Accretion and jet power in active galactic nuclei

The classical diagrams of radio loudness and jet power as a function of mass and accretion rate of the central spacetime singularity in active galactic nuclei are reanalyzed by including the data of the recently discovered powerful relativistic jets in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies. The results are studied in the light of the known theories of relativistic jets, indicating that, although the Blandford-Znajek mechanism is sufficient to explain the power radiated by BL Lac Objects, it falls to completely account for the power from quasars and Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies. This favors the scenario outlined by Cavaliere ＆ D＇Elia of a composite jet, with a magnetospheric core plus a hydromagnetic component emerging when the accretion power increases and the disk becomes radiation-pressure dominated. A comparison with Galactic compact objects is also made, finding some striking similarities, indicating that since neutron stars are low-mass jet systems analogous to black holes, Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies are low-mass counterparts of blazars.

On the emission lines in active galactic nuclei with relativistic jets

The effect of the observed continuum emitted from a relativistic jet on the measurement of the full width at half maximum （FWHM） of an emission line is analyzed. If the jet contribution is not properly subtracted, the FWHM of the line could seem narrower than it should. The cases of an emission line detected in BL Lac objects and γ-ray Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies （γ-NLS1s） are addressed. It is shown that the smallness of the observed FWHM of the Lyα lines detected in three well-known BL Lacs is an effect due to the combined action of both the relativistic jet and a weak accretion disk. Once the Doppler boosting effect of the jet continuum is removed, the intrinsic FWHM values of the lines are found to be in the usual range. By contrast, the narrow permitted lines in γ-NLS1s are really narrow, since the disk and the lines are much more powerful. This also confirms that γ-NLS1 is really a new class of γ-ray emitting AGN, different from blazars and radio galaxies.

Scientific objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor(HUBS) mission

The Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor(HUBS) is a proposed space-based X-ray telescope for detecting X-ray emissions from the hot gas content in our universe. With its unprecedented spatially-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy and large field of view,the HUBS mission will be uniquely qualified to measure the physical and chemical properties of the hot gas in the interstellar medium, the circumgalactic medium, the intergalactic medium, and the intracluster medium. These measurements will be valuable for two key scientific goals of HUBS, namely to unravel the AGN and stellar feedback physics that governs the formation and evolution of galaxies, and to probe the baryon budget and multi-phase states from galactic to cosmological scales. In addition to these two goals, the HUBS mission will also help us solve some problems in the fields of galaxy clusters, AGNs, difuse X-ray backgrounds, supernova remnants, and compact objects. This paper discusses the perspective of advancing these fields using the HUBS telescope.

Physics and astrophysics of strong magnetic field systems with eXTP

In this paper we present the science potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry(eXTP) mission for studies of strongly magnetized objects. We will focus on the physics and astrophysics of strongly magnetized objects, namely magnetars, accreting X-ray pulsars, and rotation powered pulsars. We also discuss the science potential of eXTP for QED studies. Developed by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the eXTP mission is expected to be launched in the mid 2020s.

Accretion in strong field gravity with eXTP

In this paper we describe the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry(eXTP) mission for studies related to accretion flows in the strong field gravity regime around both stellar-mass and supermassive black-holes. eXTP has the unique capability of using advanced "spectral-timing-polarimetry" techniques to analyze the rapid variations with three orthogonal diagnostics of the flow and its geometry, yielding unprecedented insight into the inner accreting regions, the effects of strong field gravity on the material within them and the powerful outflows which are driven by the accretion process.