arXiv subjects

Qingjuan Yu

Publications and source records attributed to Qingjuan Yu.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

The Strömgren sphere, the environment and the reionization in the local universe of the highest redshift QSOs

In this paper we investigate the environment and reionization process around the highest redshift QSOs having Gunn-Peterson troughs (z>6.1). Starting with the cosmic density perturbation and structure formation theory and the fact that the highest redshift QSOs are located in rare overdense regions, we show that the halo formation, gas distribution, and star formation around QSOs are biased from those of the cosmic average. We argue that a significant fraction of hydrogen in the Strömgren sphere around QSOs is ionized by photons from stars and that only about several percent to at most 10%--20% of the total hydrogen is left (e.g., in minihalos, halos, or high-density subregions) to be ionized by QSO photons. The cosmic average neutral hydrogen fraction at z~6.2-6.4 should also be smaller than the upper limit of 10%--20% and may be only a few percent. We analyze the clumping property of the hydrogen ionized by QSOs and study the evolution of the Strömgren sphere. We find that the expected Strömgren radii from our models are consistent with observations if the lifetime of the highest redshift QSOs is about or longer than a few times 10^7 yr (as is the lifetime of the main population of QSOs; with comoving number density peaked at z~2-3). With such a QSO lifetime, the ages of most of the observed QSOs are long enough that the QSO photon emission is balanced by the recombination of the hydrogen ionized by QSO photons in their Strömgren spheres, and the expected Strömgren radii from the balance are independent of the detailed values of the QSO ages. (abridged)

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arXiv2005

The apparent shape of the "Strömgren sphere'' around the highest-redshift QSOs with Gunn-Peterson troughs

Although the highest redshift QSOs (z>6.1) are embedded in a significantly neutral background universe (mass-averaged neutral hydrogen fraction >1%) as suggested by the Gunn-Peterson absorption troughs in their spectra, the intergalactic medium in their vicinity is highly ionized. The highly ionized region is generally idealized as spherical and called the Strömgren sphere. In this paper, by combining the expected evolution of the Strömgren sphere with the rule that the speed of light is finite, we illustrate the apparent shape of the ionization fronts around the highest redshift QSOs and its evolution, which depends on the age, luminosity evolution, and environment of the QSO (e.g., the hydrogen reionization history). The apparent shape may systematically deviate from a spherical shape, unless the QSO age is significantly long compared to the hydrogen recombination process within the ionization front and the QSO luminosity evolution is significantly slow. Effects of anisotropy of QSO emission are also discussed. The apparent shape of the "Strömgren sphere'' may be directly mapped by transmitted spectra of background sources behind or inside the ionized regions or by surveys of the hyperfine transition (21cm) line emission of neutral hydrogen.

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arXiv2004

Constraints on QSO models from a relation between the QSO luminosity function and the local black hole mass function

QSOs are believed to be powered by accretion onto massive black holes (BHs). In this paper, assuming that each central BH in nearby galaxies has experienced the QSO phase and ignoring BH mergers, we establish a relation between the QSO luminosity function (LF) and the local BH mass function (MF). The QSOLF is jointly controlled by the luminosity evolution of individual QSOs and the triggering history of the accretion onto seed BHs. By comparing the time integral of the QSOLF with that inferred from local BHs, we separate the effect of the luminosity evolution of individual QSOs from the effect of the triggering history. Assuming that the nuclear luminosity evolution includes two phases (first increasing at the Eddington luminosity with growth of BHs and then declining), we find that observations are generally consistent with the expected relation between the QSOLF and the local BHMF and obtain the constraints on QSO models and BH growth. We point out that it is hard to accurately estimate the value of the QSO lifetime from the QSOLF and/or the local BHMF, if it is longer than a certain value (e.g., four times of the Salpeter timescale in this study). We discuss the importance of accurate measurements of the intrinsic scatter in the BH mass and velocity dispersion relation of local galaxies and the scatter in the bolometric correction of QSOs. We also discuss some possible applications of the work in this paper, such as to the study of the demography of QSOs and the demography of normal galaxies at intermediate redshift (abridged).

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arXiv2004

The black hole mass versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/Active Galactic Nuclei: observational appearance and black hole growth

Studies of massive black holes (BHs) in nearby galactic centers have revealed a tight correlation between BH mass and galactic velocity dispersion. In this paper we investigate how the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation and the nuclear luminosity versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are connected with the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation in local galaxies, through the nuclear luminosity evolution of individual QSOs/AGNs and the mass growth of individual BHs. In the study we ignore the effects of BH mergers and assume that the velocity dispersion does not change significantly during and after the nuclear activity phase. Using the observed correlation in local galaxies and an assumed form of the QSO/AGN luminosity evolution and BH growth, we obtain the simulated observational appearance of the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/AGNs. The simulation results illustrate how the BH accretion history (e.g., the lifetime of nuclear activity and the possibility that QSOs/AGNs accrete at a super-Eddington accretion rate at the early evolutionary stage) can be inferred from the difference between the relation in QSOs/AGNs and that in local galaxies. We also show how the difference may be weakened by the flux limit of telescopes. We expect that a large complete sample of QSOs/AGNs with accurate BH mass and velocity dispersion measurements will help to quantitatively constrain QSO/AGN luminosity evolution and BH growth models.

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arXiv2003

Ejection of hypervelocity stars by the (binary) black hole(s) in the Galactic center

We study three processes that eject hypervelocity (>10^3 km/s) stars from the Galactic center: (i) close encounters of two single stars; (ii) tidal breakup of binary stars by the central black hole, as originally proposed by Hills; and (iii) three-body interactions between a star and a binary black hole (BBH). Mechanism (i) expels hypervelocity stars to the solar radius at a negligible rate, ~10^{-11}/yr. Mechanism (ii) expels hypervelocity stars at a rate ~ 10^{-5}(η/0.1)/yr, where ηis the fraction of stars in binaries with semimajor axis a_b<~0.3 AU. For solar-mass stars, the corresponding number of hypervelocity stars within the solar radius R_0=8 kpc is ~60(η/0.1)(a_b/0.1 AU)^{1/2}. For mechanism (iii), Sgr A^* is assumed to be one component of a BBH. We constrain the allowed parameter space (semimajor axis, mass ratio) of the BBH. In the allowed region (for example, semimajor axis of 0.5x10^{-3} pc and mass ratio of 0.01), the rate of ejecting hypervelocity stars can be as large as ~10^{-4}/yr and the expected number of hypervelocity stars within the solar radius can be as large as ~10^3. Hypervelocity stars may be detectable by the next generation of large-scale optical surveys.

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arXiv2002

Stellar collisions in galactic centers: black hole growth and color gradients

We study the effects of stellar collisions, particularly on feeding massive black holes (BHs) and color gradients, in realistic galactic centers. We find that the mass released by stellar collisions is not sufficient to account for the present BH mass in galactic centers, especially in bright galaxies. This study, together with the study by Magorrian & Tremaine (1999) on tidal disruption of stars by massive BHs, implies that the material for BH growth (especially in galaxies brighter than ~10^9 Lsun) can only come from other sources, for example, the mass released by stellar evolution in the initial ~1 Gyr of the galaxy's lifetime, or the gas that sinks to the galactic center in a galaxy merger. We also analyze how the color of a stellar system is affected by collisions of stars. We find that collisions between main-sequence stars cannot cause observable color gradients in the visible bands at projected radius R>0.1" in M31, M32 and other nearby galactic centers. This result is consistent with the lack of an observable color gradient in M32 at R>0.1". At even smaller radii, the color differences caused by collisions between main-sequence stars are at most 0.08 mag at R=0.02". The averaged blueing due to stellar collisions in the region R<0.1" of M32 should not be larger than 0.06 mag in color index U-V and 0.02 mag in V-I. The observed blueing in the center of the galaxy M31 (in a 0.14"x0.14" box) must be caused by some mechanism other than collisions between main-sequence stars.

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arXiv2002

Observational constraints on growth of massive black holes

We study the observational constraints on the growth of massive black holes (BHs) in galactic nuclei. We use the velocity dispersions of early-type galaxies obtained by the SDSS and the relation between BH mass and velocity dispersion to estimate the local BH mass density to be 2.5x10^5 Msun/Mpc^3. We also use the QSO luminosity function from the 2dF Redshift Survey to estimate the BH mass density accreted during optically bright QSO phases. The local BH mass density is consistent with the density accreted during optically bright QSO phases if QSOs have an efficiency 0.1. By studying the continuity equation for the BH mass distribution, including the effect of BH mergers, we find relations between the local BH mass function and the QSO luminosity function. If the BH mass is assumed to be conserved during BH mergers, comparison of the predicted relations with the observations suggests that luminous QSOs (L_{bol}>10^{46} erg/s) have a high efficiency (e.g. 0.2), and the growth of high-mass BHs (>10^8 Msun) comes mainly from accretion during optically bright QSO phases, or that luminous QSOs have a super-Eddington luminosity. If luminous QSOs are not accreting with super-Eddington luminosities and the growth of low-mass BHs also occurs mainly during optically bright QSO phases, less luminous QSOs must accrete with a low efficiency <0.1; alternatively, they may accrete with high efficiency, but a significant fraction should be obscured. We estimate that the mean lifetime of luminous QSOs is (3-13)x10^7 yr, which is comparable to the Salpeter time. We also investigate the case in which total BH mass decreases during BH mergers due to gravitational radiation, and the observations again suggest that BHs in most luminous QSOs are Kerr BHs accreting with an efficiency >0.1.

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arXiv2001

Evolution of massive binary black holes

Since many or most galaxies have central massive black holes (BHs), mergers of galaxies can form massive binary black holes (BBHs). In this paper, we study the evolution of massive BBHs in realistic galaxy models, using a generalization of techniques used to study tidal disruption rates around massive BHs. The evolution of BBHs depends on BH mass ratio and host galaxy type. BBHs with very low mass ratios (say, $\la$ 0.001) are hardly ever formed by mergers of galaxies because the dynamical friction timescale is too long for the smaller BH to sink into the galactic center within a Hubble time. BBHs with moderate mass ratios are most likely to form and survive in spherical or nearly spherical galaxies and in high-luminosity or high-dispersion galaxies; they are most likely to have merged in low-dispersion galaxies (line-of-sight velocity dispersion $\la$ 90 km/s) or in highly flattened or triaxial galaxies. The semimajor axes and orbital periods of surviving BBHs are generally in the range 10^{-3}-10 pc and 10-10^5 yr; and they are larger in high-dispersion galaxies than in low-dispersion galaxies, larger in nearly spherical galaxies than in highly flattened or triaxial galaxies, and larger for BBHs with equal masses than for BBHs with unequal masses. The orbital velocities of surviving BBHs are generally in the range 10^2-10^4 km/s. The methods of detecting surviving BBHs are also discussed. If no evidence of BBHs is found in AGNs, this may be either because gas plays a major role in BBH orbital decay or because nuclear activity switches on soon after a galaxy merger, and ends before the smaller BH has had time to spiral to the center of the galaxy.

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arXiv2001

The effects of relativistic bulk motion of X-ray flares in the corona on the iron Kalpha line in Seyfert 1 galaxies

We study the effects of the bulk motion of X-ray flares on the shape and equivalent width of the iron Kalpha line from an untruncated cold disk around a Kerr black hole using fully relativistic calculations. The flares are located above a cold accretion disk -- either on or off the rotation axis. For on- or off-axis flares, the upward/outward bulk motion causes a reduction of the iron Kalpha line width. To a distant observer with a low inclination angle (θ_o \simlt 30deg.), larger upward/outward bulk velocities decrease the extension of the red wing, with little change in the location of the blue `edge'. In contrast, an observer at a large inclination angle (e.g. θ_o=60deg.) sees both the red wing and the blue `edge' change with the bulk velocity. The equivalent width of the iron Kalpha line decreases rapidly with increasing bulk velocity of flares. However, the `narrower' line profiles observed in some objects (e.g. IC4329A and NGC4593) are difficult to produce using the out-flowing magnetic flare model with an appropriate equivalent width unless the X-ray emission is concentrated in an outer region with a radius of several tens of r_g=GM/c^2 or more. An important result is that the iron Kalpha line intensity is found to be constant even though the continuum flux varies significantly, which is true for out-flowing magnetic flares with different bulk velocities but similar intrinsic luminosities when located close to the central black hole. We find that fluctuations in the bulk velocities of out-flowing low-height flares located at the inner region (r\simlt 15r_g) can account for a constant iron Kalpha line and significant continuum variation as observered in MCG-6-30-15 and NGC5548. (Abridged)

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arXiv2001

Rayleigh Scattering and Microwave Background Fluctuations

During the recombination epoch, cosmic background photons couple not only to free electrons through Thompson scattering, but also to the neutral hydrogen through Rayleigh scattering. This latter is ~2% effect for photons near the peak of the photon energy distribution at z=800 and a ~0.2% effect at z=1100. Including Rayleigh scattering in the calculation reduces Silk damping at fixed redshift, alters the position of the surface of last scattering and alters the propagation of acoustic waves. We estimate the amplitude of these effects. For the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), Rayleigh scattering increases the anisotropy spectrum by 0.1% at the most. For the highest frequencies of the Planck Surveyor, the effects of Rayleigh scattering are much more dramatic (decreasing the anisotropy spectrum by 3% at ν~550GHz and l~1000). The relative difference between the spectra of low and high frequencies is imposed by an oscillation with a function of multipole l and the oscillation amplitude is up to 0.5% between 100 and 550GHz. Rayleigh scattering also slows the decoupling between radiation and matter, but the effect is undetectably small.

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arXiv2001

The relationship between the X-ray variability and the central black hole mass

We assembled a sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies, QSOs and Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei (LLAGNs) observed by ASCA, whose central black hole masses have been measured. We found that the X-ray variability (which is quantified by the ``excess variance'' sigma^2_{rms}) is significantly anti-correlated with the central black hole mass, and there likely exists a linear relationship sigma^2_{rms}\propto M^{-1}_{bh}. This can be interpreted that the short time-scale X-ray variability is caused by some global coherent variations in the X-ray emission region which is scaled by the size of the central black hole. Hence, the central black hole mass is the driving parameter of the previously established relation between X-ray variability and luminosity. This findings favor the hypothesis that the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies and QSOs harbor smaller black holes than the broad line objects, and can also easily explain the observational fact that high redshift QSOs have greater variability than local AGNs at a given luminosity. Further investigations are needed to confirm our findings, and a large sample X-ray variability investigation can give constraints on the physical mechanism and evolution of AGNs.

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arXiv2001

Fe K_alpha line: A tool to probe massive binary black holes in Active Galactic Nuclei?

Hierarchical mergers of galaxies can form binary black holes (BBHs) since many or most galaxies have central massive black holes (BHs). It is possible that some BBHs exist in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We argue that each BH may be surrounded by an accretion disc with a different inclination angle to the line of sight (due to different BH spin directions and the Bardeen-Petterson effect). The observed Fe K_alpha line profile from a BBH system is a combination of the lines from the inner regions of the two discs, which is significantly affected by the inclination angles of the two discs. The Fe K_alpha line profile associated with BBHs may have an unusual shape with double or more peaks as well as short-term variability, which can be distinguished from the Fe K_alpha line properties of some other possible models. We suggest that with the improvement of resolution in X-ray astronomy, Fe K_alpha line profiles be a potential tool to probe the existence of massive BBHs in AGNs. The Fe K_alpha line profile associated with BBHs may also provide a tool to investigate the dynamics in strong gravitation field (e.g. providing evidence of the Bardeen-Petterson effect).

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arXiv2000

Resonant capture by inward migrating planets

We investigate resonant capture of small bodies by planets that migrate inwards, using analytic arguments and three-body integrations. If the orbits of the planet and the small body are initially circular and coplanar, the small body is captured when it crosses the 2:1 resonance with the planet. As the orbit shrinks it becomes more eccentric, until by the time its semimajor axis has shrunk by a factor of four, its eccentricity reaches nearly unity (1-e<<10^{-4}). In typical planetary systems, bodies in this high-eccentricity phase are likely to be consumed by the central star. If they can avoid this fate, as migration continues the inclination flips from 0 to i=180 degrees; thereafter the eccentricity declines until the semimajor axis is a factor of nine smaller than at capture, at which point the small body is released from the 2:1 resonance on a nearly circular retrograde orbit. Small bodies captured into resonance from initially inclined or eccentric orbits can also be ejected from the system, or released from the resonance on highly eccentric polar orbits (i\simeq 90 degrees) that are stabilized by a secular resonance. We conclude that migration can drive much of the inner planetesimal disk into the star, and that post-migration multi-planet systems may not be coplanar.

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arXiv2000

Resonant capture, counter-rotating disks, and polar rings

We suggest that polar rings and/or counter-rotating disks in flattened galaxies can be formed from stars captured at the Binney resonance, where the rate of precession of the angular momentum vector of a disk star equals the pattern speed of a triaxial halo. If the halo pattern speed is initially retrograde and slowly decays to zero, stars can be trapped as the Binney resonance sweeps past them, and levitated into polar orbits. If the halo pattern speed is initially retrograde and slowly changes to prograde, trapped stars can evolve from prograde to retrograde disk orbits. The stellar components of polar rings formed by this process should consist of two equal, counter-rotating star streams.

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arXiv1999

Two Different Accretion Classes in Seyfert 1 Galaxies and QSOs

The mass of the central black hole in Seyfert galaxies and QSOs can be determined from the broad emission lines and the reverberation method. Using the measured black hole mass and the bolometric or ionizing luminosity, the accretion rate can be estimated. Compiling a sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies and QSOs with reliable central masses, estimated ionizing luminosities and X-ray spectral slopes, we find that the X-ray spectral slope strongly correlates with the accretion rate. The objects in the sample are found to be distributed in two distinct classes in the spectral index versus Log(L_ion/L_Edd) plane. We argue that these two classes may correspond to ADAF and thin disk accretion. The observations of a ``two-state'' Seyfert 1 galaxy, 1H0419-577, confirm our results. Detailed fitting of the spectra of individual Seyfert 1 galaxies and QSOs using ADAF and/or thin disk models should further clarify the two-class classification.

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arXiv1999

Iron K-alpha line profiles driven by non-axisymmetric illumination

Previous calculations of Fe K-alpha line profiles are based on axisymmetric emissivity laws. In this paper, we show line profiles driven by non-axial symmetric illumination which results from an off-axis X-ray point source. We find that source location and motion have significant effects on the red wing and blue horn of the line profiles. The disk region under the source will receive more flux, which is the most important factor to affect the line profiles. We suggest that at least part of the variation in Fe K-alpha line profiles is caused by the motion of X-ray sources. Future observations of Fe K-alpha line profiles will provide more information about the distribution and motion of the X-ray sources around black holes, and hence the underlying physics.

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arXiv1999

The dynamics of Plutinos

Plutinos are Kuiper-belt objects that share the 3:2 Neptune resonance with Pluto. The long-term stability of Plutino orbits depends on their eccentricity. Plutinos with eccentricities close to Pluto (fractional eccentricity difference |e-e_p|/e_p<=0.1) can be stable because the longitude difference librates, in a manner similar to the tadpole and horseshoe libration in coorbital satellites. Plutinos with |e-e_p|/e_p>=0.3 can also be stable; the longitude difference circulates and close encounters are possible, but the effects of Pluto are weak because the encounter velocity is high. Orbits with intermediate eccentricity differences are likely to be unstable over the age of the solar system, in the sense that encounters with Pluto drive them out of the 3:2 Neptune resonance and thus into close encounters with Neptune. This mechanism may be a source of Jupiter-family comets.

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