In the framework of BLR in AGNs, i.e. large number of small, cold and dense emission-line clouds immerging in an intercloud hot medium, a delicate radiation model for a typical emission cloud is established, in which ...In the framework of BLR in AGNs, i.e. large number of small, cold and dense emission-line clouds immerging in an intercloud hot medium, a delicate radiation model for a typical emission cloud is established, in which the backside photoionization of the cloud against the central continuum source by the scattered diffuse continuum in the hot medium is considered. Under the assumption of the radial kinematics of the BLR clouds, the line profiles for the two important UV emission-lines, Lya and CIV/11549 are computed; and based on these calculations, various physical factors that affect the properties of the emission-line profiles are discussed. It is concluded that: (i) when the BLR clouds is inflow, there exists a confining hot medium with density around 2 x 105 cm-3. In this case, theoretical line profiles agree well with the observational; (ii) both symmetric Lya and nearly symmetric CIV line profiles show blue velocity shifts, the quantities of which are sensitive to the cutoff of the outer radius of the BLR. It is suggested that this cutoff effect is physical background to explain the observations that high ionization lines in the spectra of AGNs have some systematic blue shifts relative to those low ionization lines which usually characterize their source system velocities.展开更多
In this paper we give a brief review of the astrophysics of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). After a general introduction motivating the study of AGNs, we discuss our present understanding of the inner workings of the...In this paper we give a brief review of the astrophysics of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). After a general introduction motivating the study of AGNs, we discuss our present understanding of the inner workings of the central engines, most likely accreting black holes with masses between 106 and 10^10M. We highlight recent results concerning the jets (collimated outflows) of AGNs derived from X-ray observations (Chandra) of kpc-scale jets and ~/-ray observations of AGNs (Fermi, Cherenkov telescopes) with jets closely aligned with the lines of sight (blazars), and discuss tile interpretation of these observations. Subsequently, we summarize our knowledge about the cosmic history of AGN formation and evolution. We conclude with a description of upcoming observational opportunities.展开更多
We present a sample of 4388 AGNs with available radio core-dominance parameters—defined as the ratio of the core flux densities to the extended ones, R = S_(core)/S_(ext).—which includes 630 Fermi-detected AGNs from...We present a sample of 4388 AGNs with available radio core-dominance parameters—defined as the ratio of the core flux densities to the extended ones, R = S_(core)/S_(ext).—which includes 630 Fermi-detected AGNs from the fourth source catalog(4FGL) of the Fermi Large Area Telescope(Fermi/LAT);the rest are non-Fermi-detected AGNs. In our sample, 584 blazars are Fermi-detected and 1310 are not. The sample also contains other subclasses, such as Seyferts, Fanaroff-Riley I/II galaxies, and normal galaxies.We investigate various properties of the Fermi-detected and non-Fermi-detected AGNs by using core-dominance parameters,capitalizing on a previous study which showed that R is a good indicator of beaming. We then calculate radio spectral indices for the whole sample, and adopt γ-ray-photon indices for the Fermi AGNs from the 4FGL catalog to discuss the properties of different subclasses. We obtain a relation between the core-dominance parameters and the radio spectral indices for both Fermi and non-Fermi sources, assuming a two-component model in the radio band. Our previous study ruled out the assumption that the core-dominance parameters and radio spectral indices are quite different for different AGN subclasses. This holds not only for Fermi sources but also for non-Fermi sources. In particular, R is, on average, greater for the former AGNs than for the latter.In this study, we enlarge our sample with available values of R to 4388 AGNs, and the obtained conclusions are consistent with our previous study. We assume that the same two-component model holds for the γ-ray band as for the radio band, and therefore,adopt the same relation between the core-dominance parameters and the γ-ray-photon indices for Fermi AGNs. Our fitting results indicate that the γ-ray emissions of Fermi blazars originate mainly from the jet, and therefore, we conclude that the Fermi blazars are beamed.展开更多
基金Project supported by Pangden Project FoundationNational Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘In the framework of BLR in AGNs, i.e. large number of small, cold and dense emission-line clouds immerging in an intercloud hot medium, a delicate radiation model for a typical emission cloud is established, in which the backside photoionization of the cloud against the central continuum source by the scattered diffuse continuum in the hot medium is considered. Under the assumption of the radial kinematics of the BLR clouds, the line profiles for the two important UV emission-lines, Lya and CIV/11549 are computed; and based on these calculations, various physical factors that affect the properties of the emission-line profiles are discussed. It is concluded that: (i) when the BLR clouds is inflow, there exists a confining hot medium with density around 2 x 105 cm-3. In this case, theoretical line profiles agree well with the observational; (ii) both symmetric Lya and nearly symmetric CIV line profiles show blue velocity shifts, the quantities of which are sensitive to the cutoff of the outer radius of the BLR. It is suggested that this cutoff effect is physical background to explain the observations that high ionization lines in the spectra of AGNs have some systematic blue shifts relative to those low ionization lines which usually characterize their source system velocities.
文摘In this paper we give a brief review of the astrophysics of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). After a general introduction motivating the study of AGNs, we discuss our present understanding of the inner workings of the central engines, most likely accreting black holes with masses between 106 and 10^10M. We highlight recent results concerning the jets (collimated outflows) of AGNs derived from X-ray observations (Chandra) of kpc-scale jets and ~/-ray observations of AGNs (Fermi, Cherenkov telescopes) with jets closely aligned with the lines of sight (blazars), and discuss tile interpretation of these observations. Subsequently, we summarize our knowledge about the cosmic history of AGN formation and evolution. We conclude with a description of upcoming observational opportunities.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11733001,and U1531245)the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province(Grant No.2017A030313011)。
文摘We present a sample of 4388 AGNs with available radio core-dominance parameters—defined as the ratio of the core flux densities to the extended ones, R = S_(core)/S_(ext).—which includes 630 Fermi-detected AGNs from the fourth source catalog(4FGL) of the Fermi Large Area Telescope(Fermi/LAT);the rest are non-Fermi-detected AGNs. In our sample, 584 blazars are Fermi-detected and 1310 are not. The sample also contains other subclasses, such as Seyferts, Fanaroff-Riley I/II galaxies, and normal galaxies.We investigate various properties of the Fermi-detected and non-Fermi-detected AGNs by using core-dominance parameters,capitalizing on a previous study which showed that R is a good indicator of beaming. We then calculate radio spectral indices for the whole sample, and adopt γ-ray-photon indices for the Fermi AGNs from the 4FGL catalog to discuss the properties of different subclasses. We obtain a relation between the core-dominance parameters and the radio spectral indices for both Fermi and non-Fermi sources, assuming a two-component model in the radio band. Our previous study ruled out the assumption that the core-dominance parameters and radio spectral indices are quite different for different AGN subclasses. This holds not only for Fermi sources but also for non-Fermi sources. In particular, R is, on average, greater for the former AGNs than for the latter.In this study, we enlarge our sample with available values of R to 4388 AGNs, and the obtained conclusions are consistent with our previous study. We assume that the same two-component model holds for the γ-ray band as for the radio band, and therefore,adopt the same relation between the core-dominance parameters and the γ-ray-photon indices for Fermi AGNs. Our fitting results indicate that the γ-ray emissions of Fermi blazars originate mainly from the jet, and therefore, we conclude that the Fermi blazars are beamed.