arXiv subjects

Peter L. Biermann

Publications and source records attributed to Peter L. Biermann.

126 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv1994

Unified schemes for active galaxies: a clue from the missing Fanaroff-Riley type I quasar population

We link the lack of FR I type structure among quasars to the void of radio loud quasars below a critical disk luminosity of ~10^46 erg/sec in the PG sample. We argue that the opening angle of the obscuring torus in radio loud quasars depends on the power of the central engine, approaching the jet's beaming angle near the FR I/FR II break. Consequently, low power radio quasars would either be classified as radio galaxies (FR I) or strongly core-boosted (BL Lac) object, depending on the aspect angle, and no conspicuous transitional population would be expected for FR I sources. A closing torus with decreasing power would not only obscure the optical nucleus for most aspect angles but would also enhance the entrainment of the cool torus material into the jet stream, causing obscuration along the jet's periphery, as well as the jet's deceleration to form a FR I source. Above a critical luminosity, the wider torus allows for FR II type jets and visibility of the nuclear optical emission, characteristic of radio loud quasars. Apparently, at the same engine power the torus opening in radio weak quasars and Seyferts is substantially wider than in radio loud quasars, probably because of different dynamics or feeding mechanisms in disk and elliptical galaxies. This provides a clue for the radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy of quasars if the the jet/torus interaction leads to injection of relativistic e^+/- pairs via p-p collisions. Strong jet/torus interaction may lead to a substantial injection of secondary pairs and collimation in radio loud quasars, while weak interaction in radio weak quasars leads neither to pair injection nor to good collimation.

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arXiv1994

The jet-disk symbiosis. II. Interpreting the Radio/UV correlations in quasars

We investigate the correlation between the accretion disk (UV) luminosity and the radio core emission of a quasar sample. In a radio/$L_{\rm disk}$ plot we find the quasars to be separated into four classes: core dominated quasars (CDQ), lobe dominated quasars (LDQ), radio-intermediate quasars (RIQ) and radio weak quasars. In general the radio core emission scales with the disk luminosity, especially in the radio weak quasars. This shows that radio and UV emission have a common energy source and that the difference between radio loud and radio weak is established already on the parsec scale. We investigate the possibility that radio jets are responsible for the radio core emission in radio loud and radio weak quasars. Comparing our data with a simple jet emission model that takes the limits imposed by energy and mass conservation in a coupled jet-disk system into account, we find that radio loud jets carry a total power $Q_{\rm jet}$ that is at least 1/3 of the observed disk luminosity $L_{\rm disk}$. For the electron population one is forced to postulate an efficient process producing a large number of pairs and/or injecting electrons with a distribution with low-energy cut-off around 50 MeV -- secondary pair production in hadronic cascades could be such a process. The bulk Lorentz factor of the jet is limited to a narrow region ($3\laγ_{\rm j}\la10$)). The radio emission of radio weak quasars can be explained with exactly the same parameters for a powerful relativistic jet if secondary pair production, as suggested for radio loud jets, is inhibited. There is evidence that RIQ are the relativistically boosted population of radio weak quasar jets. We can estimate the hidden disk luminosity of FR II galaxies and find that this is consistent with FRII being misdirected quasars.

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arXiv1994

The jet-disk symbiosis. I. Radio to X-ray emission models for quasars

Starting from the assumption that radio jets and accretion disks are symbiotic features present in radio loud and radio quiet quasars we scale the bulk power of radio jets with the accretion power by adding mass- and energy conservation of the whole jet-disk system to the standard Blandford \& Königl theory for compact radio cores. The model depends on only few parameters and can be constrained by observations. Thus we are able to show that radio and X-ray fluxes (SSC emission) of cores and lobes and typical dimensions of radio loud quasars are consistent with a jet being produced in the central engine. We present a synthetic broadband spectrum from radio to X-ray for a jet-disk system. The only way to explain the high efficiency of radio loud objects is to postulate that these objects consist of `maximal jets' with `total equipartition' where the magnetic energy flow of the jet is comparable to the kinetic jet power and the total jet power is a large fraction of the disk power. As the number of electrons is limited by the accretion flow, this is only possible when the minimum Lorentz factor of the electron distribution is $γ_{\rm e,min}\ga100$ ($E\ga 50 {\rm MeV}$) or/and a large number of pairs are present. Such an electron/positron population would be a necessary consequence of hadronic interactions and may lead to some interesting effects in the low frequency self-absorbed spectrum. Emission from radio weak quasars can be explained with an initially identical jet. The difference between radio loud and radio weak could be due to a different efficiency in accelerating relativistic electrons on the sub-parsec scale. Finally we demonstrate that in order to appease the ravenous hunger of radio loud jets its production must be somehow linked to the dissipation process in the inner part of the disk.

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arXiv1994

Gamma Line Radiation Emission from Stellar Winds in Orion Complex: A test for cosmic ray origin theory

We consider $γ$-ray emission from heavy nuclei that are accelerated in the shocks of stellar winds and are excited in interactions with the ambient matter in the Orion complex. We show that the recent detection of $γ$-ray lines in the Orion complex by COMPTEL telescope can be explained by such a scenario, assuming cosmic abundances. The scenario is consistent with recent models of cosmic ray acceleration in stellar winds of massive stars.

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arXiv1993

Cosmic ray ionization of the interstellar medium

We consider a cosmic ray spectrum that is a power law in momentum down to a cutoff and derive a lower cutoff corresponding to $E_{kin} \sim (30-60)$ MeV from the observed ionization rates in nearby diffuse clouds. While the real spectra of cosmic rays may not be so simple, we argue that one expects a substantial change in the spectra at such energies and that, at first approximation, a power law spectra with a lower cutoff is appropriate. Such a description of the cosmic rays in the interstellar medium is not only theoretically more attractive than the spectra used in the literature, but is also supported by recent observations.

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arXiv1993

The Galactic Center - an AGN on a starvation diet

The Galactic Center shows evidence for the presence of three important AGN ingredients: a Black Hole ($M_\bullet\sim10^6M_\odot$), an accretion disk ($10^{-8.5} - 10^{-7} M_\odot/{\rm yr}$) and a powerful jet (jet power $\ge$ 10\% disk luminosity). However, the degree of activity is very low and can barely account for the energetics of the whole central region. Neverthelss, in the very inner arsecond the central engine becomes dominant and provides an interesting laboratory for the physics of central engines (Black Holes) in galactic nuclei. We therefore give an overall picture of the central arcsecond where we link the radio emission and the heating of the ambient medium to a weakly accreting disk surrounding a massive Black Hole. << >>

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arXiv1993

The Galactic Center radio jet

Recent observations of the radio and NIR source Sgr A* reinforce the interpretation of the Galactic Center as a scaled down version of an AGN. The discovery of an elongated structure at 43 GHz and increasing evidence for the presence of an accretion disk surrounding a Black Hole lead us to assume that both, an accretion disk and a jet, are present in the Galactic Center and are physically linked. We model the radio emission of Sgr A* successfully with a Blandford & K"onigl type jet and analyze the energetics of the coupled jet-disk system in Sgr A* where jet and disk are parametrized in terms of the accretion power. With this method we are able to confirm independently the lower limit of the Sgr A* accretion rate \dot M >> 10^-8.5 M_sun found previously. Moreover, using the limits imposed by observational data, we show that within such a jet-disk model, the total jet power Q_jet is of comparable order as the radiated disk luminosity L_disk. A jet model together with the assumption of an 10^6 M_sun Black Hole also qualitatively explains the submm excess and the lack of non-thermal IR radiation. The small size of the visible part of the jet (< 1 mas) is due to the low accretion rate of Sgr A*. << >>

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arXiv1993

Our Galactic Center: A laboratory for the feeding of AGNs?

We demonstrate that our Galactic Center, despite little evidence for the presence of a currently active nucleus, provides insight into the feeding of AGN: The observed velocity field of molecular clouds can be interpreted as tracing out the spiralling inwards of gas in a large accretion flow towards the Galactic Center (Linden et al. 1993, Biermann et al. 1993) in the radial distance range from a few parsec to a few hundred pc. The required effective viscosity corresponds well to the observed turbulent velocities and characteristic length scales. The implied mass influx provides indeed all the material needed to maintain the presently observed star formation rate at distances closer than about $100$ pc. We argue that the energy input from supernova explosions due to the high rate of star formation can feed the turbulence of the interstellar medium. This then keeps the effective viscosity high as required to feed the star formation. We suggest that this process leads to limit cycles in star formation, and as a consequence also to limit cycles in the feeding of any activity at the very center.

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arXiv1993

The emission spectra of radioweak quasars. I. The farinfrared emission

We model farinfrared (FIR) spectra of radioweak quasars with the assumption that the emission is from heated dust, and that the heating is due to the central engine via energetic particles. These energetic particles are diffusing from a postulated source near the central engine through a tenuous galactic halo to arrive at the dust which is taken to be in molecular clouds in a disk configuration. This picture does not depend on a particular geometry of the disk such as warps. This concept can readily reproduce the range of observed mm/submm/FIR/IR spectra.

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arXiv1993

Did Cosmic Rays Reionize the Intergalactic Medium?

We investigate the role of cosmic rays from young galaxies in heating and ionizing the intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift. Using the IRAS observations at $60 μm$, we estimate the cosmic ray luminosity density at the present epoch. We consider various forms of luminosity evolution in redshift and calculate (a) the thresholds corresponding to the upper limits of Gunn-Peterson optical depth, (b) the Compton $y$ parameter for an IGM heated by cosmic rays and compare with the upper limits from COBE measurements and (c) an estimated limit from the integral of metal enrichment. We show that certain models, with rather strong evolution and early formation of galaxies, allow reionization of the IGM, consistent with all known constraints.

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arXiv1993

Molecular Clouds Close to the Galactic Center

We demonstrate that the accretion disk model for the Galactic Center region by Linden et al (1993a) is applicable for at least one order of magnitude in radius from the Galactic Center (10 ... 100 pc). The viscosity $ν$ is shown to be weakly dependent on the radius $s$: $ν\sim s^{0.4}$. Finally, we discuss the influence of the inner boundary on the structure of the inner disk regions.

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arXiv1993

Cosmic Rays, II. Evidence for a magnetic rotator Wolf Rayet star origin

Based on 1) a conjecture about the mean free path for particle scattering in perpendicular shock geometries, and 2) a model for Wolf Rayet star winds, we argue that explosions of Wolf Rayet stars can lead through diffusive particle acceleration to particle energies up to 3 10^9 GeV. As a test we first demonstrate that the magnetic fields implied by this argument are compatible with the dynamo limit applied to the convective interior of the main sequence stars which are predecessors of Wolf Rayet stars; second we show that this implies the same strength of the magnetic fields as is suggested by the magnetically driven wind theory. Third, we use data from radio supernovae to check the spectrum, luminosity and time dependence which suggest that the magnetic fields again have to be as high as suggested by the magnetically driven wind theory. This constitutes evidence for the magnetic field strengths required to accelerate particles to 3 10^9 GeV. Fourth, we demonstrate that within our picture the nonthermal radio emission from OB and Wolf Rayet stars can reproduce the proper radio spectra, time variability and radio luminosities. Fifth, the comparison of Wolf Rayet stars and radio supernovae suggests that electron injection into the acceleration process is a step function of efficiency with the shock speed as the independent parameter.

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arXiv1993

AGN and galactic sites of cosmic ray origin

We review recent progress in our understanding of the physics of energetic particles in our Galaxy, in active galaxies such as starburst galaxies, in active galactic nuclei and in the jets and radio hot spots of powerful radio galaxies and radioloud quasars. We propose that cosmic rays originate mainly in three sites, a) normal supernova explosions into the approximately homogeneous interstellar medium, b) supernova explosions into stellar winds, and c) hot spots of powerful radio galaxies. The predictions based on this proposition have been tested successfully against airshower data over the particle energy range from 10 TeV to 100 EeV. The low energy cosmic ray particles carried out by galactic winds to the intergalactic medium may ionize and heat this medium consistent with all known constraints. Furthermore we propose that radioloud quasars accelerate nuclei to high energies in shocks in the inner sections of their jets, and thus initiate hadronic cascades which produce the $γ$-ray emission observed with GRO. Radio observations of the Galactic center compact source suggest that there is a jet similar to that in quasars, but very much weaker in its emission; simple modelling suggests that the power carried by this jet is of order similar to the accretion disk luminosity. By analogy we speculate that also radioweak quasars have jets which carry a large proportion of the accretion power, and which accelerate particles to high energy.

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arXiv1993

Cosmic Rays, III. The CR spectrum between 1 GeV and 10^4 GeV and the radio emission from supernova remnants

We develop a theory to account for the cosmic ray spectrum between 1 GeV and 10^4 GeV following the earlier papers of this series. We use the basic concept that the cosmic ray particles are accelerated in a supernova shock that travels through the interstellar medium. Physically important ingredients besides the presence of a strong shock are diffusion, drifts, convection, adiabatic cooling, the injection history, and the topology of the magnetic field, here assumed for simplicity to be homogeneous in the interstellar medium. The result is a spectrum, which for strong shocks in a gas with adiabatic index 5/3 yields a spectrum of E^-2.42. Interstellar turbulence with a Kolmogorov spectrum then leads by leakage from the galactic disk to a spectrum which is E^-2.75, as observed. We argue that the ratio of cosmic ray electrons to protons is determined by the amount of expansion which takes place from the cessation of electron injection to the break-up of the shell by cooling instabilities. Since the highest particle energy reached derives from geometrical arguments, it depends on the charge of the nucleus and so higher Z elements are predicted to reach higher energies.

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arXiv1993

Extragalactic ultra high energy cosmic rays, II. Comparison with experimental data

We compare the expected contribution of FR-II hot spots to the ultra-high energy cosmic ray spectrum (Rachen & Biermann 1993, A&A in press, BB paper astro-ph/9301010) to improved experimental results. We introduce a "world data set" of UHE cosmic rays by comparing the data of various experiments, extracting relative systematic errors in the energy derivation and averaging over energy bins. Since the contribution of FR-II hot spots is expected to be dominated by protons, we can also compare it to the recent experimental results for the proton component of cosmic rays between 0.1 and 1 EeV from both the Fly's Eye and the Akeno airshower detector (Gaisser et al. 1993, Phys Rev D in press, and Stanev et al. 1992, A&A submitted). The result is striking: Our prediction for energies below 1 EeV fits very well to the data for the proton component, while explaining the total flux at highest energies as well. The result is consistent with the expectation of a galactic component, consisting of heavy nuclei only, that has a slope of about -3.1 and cuts off at 5 EeV, as predicted by Biermann 1993 (A&A in press, BB paper astro-ph/9301008)

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arXiv1993

Extragalactic ultra high energy cosmic rays, I. Contribution from hot spots in FR-II galaxies

We consider the hot spots in FR-II galaxies as sites of first order Fermi acceleration of protons to the highest energies observed in cosmic rays. We estimate the attainable maximum energy in the hot spot region allowed by the canonical physical conditions, which are found from radio-to-optical observations (Meisenheimer et al. 1989, A&A). We calculate observable the proton flux and spectrum from this sources, using all knowledge about source distibution (Peacock 1985, MNRAS) and particle transport in the microwave background (Berezinsky and Grigor'eva 1988, A&A). We get excellent agreement with the cosmic ray data points at ultra high energies. THIS PAPER GIVES THE FUNDAMENTAL MODEL FOR THE EXPLANATION OF THE NEW AIR SHOWER DATA OF THE PROTON COMPONENT OF THE COSMIC RAY SPECTRUM BETWEEN 0.1 AND 1 EeV (Gaisser et al. 1992, Phys. Rev. D in press, Stanev et al. 1992, A&A submitted), which is subject of a subsequent paper (part II, Rachen and Biermann 1992, A&A submitted).

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arXiv1993

Cosmic Rays I.: The cosmic ray spectrum between 10 TeV and 3 EeV

I develop a theory to account for the cosmic ray spectrum. The essential assumption is that, due to fast convective motions, the free mean path perpendicular to the magnetic field is independent of energy and has the scale of the thickness of the shocked layer. I use the basic concept, that the energetic Cosmic Ray particles are accelerated in a Supernova shock that travels down a stellar wind. Discussion gives a knee energy expression, which leads to a suggestion on the physical origin of the mechanical energy of Supernova explosions, the gravitational potential energy mediated by the angular momentum and the magnetic field. The spectrum below the knee is $E^{-8/3}$. At the knee the particles segregate with particle energy according to their charge. The spectrum beyond the knee is very close to $E^{-3}$. The theory has been checked successfully against air shower data in two subsequent papers (Stanev, Biermann, Gaisser, 1992 preprint; Rachen, Stanev, Biermann, 1992 preprint).

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arXiv1992

A rotating black hole in the Galactic Center

Recent observations of Sgr A* give strong constraints for possible models of the physical nature of Sgr A* and suggest the presence of a massive black~hole with M<2 10^6 M_sun surrounded by an accretion disk which we estimate to radiate at a luminosity of <7 10^5 L_sun. We therefore calculate the appearance of a standard accretion disk around a Kerr hole in Sgr A* following from general relativity and a few fundamental assumptions. Effective temperature and luminosity of the disk spectra do not depend on the unknown viscosity mechanism but instead are quite sensitive to variations of intrinsic parameters: the mass, the accretion rate, the angular momentum of the accreting hole and the inclination angle. A radiation field of L~7 10^4 - 7 10^5 L_sun and T_eff ~ 2-4 10^4 K can be ascribed to a rapidly rotating Kerr~hole (a>0.9) accreting 10^-8.5 - 10^-7 M_sun/yr at a black~hole mass of M=2 10^6 M_sunseen almost edge on. A low mass black hole of M<10^3 M_sun seems to be very unlikely. We provide a ``Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for black holes'' together with simple scaling laws to provide an easy-to-handle test for the black hole model.

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