arXiv subjects

Anderson Caproni

Publications and source records attributed to Anderson Caproni.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Is the Bardeen-Petterson effect responsible for the warping and precession in NGC 4258?

Strong evidence for the presence of a warped Keplerian accretion disc in NGC4258 (M 106) has been inferred from the kinematics of water masers detected at sub-parsec scales. Assuming a power-law accretion disc and using constraints on the disc parameters derived from observational data, we have analyzed the relativistic Bardeen-Petterson effect driven by a Kerr black hole as the potential physical mechanism responsible for the disc warping. We found that the Bardeen-Petterson radius is comparable to or smaller than the inner radius of the maser disc (independent of the allowed value for the black hole spin parameter). Numerical simulations for a wide range of physical conditions have shown that the evolution of a misaligned disc due to the Bardeen-Petterson torques usually produces an inner flat disc and a warped transition region with a smooth gradient in the tilt and twist angles. Since this structure is similar to that seen in NGC 4258, we propose that the Bardeen-Petterson effect may be responsible for the disc warping in this galaxy. We estimated the time-scale necessary for the disc inside of the Bardeen-Petterson radius to align with the black hole's equator, as a function of the black hole spin. Our results show that the Bardeen-Petterson effect can align the disc within a few billion years in the case of NGC 4258. Finally, we show that if the observed curvature of the outer anomalous arms in the galactic disc of NGC 4258 is associated with the precession of its radio jet/counterjet, then the Bardeen-Petterson effect can provide the required precession period.

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arXiv2006

Warping and precession in galactic and extragalactic accretion disks

The Bardeen-Petterson general relativistic effect has been suggested as the mechanism responsible for precession in some accretion disk systems. Here we examine separately four mechanisms (tidally-induced, irradiation-induced, magnetically-induced and Bardeen-Petterson-induced) that can lead to warping and precession. We use a sample of eight X-ray binaries and four Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) that present signatures of warping and/or precession in their accretion disks to explore the viability of the different mechanisms. For the X-ray binaries SMC X-1 and 4U 1907+09 all four mechanisms provide precession periods compatible with those observed, while for Cyg X-1 and the active galaxies Arp 102B and NGC 1068, only two mechanisms are in agreement with the observations. The irradiation-driven instability seems incapable of producing the inferred precession of the active galaxies in our sample, and the tidally-induced precession can probably be ruled out in the case of Arp 102B. Perhaps the best case for a Bardeen-Petterson precession can be achieved for NGC 1068. Our results show that given the many observational uncertainties that still exist, it is extremely difficult to confirm unambiguously that the Bardeen-Petterson effect has been observed in any of the other sources of our sample.

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arXiv2005

Bardeen-Petterson effect and the disk structure of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068

VLBA high spatial resolution observations of the disk structure of the active galactic nucleus NGC 1068 has recently revealed that the kinematics and geometry of this AGN is well characterized by an outer disk of H2O maser emission having a compact milliarcsecond (parsec) scale structure, which is encircling a thin rotating inner disk surrounding a ~10^7 M$_\sun$ compact mass, likely a black hole. A curious feature in this source is the occurrence of a misalignment between the inner and outer parts of the disk, with the galaxy's radio jet being orthogonal to the inner disk. We interpret this peculiar configuration as due to the Bardeen-Petterson effect, a general relativistic effect that warps an initially inclined (to the black hole equator) viscous disk, and drives the angular momentum vector of its inner part into alignment with the rotating black hole spin. We estimate the time-scale for both angular momenta to get aligned as a function the spin parameter of the Kerr black hole. We also reproduce the shape of the parsec and kiloparsec scale jets, assuming a model in which the jet is precessing with a period and aperture angle that decrease exponentially with time, as expected from the Bardeen-Petterson effect.

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arXiv2004

Observational evidence of spin-induced precession in active galactic nuclei

We show that it is possible to explain the physical origin of jet precession in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) through the misalignment between the rotation axes of the accretion disk and of the Kerr black hole. We apply this scenario to quasars, Seyfert galaxies and also to the Galactic Center black hole Sgr A*, for which signatures of either jet or disk precession have been found. The formalism adopted is parameterized by the ratio of the precession period to the black hole mass and can be used to put constraints to the physical properties of the accretion disk as well as to the black hole spin in those systems.

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arXiv2003

Can long-term periodic variability and jet helicity in 3C 120 be explained by jet precession?

Optical variability of 3C 120 is discussed in the framework of jet precession. Specifically, we assume that the observed long-term periodic variability is produced by the emission from an underlying jet with a time-dependent boosting factor driven by precession. The differences in the apparent velocities of the different superluminal components in the milliarcsecond jet can also be explained by the precession model as being related to changes in the viewing angle. The evolution of the jet components has been used to determine the parameters of the precession model, which also reproduce the helical structure seen at large scales. Among the possible mechanisms that could produce jet precession, we consider that 3C 120 harbours a super-massive black hole binary system in its nuclear region and that torques induced by misalignment between the accretion disc and the orbital plane of the secondary black hole are responsible for this precession; we estimated upper and lower limits for the black holes masses and their mean separation.

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arXiv2003

Precession in the inner jet of 3C 345

VLBI observations have shown that the parsec-jet of 3C 345 is formed by several components, ejected from the core with superluminal velocities and travelling along bent trajectories on the plane of the sky. We interpret the differences in velocity and position angle among the different features at formation time as the result of parsec-scale precession of the relativistic jet and calculate the aperture angle of the precession cone, the angle between the cone axis and the line of sight and the Lorentz factor associated with the jet bulk motion. We assumed a precession period of 10.1 yr, which is one of the B-band light curve long-term periods reported in the literature. We propose that boosting of the underlying jet emission, which is time-dependent due to precession, is responsible for this long-term optical variability. Jet precession with periods of several years can be produced in super-massive black hole binary systems, when the secondary black hole is in an orbit non-coplanar with the primary accretion disk, inducing torques in the inner parts of the disk. Assuming that this mechanism is responsible for the jet precession in 3C 345, we estimate upper and lower limits for the masses of the two black holes, as well as their mean separation. We found a correlation between the formation of jet components and the occurrence of strong optical flares, as well as a very strong anti-correlation between the intensity of these flares and the time required for the components to reach the maximum flux density at radio frequencies.

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arXiv2000

Study of ammonia emission in the NGC 6334 region

The region centered in the NGC 6334 I(N) radio continuum source was surveyed in an extension of 6 arcmin in right ascension and 12 arcmin in declination, in the NH3(J,K) = (1,1) transition, using the Itapetinga radio telescope. The spectra show non-LTE behavior, and gradients of velocity and line-width were detected along the region. A detailed analysis of the spectra showed that the surveyed region is composed of at least three overlapped sources related to regions that are in different stages of star formation: NGC 6334 I, associated with an already known molecular bipolar outflow, NGC 6334 I(N)w, the brightest ammonia source, coincidental with the continuum source NGC 6334 I(N), and NGC 6334 I(N)e, weaker, more extended and probably less evolved than the others. The physical parameters of the last two sources were calculated in non-LTE conditions, assuming that their spectra are the superposition of the narrow line spectra produced by small dense clumps. The H2 density, NH3 column density, kinetic temperature, diameter and mass of the clumps were found to be very similar in the two regions, but the density of clumps is lower in the probably less evolved source NGC 6334 I(N)e. Differences between the physical parameters derived assuming LTE and non-LTE conditions are also discussed in this work.

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