arXiv subjects

S. Mineshige

Publications and source records attributed to S. Mineshige.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Coronal Neutrino Emission in Hypercritical Accretion Flows

Hypercritical accretion flows onto stellar mass black holes (BHs) are commonly considered as a promising model of central engines of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this model a certain fraction of gravitational binding energy of accreting matter is deposited to the energy of relativistic jets via neutrino annihilation and/or magnetic fields. However, some recent studies have indicated that the energy deposition rate by neutrino annihilation is somewhat smaller than that needed to power a GRB. To overcome this difficulty, Ramirez-Ruiz & Socrates (2005) proposed that high energy neutrinos from hot corona above the accretion disk might enhance the efficiency of energy deposition. We elucidate the disk corona model in the context of hypercritical accretion flows. From the energy balance in the disk and the corona, we can calculate the disk and coronal temperature, Td and Tc, and neutrino spectra, taking into account the neutrino cooling processes by neutrino-electron scatterings and neutrino pair productions. The calculated neutrino spectra consist of two peaks; one by the neutrino emission from the disk and the other by that from the corona. We find that the disk corona can enhance the efficiency of energy release but only by a factor of 1.5 or so, unless the height of the corona is very small, H<<r. This is because the neutrino emission is very sensitive to the temperature of emitting region, and then the ratio Tc/Td cannot be so large.

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arXiv2006

Black hole accretion: theoretical limits and observational implications

Recently, the issue of the role of the Eddington limit in accretion discs became a matter of debate. While the classical (spherical) Eddington limit is certainly an over-simplification, it is not really clear how to treat it in a flattened structure like an accretion disc. We calculate the critical accretion rates and resulting disc luminosities for various disc models corresponding to the classical Eddington limit by equating the attractive and repulsive forces locally. We also discuss the observational appearance of such highly accreting systems by analyzing their spectral energy distributions. Our calculations indicate that the allowed mass accretion rates differ considerably from what one expects by applying the Eddington limit in its classical form, while the luminosities only weakly exceed their classical equivalent. Depending on the orientation of the disc relative to the observer, mild relativistic beaming turns out to have an important influence on the disc spectra. Thus, possible super-Eddington accretion, combined with mild relativistic beaming, supports the idea that ultraluminous X-ray sources host stellar mass black holes and accounts partially for the observed high temperatures of these objects.

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arXiv2006

Star Clusters with Primordial Binaries: III. Dynamical Interaction between Binaries and an Intermediate Mass Black Hole

We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of an isolated star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use equal-mass direct N-body simulations, with N ranging from 4096 to 16384 and a primordial binary ratio of 0-10%; the black hole mass is about one percent of the total mass of the cluster. The evolution of the binary population is strongly influenced by the presence of the black hole, which gives the cluster a large core with a central density cusp. Starting from a variety of initial conditions (Plummer and King models), we first encounter a phase, that last approximately 10 half-mass relaxation times, in which binaries are disrupted faster compared to analogous simulations without a black hole. Subsequently, however, binary disruption slows down significantly, due to the large core size. The dynamical interplay between the primordial binaries and the black hole thus introduces new features with respect to the scenarios investigated so far, where the influence of the black hole and of the binaries have been considered separately. A large core to half mass radius ratio appears to be a promising indirect evidence for the presence of a intermediate-mass black hole in old globular clusters.

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arXiv2006

Spectral energy distribution of super-Eddington flows

Spectral properties of super-Eddington accretion flows are investigated by means of a parallel line-of-sight calculation. The subjacent model, taken from two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations by Ohsuga et al. (2005), consists of a disc accretion region and an extended atmosphere with high velocity outflows. The non-gray radiative transfer equation is solved, including relativistic effects, by applying the FLD approximation. The calculated spectrum is composed of a thermal, blackbody-like emission from the disc which depends sensitively on the inclination angle, and of high energy X-ray and gamma-ray emission from the atmosphere. We find mild beaming effects in the thermal radiation for small inclination angles. If we compare the face-on case with the edge-on case, the average photon energy is larger by a factor of ~1.7 due mainly to Doppler boosting, while the photon number density is larger by a factor of ~3.7 due mainly to anisotropic matter distribution around the central black hole. This gives an explanation for the observed X-ray temperatures of ULXs which are too high to be explained in the framework of intermediate-mass black holes. While the main features of the thermal spectral component are consistent with more detailed calculations of slim accretion discs, the atmosphere induces major changes in the high-energy part, which cannot be reproduced by existing models. In order to interpret observational data properly, simple approaches like the Eddington-Barbier approximation cannot be applied.

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arXiv2005

Primordial binaries and intermediate mass black holes in globular clusters

We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of a star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use direct N-body simulations, with a black hole mass of about one percent of the total mass of the cluster. The evolution of the binary population is strongly influenced by the presence of the black hole, which gives the cluster a large core with a central density cusp. Starting from a Plummer profile, we first encounter a phase, that last approximately 10 half-mass relaxation times, in which binaries are disrupted faster compared to analogous simulations without a black hole. Subsequently, however, binary disruption slows down significantly, due to the large core size. The dynamical interplay between the primordial binaries and the black hole thus introduces new features with respect to the scenarios investigated so far, where the influence of the black hole and of the binaries have been considered separately. Specifically, the pattern of binary destruction by an intermediate-mass black hole may leave a fingerprint that could be detected observationally.

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arXiv2005

Iron Fluorescent Line Emission from Black Hole Accretion Disks with Magnetic Reconnection-Heated Corona

We investigate the iron K$α$ fluorescent line produced by hard X-ray photons from magnetic reconnection-heated corona. The hot corona with temperature being about $10^9$K can irradiate the underlying disk with a continuum X-ray spectrum produced via thermal Comptonization. Then the iron atoms in the disk photoelectrically absorb X-ray photons and radiate K$α$ line photons. Therefore, the activity of corona is responsible to the iron line emission from the underlying disk. In previous studies, oversimplified X-ray photon sources are often assumed above the disk in order to compute the iron line profile or power-law line emissivity profiles are assumed with an index being a free parameter. We adopt the more realistic corona model constructed by Liu et al. in which the corona is heated by magnetic energy released through the reconnection of magnetic flux loops and which has no free parameter. Then the accretion energy is dominantly dissipated in the corona, in which X-ray photons are efficiently produced and irradiate the underlying disk. We find the local emmisivity of iron line on the disk is approximated as $F_{{\rm K}α}(r)\propto r^{-5}$. The iron line profiles derived from this model give excellent fits to the observational data of MCG-6-30-15 with the profiles derived theoretically for $i\sim 30^{\circ}$ for energy band 4-7keV. Possible origins of line variability are briefly discussed.

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arXiv2005

Super-critical Accretion Flows around Black Holes: Two-dimensional, Radiation-pressure-dominated Disks with Photon-trapping

The quasi-steady structure of super-critical accretion flows around a black hole is studied based on the two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamical (2D-RHD) simulations. The super-critical flow is composed of two parts: the disk region and the outflow regions above and below the disk. Within the disk region the circular motion as well as the patchy density structure are observed, which is caused by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and probably by convection. The mass-accretion rate decreases inward, roughly in proportion to the radius, and the remaining part of the disk material leaves the disk to form outflow because of strong radiation pressure force. We confirm that photon trapping plays an important role within the disk. Thus, matter can fall onto the black hole at a rate exceeding the Eddington rate. The emission is highly anisotropic and moderately collimated so that the apparent luminosity can exceed the Eddington luminosity by a factor of a few in the face-on view. The mass-accretion rate onto the black hole increases with increase of the absorption opacity (metalicity) of the accreting matter. This implies that the black hole tends to grow up faster in the metal rich regions as in starburst galaxies or star-forming regions.

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arXiv2005

Spectral properties of Three-dimensional Magneto-hydrodynamical Accretion Flows

In spite of a large number of global three-dimensional (3D) magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of accretion flows and jets being made recently, their astrophysical relevance for realistic situations is not well known. In order to examine to what extent the simulated MHD flows can account for the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), for the first time we calculate the emergent spectra from 3D MHD flows in a wide range of wavelengths (from radio to X-ray) by solving the 3D radiative transfer equations. We use the simulation data by Kato, Mineshige, and Shibata (2004) and perform Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations, in which synchrotron emission/absorption, free-free emission/absorption, and Compton/inverse Compton scattering are taken into account. We assume two temperature plasmas and calculate electron temperatures by solving the electron energy equation. Only thermal electrons are considered. It is found that the 3D MHD flow generally over-produces X-rays by means of bremsstrahlung radiation from the regions at large radii. A flatter density profile, r^{-a} with a<1, than that of the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF), r^{-3/2}, is the main reason for this. If we restrict the size of the emission region to be as small as 10r_s, where r_s is the Schwarzschild radius, the MHD model can reproduce the basic features of the observed SED of Sgr A* during its flaring state. Yet, the spectrum in the quiescent state remains to be understood. We also calculate the time-dependent spectral changes, finding that the fluxes fluctuate in a wide range of the frequency and the flux at each wavelength does not always vary coherently.

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arXiv2003

Spectral Energy Distribution in Supercritical Disk Accretion Flows through Photon-trapping Effects

We investigate the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the supercritical disk accretion flows around black holes by solving the multi-frequency zeroth moment equation of the radiation transfer equation under the flux-limited diffusion approximation as well as the energy equation of gas. Special attention is paid to the photon-trapping effects, the effects that photons are trapped within accretion flow and are swallowed by a black hole, with little being radiated away. It is found that when flow luminosity is below about twice the Eddington luminosity (L<2L_E) photon trapping is ineffective and the SED shifts to the higher-energy side as L increases. The peak frequency at which the SED reaches its peak becomes at maximum three times higher than that given by the standard-disk model, which might resolve the so-called 'too hot accretion disk problem.' When L>2L_E, in contrast the peak frequency of the SED tends to decrease with increase of mass-accretion rate. This is due to enhanced photon-trapping. Since high-energy photons are generated near the equatorial plane, they can be more effectively trapped in flow than low-energy ones and, hence, the high energy part of radiation is suppressed. Finally, the observed time variation of IC 342 S1, which is an ultraluminous X-ray source, in the X-ray HR diagram can be explained by the modulation of the mass accretion rate. In comparison with the observational data, we estimate the mass of black hole in IC 342 S1 is around 100 solar mass.

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arXiv2003

Spectra from a magnetic reconnection-heated corona in AGN

We investigate a corona coupled with underlying disk through magnetic field and radiation field, and present emergent spectra calculated from Monte Carlo simulations. The spectra are determined for given black-hole mass and accretion rate. We find two types of solutions corresponding for hard spectrum and soft spectrum. In the hard-spectrum solution, the accretion energy is dominantly dissipated in the corona, supporting a strong corona above a cool disk; The hard X-ray spectral indices are around 1.1, same for different accretion rates. In the soft-spectrum solution, the accretion energy is mainly dissipated in the disk. The coronal temperature and density are quite low. Consequently, the spectra are dominated by the disk radiation peaking at UV and soft X-rays. For low-luminosity systems, there exists only the solution of hard spectra; While for high-luminosity systems, there exist both solutions of hard and soft spectra. For middle-luminosity systems, besides the hard spectra, moderately soft spectra composed of an inner soft-spectrum solution and an outer hard-spectrum solution may occur, the softness of which increases with increasing luminosity. The hard spectra are close to the observed spectra in Seyfert galaxies and radio-quiet QSOs. The composite spectra may account for the diversity of broad band spectra observed in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies.

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arXiv2002

Gravitational-Wave Radiation from Magnetized Accretion Disks

The detectability of gravitational wave (GW) radiation from accretion disks is discussed based on various astrophysical contexts. In order to emit GW radiation, the disk shape should lose axial symmetry. We point out that a significant deformation is plausible in non-radiative hot accretion disks because of enhanced magnetic activity, whereas it is unlikely for standard-type cool disks. We have analyzed the 3D magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation data of magnetized accretion flow, finding non-axisymmetric density patterns. The corresponding ellipticity is $ε\sim 0.01$. The expected time variations of GW radiation are overall chaotic, but there is a hint of quasi-periodicity. GW radiation has no interesting consequence, however, in the case of close binaries, because of very tiny disk masses. GW radiation is not significant, either, for AGN because of very slow rotation velocities. The most promising case can be found in gamma-ray bursts or supernovae, in which a massive torus (or disk) with a solar mass or so may be formed around a stellar-mass compact object as the result of a merger of compact objects, or by the fallback of exploded material towards the center in a supernova. Although much more intense GW radiation is expected before the formation of the torus, the detection of GW radiation in the subsequent accretion phase is of great importance, since it will provide a good probe to investigating their central engines.

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arXiv2002

Log-Normal Distributions in Cygnus X-1: Possible Physical Link with Gamma-Ray Bursts and Blazars

Prompted by recent discoveries of log-normal distributions in gamma-ray/X-ray temporal variabilities of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and blazars, we re-examine the X-ray variability of Cygnus X-1 in the hard/low state using Ginga data in 1990. It was previously reported that the distributions of the time intervals between X-ray shots (flares) deviated from the Poisson distributions at short time intervals: the occurrence of shots tended to be suppressed for several seconds before and/or after a shot event. Detailed analyses show that this deviation is larger for shots with larger peaks, and that the time-interval distributions for large shots approach log-normal distributions with a peak at the interval of 7--8 s. Furthermore, we also show that the peak-intensity distribution for the shots is consistent with the log-normal distribution, though no typical peak intensity can be seen. This might indicate the presence of a physical link connecting the physics of black hole accretion flow and that of jet/GRB formation.

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arXiv2002

A simple model for magnetic reconnection heated corona

We construct a simple model for a magnetic reconnection heated corona above a thin accretion disk in AGNs and Galactic black hole candidates(GBHCs). The basic assumptions are that (1) the magnetic reconnection heat is cooled down overwhelmingly by Compton scattering in the corona and that (2) thermal conduction is dominantly cooled by evaporation of the chromospheric plasma in the disk-corona interface before Compton cooling sets in. With these two basic equations as well as equi-partition of magnetic energy with gas energy in the disk, we can consistently determine the fraction of accretion energy dissipated in the corona without free parameters, and thus determine the temperature and all other quantities in both the corona and disk for given black hole mass and accretion rate. Then, we calculate the luminosity contributed from the disk and corona and the coronal flux weighted Compton $y$ parameter. It is found that, at a low luminosity (less than 0.1 Eddington luminosity) the spectrum is hard with energy spectral index of around 1, while at a high luminosity (larger than 0.1 Eddington luminosity) the spectrum can be either soft or hard. We also find that the situation is almost same for supermassive and stellar-mass black holes. These features are consistent with observations of AGNs and GBHCs.

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arXiv2002

Two-temperature coronal flow above a thin disk

We extended the disk corona model (Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister 1994; Meyer, Liu, & Meyer-Hofmeister 2000a) to the inner region of galactic nuclei by including different temperatures in ions and electrons as well as Compton cooling. We found that the mass evaporation rate and hence the fraction of accretion energy released in the corona depend strongly on the rate of incoming mass flow from outer edge of the disk, a larger rate leading to more Compton cooling, less efficient evaporation and a weaker corona. We also found a strong dependence on the viscosity, higher viscosity leading to an enhanced mass flow in the corona and therefore more evaporation of gas from the disk below. If we take accretion rates in units of the Eddington rate our results become independent on the mass of the central black hole. The model predicts weaker contributions to the hard X-rays for objects with higher accretion rate like narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s), in agreement with observations. For luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) strong Compton cooling in the innermost corona is so efficient that a large amount of additional heating is required to maintain the corona above the thin disk.

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arXiv2001

Theoretical Models of Multi-waveband QSO Luminosity Functions

Cosmological evolution of the QSO luminosity functions (LFs) at NIR/optical/X-ray bands for 1.3 < z < 3.5 is investigated based on the realistic QSO spectra. The accretion-disk theory predicts that although QSO luminosities only depend on mass-accretion rate, \Mdot, QSO spectra have a dependence on black-hole mass, M_{BH}, as well. The smaller M_{BH} is and/or the larger \Mdot is, the harder becomes the QSO NIR/optical/UV spectrum. We model disk spectra which can reproduce these features and calculated LFs for redshift z ~ 3 with the assumption of new-born QSOs being shining at the Eddington luminosity. The main results are: (i) the observed LFs at optical and X-rays can be simultaneously reproduced. (ii) LFs at optical and X-ray bands are not sensitive to M_{BH}, while LFs at NIR bands are; about one order of magnitude difference is expected in volume number densities at L_{I, J} ~ 10^{46} erg s^{-1} between the case that all QSOs would have the same spectral shape as that of M_{BH} = 10^{9} M_sun and the case with M_{BH} = 10^{11} M_sun. (iii) The resultant LFs at NIR are dominated by 10^{7} M_sun black-holes at L_{I, J} ~ 10^{44} erg s^{-1}, and by 10^{11} M_sun black-holes at L_{I, J} \~ 10^{46} erg s^{-1}. Future infrared observations from space(e.g.NGST) will probe cosmological evolution of black hole masses. For redshift z < 3, on the other hand, the observed optical/X-ray LFs can be fitted, if the initial QSO luminosity L_0 is below the Eddington luminosity. Interestingly, the best fitting values of l = L_0/L_{Edd} are different in B- and X-ray bands; l_B ~ 2.5 l_X. The reason for this discrepancy is briefly discussed.

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arXiv2000

Spectral Energy Distributions of Active Galactic Nuclei from an Accretion Disk with Advective Coronal Flow

To explain the broad-band spectral energy distributions (SED) of Seyfert nuclei and QSOs, we study the emission spectrum emerging from a vertical disk-corona structure composed of a two-temperature plasma by solving hydrostatic equilibrium and radiative transfer self-consistently. Our model can nicely reproduce the soft X-ray excess with alpha (L_frequency proportional to the frequency to the power of -alpha) of about 1.5 and the hard tail extending to about 50 keV with alpha about 0.5. The different spectral slopes (alpha about 1.5 below 2 keV and about 0.5 above) are the results of different emission mechanisms: unsaturated Comptonization in the former and a combination of Comptonization, bremsstrahlung, and reflection of the coronal radiation at the disk-corona boundary in the latter.

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arXiv2000

Impacts of the Detection of Cassiopeia A Point Source

Very recently the Chandra First Light Observation discovered a point-like source in Cassiopeia A (Cas A) supernova remnant. This detection was subsequently confirmed by the analyses of the archival data from both ROSAT and Einstein observations. Here we compare the results from these observations with the scenarios involving both black holes (BH) and neutron stars (NS). If this point source is a BH we offer as a promising model a disk-corona type model with low accretion rate where a soft photon source at ~ 0.1 keV is Comptonized by higher energy electrons in the corona. If it is a NS the dominant radiation observed by Chandra most likely originates from smaller, hotter regions of the stellar surface, but we argue that it is still worthwhile to compare the cooler component from the rest of the surface with cooling theories. We emphasize that the detection of this point source itself should potentially provide enormous impacts on the theories of supernova explosion, progenitor scenario, compact remnant formation, accretion to compact objects, and neutron star thermal evolution.

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arXiv1999

Temporal 1/f^αFluctuations from Fractal Magnetic Fields in Black Hole Accretion Flow

Rapid fluctuation with a frequency dependence of $1/f^α$ (with $α\simeq 1 - 2$) is characteristic of radiation from black-hole objects. Its origin remains poorly understood. We examine the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation data, finding that a magnetized accretion disk exhibits both $1/f^α$ fluctuation (with $α\simeq 2$) and a fractal magnetic structure (with the fractal dimension of $D \sim 1.9$). The fractal field configuration leads reconnection events with a variety of released energy and of duration, thereby producing $1/f^α$ fluctuations.

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