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M. Jaroszynski

Publications and source records attributed to M. Jaroszynski.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Binary Lenses in OGLE-II 1997-1999 Database. A Preliminary Study

We present 18 binary lens candidates from OGLE-II database for seasons 1997-1999. The candidates have been selected by visual light curves inspection from the subsample of strong transient events; the same procedure gives 215 single lens candidates. Among the double lenses there are 12 cases interpreted as caustic crossing events. We compare the mass ratio and separation distributions obtained for binary lenses with the predictions based on stellar double systems observations. We take into account the selection bias, which causes over-representation of binary lenses of similar mass and separation close to the Einstein radius. There is no strong discrepancy between the expected and observed distributions of the mass ratio or the binary separations. We find two cases of binary lens candidates, SC20_1793 and SC20_3525, with extreme mass ratios, which may suggest presence of planets or brown dwarf companions. Unfortunately, neither case is very strong, as alternative solutions give fits to the data which are only unsubstantially worse. Binary lenses provide a modest contribution to overall optical depth to microlensing.

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Radiation Spectra of Advection Dominated Accretion Flows around Kerr Black Holes

We study the formation of the spectra in advection dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) around Kerr black holes. We use a Monte Carlo approach and fully general relativistic treatment to follow the paths of individual photons and model their scattering with mildly relativistic, thermal electrons of the two temperature plasma present in the flow. We study the influence of the accretion rate, black hole mass, black hole angular momentum, and the strength of the small scale magnetic field present in the plasma on the resulting spectra. The impact of the black hole angular momentum on the spectra is present and can be distinguished from the influence of changes in other parameters. This property of the models should be taken into account when modeling the individual sources and the population of inefficiently accreting black holes in the Universe.

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Comptonization of photons in advection dominated accretion flows. Monte Carlo approach

We study the formation of the spectra in advection dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) around Kerr black holes. We use a Monte Carlo approach and fully general relativistic treatment to follow the paths of individual photons and model their scattering with mildly relativistic, thermal electrons of the two temperature plasma present in the flow. We are mostly interested in the dependence of the spectra on the black hole angular momentum, and we find that the influence of the black hole rotation rate on the flow structure has an impact on the resulting spectra. The flows around the fast rotating holes produce relatively harder spectra. This property of the models should be taken into account when modeling the individual sources and the population of inefficiently accreting black holes in the Universe.

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Prospects for the Determination of Star Orbits Near the Galactic Center

We simulate the observations of proper motion of stars very close to the Galactic Center. We show that the speckle interferometry done with the Keck II telescope is accurate enough to obtain orbital parameters for stars with the period P about 10 y during 10 seasons of astrometric observations made once a year. The determination of a single orbit will give central mass estimate with the typical uncertainty of the existing mass determinations based on velocity dispersion measurements. A much higher precision orbits will be measured in several years when Keck Interferometer becomes operational, and fainter stars are discovered even closer to Sgr A*. Astrometry alone will provide accurate determination of the ratio: M/D^3, where M is the black hole mass and D is the distance to the Galactic Center. If spectroscopic orbits of the stars are also measured then both: M and D will be precisely determined.

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Relativistic effects in Proper Motions of Stars Surrounding the Galactic Center

We simulate the astrometric observations of stars moving close to the black hole in the Galactic Center. We show, that for orbits =<1000 AU and position measurements with the accuracy of the Keck Interferometer, the periastron motion of elliptical orbits will be measurable for bright enough stars, K< 17.6 mag. The models of star trajectories neglecting the periastron motion will be easy to reject with the high confidence level. The measurement of orbital elements and the periastron motion can be effectively used as an independent estimate of the distance to the Galactic Center. The effects of orbit precession may be visible in some cases. The effects of gravitational radiation are completely negligible as well as the influence of the black hole rotation on the propagation of light. galaxies: black holes -- galaxies: individual (Milky Way) -- gravitational lensing -- relativity

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Optics near Kerr black holes: spectra of advection dominated accretion flows

We investigate advection dominated, transsonic accretion flows in the vicinity of a Kerr black hole. We take into account all relativistic effects in the dynamics of the flow and in the propagation of light. We assume the matter to be weakly magnetized and cool via the thermal synchrotron and Bremsstrahlung radiation. We include also the effects of Comptonization. We calculate the spectra of radiation as seen by observers located at different positions relative to the equatorial plane of the disk. The radiation emitted by the accreting matter is anisotropic and observers near the equatorial plane register a higher energy flux. This effect is more pronounced in the case of slowly rotating black holes. We calculate also the shape of a hypothetical gamma line, which may be produced by the thermonuclear reactions in the inner part of the flow. The line is strongly broadened, but the fact that the flow is quasi-spherical removes the two-peak shape of the line seen in the spectra emitted from thin, Keplerian disks. The kinematics of the advection dominated flows is not unique (as opposed to Keplerian disks or spherical free-fall) and it would probably be difficult to find strong limits on source models using the spectral observations.

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Hot tori around black holes as sources of gamma ray bursts

We investigate the configurations consisting of massive, dense and hot tori around stellar mass Kerr black holes as possible sources of energy for the gamma ray bursts in cosmological hypothesis of their origin. We limit parameters of our models to the values resulting from neutron stars merger calculations or suggested in the ``failed supernova'' scenario. We investigate models with different angular momentum distributions and different specific entropies. We construct also approximate evolutionary tracks of our systems postulating some viscosity mechanism to be present. We find, that models resulting from a merger of two neutron stars give too little energy to be likely sources of gamma ray bursts. This conclusion remains true despite the artificially high values of specific entropy and viscosity, which we use in our calculations. The promising models should contain a high angular momentum black hole ($a \sim 1$) and/or a torus with almost constant specific angular momentum. The configurations resulting from a collapse of rapidly rotating WR stars are not excluded as sources of the bursts due to a greater freedom in choosing their initial parameters.

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DIFFRACTION EFFECTS IN MICROLENSING OF Q2237+0305

Geometrical optics provides an excellent description for quasar images crossing caustics which are formed by gravitational microlensing of objects like Q2237+0305. Within this approximation the source size can be estimated from the maximum magnification reached at caustic crossings. We evaluate the limitations imposed by diffraction on caustics using the formalism developed by Ulmer & Goodman (1995). Close to a caustic a new characteristic length, smaller that the Fresnel length, enters the problem, limiting the angular resolution to about 0.2 pico arcsecond, or equivalently about 3*10^9 cm at the source. To achieve this resolution the brightness must be monitored at time intervals of a few seconds. If a significant fraction of quasar luminosity comes from sources smaller than those limits then interference effects would make the observed intensity oscillate, in a close analogy with a two slit experiment. The characteristic period of such oscillations is expected to be about one tenth of a minute. If such oscillations are detected then photometry carried out at a single site may permit the determination of the caustic transverse velocity, and therefore may permit a direct conversion of the time units of brightness variations to the linear units at the source. Subject headings: Gravitational lensing - dark matter - quasars: structure -quasars: Q2237+0305

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The Cosmic Microwave Background Dipole as a Cosmological Effect

A conventional explanation of the dipole anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation is in terms of the Doppler effect: our galaxy is moving with respect to CMB frame with $ \sim 600 ~ km ~ s^{-1} $. However, as the deep redshift surveys fail to reveal a convergence of the large scale flow to zero at distances as large as $ d \sim H^{-1} 15,000 ~ km ~ s^{-1} $ (Lauer & Postman, 1994), the uniqueness of the conventional interpretation has to be investigated. A possible alternative might be a cosmological entropy gradient, as suggested by Paczyński & Piran (1990). We find that contrary to that suggestion a quadrupole anisotropy is generically of the same order of magnitude as the dipole anisotropy (or larger) not only for adiabatic but also for iso-curvature initial perturbations. Hence, the observed dipole cannot be explained with a very large scale perturbation which was initially iso-curvature.

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