arXiv subjects

Omer Blaes

Publications and source records attributed to Omer Blaes.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

AGN accretion disks as spatially resolved by polarimetry

A crucial difficulty in understanding the nature of the putative accretion disk in AGNs is that some of its key intrinsic spectral signatures cannot be observed directly. The strong emissions from the broad-line region (BLR) and the obscuring torus, which are generally yet to be spatially resolved, essentially 'bury' such signatures. Here we argue that we can actually isolate the disk emission spectrum by using optical and near-infrared polarization of quasars and uncover the important spectral signatures. In these quasars, the polarization is considered to originate from electron scattering interior to the BLR, so that the polarized flux shows the disk spectrum with all the emissions from the BLR and torus eliminated. The polarized flux observations have now revealed a Balmer edge feature in absorption and a blue near-infrared spectral shape consistent with a specific and robust theoretical prediction. These results critically verify the long-standing picture of an optically thick and locally heated disk in AGNs.

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arXiv2008

Radiation-Dominated Disks Are Thermally Stable

When the accretion rate is more than a small fraction of Eddington, the inner regions of accretion disks around black holes are expected to be radiation-dominated. However, in the alpha-model, these regions are also expected to be thermally unstable. In this paper, we report two 3-d radiation MHD simulations of a vertically-stratified shearing box in which the ratio of radiation to gas pressure is ~ 10, and yet no thermal runaway occurs over a timespan ~ 40 cooling times. Where the time-averaged dissipation rate is greater than the critical dissipation rate that creates hydrostatic equilibrium by diffusive radiation flux, the time-averaged radiation flux is held to the critical value, with the excess dissipated energy transported by radiative advection. Although the stress and total pressure are well-correlated as predicted by the alpha-model, we show that stress fluctuations precede pressure fluctuations, contrary to the usual supposition that the pressure controls the saturation level of the magnetic energy. This fact explains the thermal stability. Using a simple toy-model, we show that independently-generated magnetic fluctuations can drive radiation pressure fluctuations, creating a correlation between the two while maintaining thermal stability.

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arXiv2008

The characteristic blue spectra of accretion disks in quasars as uncovered in the infrared

Quasars are thought to be powered by supermassive black holes accreting surrounding gas. Central to this picture is a putative accretion disk which is believed to be the source of the majority of the radiative output. It is well known, however, that the most extensively studied disk model -- an optically thick disk which is heated locally by the dissipation of gravitational binding energy -- is apparently contradicted by observations in a few major respects. In particular, the model predicts a specific blue spectral shape asymptotically from the visible to the near-infrared, but this is not generally seen in the visible wavelength region where the disk spectrum is observable. A crucial difficulty was that, toward the infrared, the disk spectrum starts to be hidden under strong hot dust emission from much larger but hitherto unresolved scales, and thus has essentially been impossible to observe. Here we report observations of polarized light interior to the dust-emiting region that enable us to uncover this near-infrared disk spectrum in several quasars. The revealed spectra show that the near-infrared disk spectrum is indeed as blue as predicted. This indicates that, at least for the outer near-infrared-emitting radii, the standard picture of the locally heated disk is approximately correct. The model problems at shorter wavelengths should then be directed toward a better understanding of the inner parts of the revealed disk. The newly uncovered disk emission at large radii, with more future measurements, will also shed totally new light on the unanswered critical question of how and where the disk ends.

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arXiv2007

Thermodynamics of an Accretion Disk Annulus with Comparable Radiation and Gas Pressure

We explore the thermodynamic and global structural properties of a local patch of an accretion disk whose parameters were chosen so that radiation pressure and gas pressure would be comparable in magnitude. Heating, radiative transport, and cooling are computed self-consistently with the structure by solving the equations of radiation MHD in the shearing-box approximation. Using a fully 3-d and energy-conserving code, we compute the structure and energy balance of this disk segment over a span of more than forty cooling times. As is also true when gas pressure dominates, the disk's upper atmosphere is magnetically-supported. However, unlike the gas-dominated case, no steady-state is reached; instead, the total (i.e., radiation plus gas) energy content fluctuates by factors of 3--4 over timescales of several tens of orbits, with no secular trend. Because the radiation pressure varies much more than the gas pressure, the ratio of radiation pressure to gas pressure varies over the approximate range 0.5--2. The volume-integrated dissipation rate generally increases with increasing total energy, but the mean trend is somewhat slower than linear, and the instantaneous dissipation rate is often a factor of two larger or smaller than the mean for that total energy level. Locally, the dissipation rate per unit volume scales approximately in proportion to the current density; the time-average dissipation rate per unit mass is proportional to m^{-1/2}, where m is the horizontally-averaged mass column density to the nearer of the top or bottom surface. As in our earlier study of a gas-dominated shearing-box, we find that energy transport is completely dominated by radiative diffusion, with Poynting flux carrying less than 1% of the energy lost from the box.

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arXiv2007

Surface Structure in an Accretion Disk Annulus with Comparable Radiation and Gas Pressure

We have employed a 3-d energy-conserving radiation MHD code to simulate the vertical structure and thermodynamics of a shearing box whose parameters were chosen so that the radiation and gas pressures would be comparable. The upper layers of this disk segment are magnetically-dominated, creating conditions appropriate for both photon bubble and Parker instabilities. We find little evidence for photon bubbles, even though the simulation has enough spatial resolution to see them and their predicted growth rates are high. On the other hand, there is strong evidence for Parker instabilities, and they appear to dominate the evolution of the magnetically supported surface layers. The disk photosphere is complex, with large density inhomogeneities at both the scattering and effective (thermalization) photospheres of the evolving horizontally-averaged structure. Both the dominant magnetic support and the inhomogeneities are likely to have strong effects on the spectrum and polarization of thermal photons emerging from the disk atmosphere. The inhomogeneities are also large enough to affect models of reflection spectra from the atmospheres of accretion disks.

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arXiv2007

Accretion Disks in AGNs

I briefly review the theoretical models of radiatively efficient, geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk spectra that currently exist for AGN. I then discuss three recent observational developments that have real potential to teach us about the physics of these flows. Finally, I present results on the most recent, thermodynamically consistent simulations of magnetorotational turbulence and discuss what these simulations are suggesting about the vertical structure of accretion disks.

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arXiv2006

The near-IR shape of the big blue bump emission from quasars: under the hot dust emission

One primary difficulty in understanding the nature of the putative accretion disk in the central engine of AGNs is that some of its key intrinsic spectral signatures are buried under the emissions from the surrounding regions, i.e. the broad line region (BLR) and the obscuring torus. We argue here that these signatures can be revealed by using optical and near-IR polarization. At least in some quasars, the polarization is seen only in the continuum and is not shared by emission lines. In this case, the polarized flux is considered to show the intrinsic spectrum interior to the BLR, removing off the emissions from the BLR and torus. We have used this polarization to reveal the Balmer-edge feature and near-IR spectral shape of the central engine, both of which are important for testing the fundamental aspects of the models.

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arXiv2006

Turbulent Comptonization in Relativistic Accretion Disks

Turbulent Comptonization, a potentially important damping and radiation mechanism in relativistic accretion flows, is discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the physical basis, relative importance, and thermodynamics of turbulent Comptonization. The effects of metal-absorption opacity on the spectral component resulting from turbulent Comptonization is considered as well.

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arXiv2006

Quasi-Periodic Oscillations from Magnetorotational Turbulence

Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the X-ray lightcurves of accreting neutron star and black hole binaries have been widely interpreted as being due to standing wave modes in accretion disks. These disks are thought to be highly turbulent due to the magnetorotational instability (MRI). We study wave excitation by MRI turbulence in the shearing box geometry. We demonstrate that axisymmetric sound waves and radial epicyclic motions driven by MRI turbulence give rise to narrow, distinct peaks in the temporal power spectrum. Inertial waves, on the other hand, do not give rise to distinct peaks which rise significantly above the continuum noise spectrum set by MRI turbulence, even when the fluid motions are projected onto the eigenfunctions of the modes. This is a serious problem for QPO models based on inertial waves.

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arXiv2005

The dust-eliminated shape of quasar spectra in the near-infrared: a hidden part of the big blue bump

The near-infrared shape of the big blue bump component in quasar spectra has been essentially unknown. It usually cannot be observed directly, due to the strong hot dust emission which dominates quasar spectra longward of ~1micron. However this is quite an important part of the spectrum theoretically. At least bare disk models provide quite a robust prediction for the overall continuum shape in the near-infrared. Self-gravity should become important in the outer, near-infrared emitting regions of the putative disk, possibly leaving a signature of disk truncation in the near-infrared. We propose here that this important part of the spectrum can be revealed for the first time by observing polarized flux from normal quasars. At least in some polarized quasars, the emission lines are all unpolarized and so the polarized flux should originate interior to the broad line region, and therefore also interior to the dust emitting region. This can then be used to eliminate the dust emission. We present the results of near-infrared polarimetry for such three quasars (Ton202, 4C37.43, B2 1208+32). The data for Ton202 have the highest S/N, and the near-infrared polarized flux in this case is measured to have quite a blue shape, nu^+0.42+-0.29 in F_nu, intriguingly consistent with the simple multi-temperature black body, bare disk prediction of nu^+1/3. All these data, although still with quite low S/N for the other two objects, demonstrate the unique potential of the technique with future better data. We also present similar data for other quasars and radio galaxies, and briefly discuss the nature of the polarization.

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arXiv2004

The Neutrino Bubble Instability: A Mechanism for Generating Pulsar Kicks

An explanation for the large random velocities of pulsars is presented. Like many other models, we propose that the momentum imparted to the star is given at birth. The ultimate source of energy is provided by the intense optically thick neutrino flux that is responsible for radiating the proto-neutron star's gravitational binding energy during the Kelvin-Helmholtz phase. The central feature of the kick mechanism is a radiative-driven magnetoacoustic instability, which we refer to as ``neutrino bubbles.'' Identical in nature to the photon bubble instability, the neutrino bubble instability requires the presence of an equilibrium radiative flux as well as a coherent steady background magnetic field. Over regions of large magnetic flux densities, the neutrino bubble instability is allowed to grow on dynamical timescales ~ 1ms, potentially leading to large luminosity enhancements and density fluctuations. Local luminosity enhancements, which preferentially occur over regions of strong magnetic field, lead to a net global asymmetry in the neutrino emission and the young neutron star is propelled in the direction opposite to these regions. For favorable values of magnetic field structure, size, and strength as well as neutrino bubble saturation amplitude, momentum kicks in excess of 1000 km/s can be achieved. Since the neutrino-powered kick is delivered over the duration of the Kelvin-Helmholtz time ~ a few seconds, one expects spin-kick alignment from this neutrino bubble powered model.

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arXiv2004

Quasars and the Big Blue Bump

We investigate the ultraviolet-to-optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 17 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using quasi-simultaneous spectrophotometry spanning 900-9000 Angstrom (rest frame). We employ data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the 2.1-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). Taking advantage of the short-wavelength coverage, we are able to study the so-called "big blue bump," the region where the energy output peaks, in detail. Most objects exhibit a spectral break around 1100 Angstrom. Although this result is formally associated with large uncertainty for some objects, there is strong evidence in the data that the far-ultraviolet spectral region is below the extrapolation of the near-ultraviolet-optical slope, indicating a spectral break around 1100 Angstrom. We compare the behavior of our sample to those of non-LTE thin-disk models covering a range in black-hole mass, Eddington ratio, disk inclination, and other parameters. The distribution of ultraviolet-optical spectral indices redward of the break, and far-ultraviolet indices shortward of the break, are in rough agreement with the models. However, we do not see a correlation between the far-ultraviolet spectral index and the black hole mass, as seen in some accretion disk models. We argue that the observed spectral break is intrinsic to AGNs, although intrinsic reddening as well as Comptonization can strongly affect the far-ultraviolet spectral index. We make our data available online in digital format.

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arXiv2004

Revealing AGN by Polarimetry

Polarimetric study in the UV and optical has been one of the keys to reveal the structure and nature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Combined with the HST's high spatial resolution, it has directly confirmed the predicted scattering geometry of ~100 pc scale and accurately located the hidden nuclear position in some nearby active galaxies. Recently, we are using optical spectropolarimetry to reveal the nature of the accretion flow in the central engine of quasars. This is to use polarized light to de-contaminate the spectrum and investigate the Balmer edge spectral feature, which is otherwise buried under the strong emission from the outer region surrounding the central engine.

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arXiv2004

The buried Balmer-edge signatures from quasars

In our previous paper, we have reported the detection of a Balmer edge absorption feature in the polarized flux of one quasar (Ton 202). We have now found similar Balmer edge features in the polarized flux of four more quasars (4C09.72, 3C95, B2 1208+32, 3C323.1), and possibly a few more, out of 14 newly observed with the VLT and Keck telescopes. In addition, we also re-observed Ton 202, but we did not detect such a dramatic feature, apparently due to polarization variability (the two observations are one-year apart). The polarization measurements of some quasars are affected by an interstellar polarization in our Galaxy, but the measurements have been corrected for this effect reasonably well. Since the broad emission lines are essentially unpolarized and the polarization is confined only to the continuum in the five quasars including Ton 202 in both epochs, the polarized flux is considered to originate interior to the broad emission line region. The Balmer edge feature seen in the polarized flux is most simply interpreted as an intrinsic spectral feature of the quasar UV/optical continuum, or the ``Big Blue Bump'' emission. In this case, the edge feature seen in absorption indeed indicates the thermal and optically-thick nature of the continuum emitted. However, we also discuss other possible interpretations.

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arXiv2004

Accretion around supermassive black holes: the detection of the Balmer edge signature from quasars

The ultraviolet/optical continuum of quasars is thought to be from an accretion flow around a supermassive black hole, and it dominates the radiative output of quasars. However, the nature of this emission, often called the Big Blue Bump, has not been well understood. Robust evidence for its thermal nature would be a continuum opacity edge feature intrinsic to this component, but this has not been clearly confirmed despite the predictions by many models. We are now developing and exploiting a new method to detect the Balmer edge of hydrogen opacity. The method overcomes for certain objects the major obstacle of the heavy contamination from emissions outside the nucleus by taking the polarized flux spectrum. If our interpretation of the polarized flux is correct, our data show that the Big Blue Bump emission has a Balmer edge in absorption, indicating that the emission is indeed thermal, and the emitter is optically thick.

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arXiv2003

Using Multiwavelength Observations to Estimate the Black Hole Masses and Accretion Rates in Seyfert Galaxies

We model the spectral energy distribution of the type 1 Seyfert galaxies, fitting data from simultaneous optical, UV, and X-ray monitoring observations. We assume a geometry consisting of a hot central Comptonizing region surrounded by a thin accretion disk. The properties of the disk and the hot central region are determined by the feedback occurring between the hot Comptonizing region and thermal reprocessing in the disk that, along with viscous dissipation, provides the seed photons for the Comptonization process. The constraints imposed upon this model by existing multiwavelength data allow us to derive limits on the central black hole mass, the accretion rate, and the radius of the transition region between the thin outer disk and the geometrically thick, hot inner region in these objects.

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arXiv2003

Turbulent Comptonization in Black Hole Accretion Disks

In the inner-most regions of radiation pressure supported accretion disks, the turbulent magnetic pressure may greatly exceed that of the gas. If this is the case, it is possible for bulk Alfvenic motions driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) to surpass the electron thermal velocity. Bulk rather than thermal Comptonization may then be the dominant radiative process which mediates gravitational energy release. For sufficiently large turbulent stresses, we show that turbulent Comptonization produces a significant contribution to the far-UV and X-ray emission of black hole accretion disks. The existence of this spectral component provides a means of obtaining direct observational constraints on the nature of the turbulence itself. We describe how this component may affect the spectral energy distributions and variability properties of X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei.

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arXiv2003

A First Close Look at the Balmer Edge Behavior of the Quasar Big Blue Bump

We have found for the first time a Balmer edge feature in the polarized flux spectrum of a quasar (Ton 202). The edge feature is seen as a discontinuity in the slope, rather than as a discontinuity in the absolute flux. Since the polarized flux contains essentially no broad emission lines, it is considered to arise interior to the broad emission line region, showing the spectrum with all the emissions outside the nucleus scraped off and removed. Therefore, the polarized flux spectrum is likely to reveal features intrinsic to the Big Blue Bump emission. In this case, the existence of the Balmer edge feature, seen in absorption in the shorter wavelength side, indicates that the Big Blue Bump is indeed thermal and optically thick.

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