enhancement Galactic Anticenter region and from all other directions show considerable dispersion in their rise and fall times. Significant fraction of VSBs have multiple peaks despite their extremely short duration. Burst time properties are most likely to be consistent with two origin mechanisms: either with binary NS-NS mergers with low total masses passing through a phase of hypermassive neutron star, or with evaporation of the primordial black holes in the scenario of no photosphere formation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Intermittent Activity of Jets in AGN

Large scale X-ray jets that extend to >100 kpc distances from the host galaxy indicate the importance of jets interactions with the environment on many different physical scales. Morphology of X-ray clusters indicate that the radio-jet activity of a cD galaxy is intermittent. This intermittency might be a result of a feedback and/or interactions between galaxies within the cluster. Here we consider the radiation pressure instability operating on short timescales (<10^5 years) as the origin of the intermittent behaviour. We test whether this instability can be responsible for short ages (< 10^4 years) of Compact Symmetric Objects measured by hot spots propagation velocities in VLBI observations. We model the accretion disk evolution and constrain model parameters that may explain the observed compact radio structures and over-abundance of GPS sources. We also describe effects of consequent outbursts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The role of black hole spin and magnetic field threading the unstable neutrino disk in Gamma Ray Bursts

We report on the third phase of our study of the neutrino-cooled hyperaccreting torus around a black hole that powers the jet in Gamma Ray Bursts. We focus on the influence of the black hole spin on the properties of the torus. The structure of a stationary torus around the Kerr black hole is solved numerically. We take into account the detailed treatment of the microphysics in the nuclear equation of state that includes the neutrino trapping effect. We find, that in the case of rapidly rotating black holes, the thermal instability discussed in our previous work is enhanced and develops for much lower accretion rates. We also find the important role of the energy transfer from the rotating black hole to the torus, via the magnetic coupling.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Time Evolution of the 3-D Accretion Flows: Effects of the Adiabatic Index and Outer Boundary Condition

We study a slightly rotating accretion flow onto a black hole, using the fully three dimensional (3-D)numerical simulations. We consider hydrodynamics of an inviscid flow, assuming a spherically symmetric density distribution at the outer boundary and a small, latitude-dependent angular momentum. We investigate the role of the adiabatic index and gas temperature, and the flow behaviour due to non-axisymmetric effects. Our 3-D simulations confirm axisymmetric results: the material that has too much angular momentum to be accreted forms a thick torus near the equator and the mass accretion rate is lower than the Bondi rate. In our previous study of the 3-D accretion flows, for gamma=5/3, we found that the inner torus precessed, even for axisymmetric conditions at large radii. The present study shows that the inner torus precesses also for other values of the adiabatic index: gamma=4/3, 1.2 and 1.01. However, the time for the precession to set increases with decreasing gamma. In particular, for gamma=1.01 we find that depending on the outer boundary conditions, the torus may shrink substantially due to the strong inflow of the non-rotating matter and the precession will have insufficient time to develop. On the other hand, if the torus is supplied by the continuous inflow of the rotating material from the outer radii, its inner parts will eventually tilt and precess, as it was for the larger gamma's.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Accretion Disk Model of Short-Timescale Intermittent Activity in Young Radio Sources

We associate the existence of short-lived compact radio sources with the intermittent activity of the central engine caused by a radiation pressure instability within an accretion disk. Such objects may constitute a numerous sub-class of Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum sources, in accordance with the population studies of radio-loud active galaxies, as well as detailed investigations of their radio morphologies. We perform the model computations assuming the viscosity parametrization as proportional to a geometrical mean of the total and gas pressure. The implied timescales are consistent with the observed ages of the sources. The duration of an active phase for a moderate accretion rate is short enough (< 10^3-10^4 years) that the ejecta are confined within the host galaxy and thus these sources cannot evolve into large size radio galaxies unless they are close to the Eddington limit.

astro-ph.CO↗