A high-energy astrophysicist’s view of…
Black hole astrophysics in
the new century
Chris Reynolds
Department of Astronomy
University of Maryland
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Outline
Will discuss an issues that will drive future (high-energy)
studies of black holes…
Black holes as strong-gravity laboratories
– Broad iron lines: recent progress and future prospects
Jets, outflows and feedback
– Physics of outflows/jets from black hole disks
– Comments on the cooling core clusters
Black hole demographics and evolution
– ULXs as Pop III remnants?
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I : Black Holes as strong-
gravity laboratories
Open to study through various techniques…
– Gravitational radiation from merging black holes
(Bender, Berti, Fortini, Holz, Koushiappas, Stebbins)
– “Broad iron line” spectroscopy of disk
– Thermal continuum spectroscopy of disk
– Temporal variability of emissions from accretion flow
– Direct imaging of accretion flow (Bardeen talk)
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I : Black Holes as strong-
gravity laboratories
Open to study through various techniques…
– Gravitational radiation from merging black holes
(Bender, Berti, Fortini, Holz, Koushiappas, Stebbins)
– “Broad iron line” spectroscopy of disk
– Thermal continuum spectroscopy of disk
– Temporal variability of emissions from accretion flow
– Direct imaging of accretion flow (Bardeen talk)
4
Iron line from X-ray reflection
Backscattered spectrum from X-
ray irradiation of the “cold”
optically-thick disk…
• Fluorescence/radiative recomb.lines
• Radiative recombination continuum
• Compton backscattered continuum
Self-consistent model of X-ray
reflection from ionized disk
(Ross & Fabian 2005)
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Brenneman & Reynolds (2006)
Nandra et al. (1998)
MCG-6-30-15 w/ASCA 6
Tanaka et al. (1995)
Recent results support importance of broad iron
lines for studying strong gravity
High-resolution/broad band spectra allow
effects of absorption to be removed
– K-lines of intermediate-ionization states of iron are
major diagnostic of “broad line mimicking
absorbers”… rarely seen!
Broad iron lines have been found in many AGN
and GBHCs by XMM-Newton and Chandra
– Archival studies finding lines in 30-70% of type-1
AGN (archival samples are not complete!)
Broad lines have been used to constrain BH spin
– Effect of region in radius of marginal stability is limited
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MCG-6-30-15;
522ks Chandra-
HETG observation
(Young et al. 2005)
Young et al. (2005)
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Hard X-ray constraints
=2.2
further rule out steep-
+absorption models
MCG-6 Suzaku team (Courtesy A.Fabian & G.Minuitti)
Ratio against =2 power-law 9
Recent results support importance of broad iron
lines for studying strong gravity
High-resolution/broad band spectra allow effects
of absorption to be removed
– K-lines of intermediate-ionization states of iron are
major diagnostic of “broad line mimicking
absorbers”… rarely seen!
Broad iron lines have been found in many AGN
and GBHCs by XMM-Newton and Chandra
– Archival studies finding lines in 30-70% of type-1
AGN (archival samples are not complete!)
Broad lines have been used to constrain BH spin
– Effect of region in radius of marginal stability is limited
10
Iron lines in AGN
MCG-5-23-16 (Dewangan 2003) Lockman hole (Streblyanskaya et al 2004)
PG 1211+143 (Pounds 2003) IRAS 18325 (Iwasawa 2004) 11
Iron lines in Galactic
Black Hole Binaries
GX 339-4 (XMM) GRS 1915+105 (CXO)
Rin=2.9+-0.1
GX 339-4 (CXO) XTE J1650-500 (XMM)
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JM Miller
Recent results support importance of broad iron
lines for studying strong gravity
High-resolution/broad band spectra allow effects
of absorption to be removed
– K-lines of intermediate-ionization states of iron are
major diagnostic of “broad line mimicking
absorbers”… rarely seen!
Broad iron lines have been found in many AGN
and GBHCs by XMM-Newton and Chandra
– Archival studies finding lines in 30-70% of type-1
AGN (archival samples are not complete!)
Broad lines have been used to constrain BH spin
– Effect of region in radius of marginal stability is limited
13
Iron line studies with Constellation-X
QuickTime™ and a
YUV420 codec decompressor
are neede d to see this picture.
Dynamical timescale
variability… probes
orbital motions in
accretion disk Armitage & Reynolds (2003)
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Powerful probe of
turbulent disk physics.
Also, arcs approximately
trace test-particle
Keplerian orbits in =
plane.
Iwasawa et al. (2004)
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Light crossing timescale
allows reverberation
effects to be studied.
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Detectability with Constellation-X
1,2,3 Detection time for redshifted
Fe line with EW=100eV,
E/E=0.05. F2-10keV =5x10-11, =1.8
Ellipses give an indication for ability of Constellation-X
to detect orbital variability (yellow region) and
reverberation effects (red region).
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Other probes of strong gravity…
Thermal disk emission
Modeling the thermal
emission from the
accretion disk
– T and L R a
– Potentially powerful probe
of spin in GBHBs
(McClintock et al.)
– Rests upon an
understanding radiative
transfer in disk
atmosphere… robust?
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Other probes of strong gravity…
Quasi-periodic oscillations
High-frequency QPOs
seen from GBHCs in very
high state
– Stable, ~Kep, ISCO
– ~1% of luminosity…
increasing at high-E
– Often seen in pairs with 3:2
frequency ratio
Potentially a powerful
probe of relativistic QPOs such as those seen are
potential… currently elusive in simulations;
Need a more compelling Armitage & Reynolds (2003); also
theoretical framework! see Schnittman et al. (2006)
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II : Physics of winds, jets and
feedback
AGN winds
– X-ray spectroscopy well suited to characterize
energetically dominant components of AGN winds
– Measure energy, momentum, metal input into IGM
– Determine physical mechanisms underlying AGN
winds
Radio galaxy heating of cluster cores
– Cluster cores : the most accessible place to study the
suppression of massive galaxy formation!
– X-ray imaging spectroscopy will provide only direct
probe of ICM dynamics
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QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompre ssor
are neede d to see this picture.
100ks simulated Con-X spectrum
of a redshift z=1.7 quasar with
powerful ionized outflow
Quasar winds at z~1-2 may be
particularly important for galaxy
formation
(e.g. Scannapieco & Oh 2004)
NGC3783; 900ks Chandra/HETGS
(Kaspi et al. 2002)
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There’s real physics in these spectra!
Example…
Chandra/HETGS
spectrum of GROJ1655
– Find ~90 absorption lines
– Plasma diagnostics allow
location of photoionized
wind to be determined
– Can rule out radiative or
thermal driving of wind
First compelling case
where a magnetically-
driven outflow from a
black hole disk is inferred
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Miller et al. (Nature 2006)
II : Physics of winds, jets and
feedback
AGN winds
– X-ray spectroscopy well suited to characterize
energetically dominant components of AGN winds
– Measure energy, momentum, metal input into IGM
– Determine physical mechanisms underlying AGN
winds
Radio galaxy heating of cluster cores
– Cluster cores : the most accessible place to study the
suppression of massive galaxy formation!
– X-ray imaging spectroscopy will provide only direct
probe of ICM dynamics
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Chandra observations of cooling-core
clusters
Cygnus-A
Smith et al. (2002)
Synopsis:
Jet-blown cavities common
“Ghost” cavities common
Shocks are elusive!
Hydra-A Abell 4059 / PKS2354-35 Virgo/M87
Nulsen et al. (2004) Heinz et al. (2002) Young et al. (2002)
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Abell 4059
Abell 4059
Suzaku XRS sim
Suzaku XRS sim :(:(
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Casper, CSR et al., in prep
Hydro simulation of radio galaxy interacting with ICM
Delayed fueling scenario with ICM rotation
Vernaleo & Reynolds (20060
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III : Black hole evolution and
demographics
Very many excellent talks at this
meeting on black hole growth,
evolution and demographics
But not much attention paid to low-
z ULXs
Stellar mass BH models
– Beaming QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
– Super-Eddington accretion are need ed to see this picture.
(RMHD effect; Begelman „01)
Intermediate mass BH models
– IMBH from core collapse of stellar
cluster?
– Primordial objects or Pop III
relics… if so, ULXs are
incredibly important!! IC342 w/XMM contours
(Lisa Winter, UMd/GSFC)
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XMM ULX survey
(Winter, Mushotzky & CSR 2006)
Surveyed 32 galaxies within
8Mpc… found 25 “high-state”
ULXs (also 16 low state
counterparts!)
Characterize disk temperatures
and luminosities for the ULXs
Expect TM-1/2L1/4
Find gap in the temperature
distribution… suggests gap in
mass function!
Miller et al. (2004)
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Heger & Woosley (2002)
Winter, Mushotzky
& CSR, submitted
Heger &
Woosley
(2002)
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New windows on ULXs…
Constellation-X spectroscopy
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Un compressed) decompressor
are neede d to se e this picture.
Liu, Bregman, Seitzer (2005)
Peculiar B0 Ib supergiant
“Classic” radial velocity
Extreme mass Qu ic kTime ™ and a
No ne d eco mpres so r
measurements with large
are n eed ed to se e thi s pi cture.
ratio inspiral of ground-based telescopes
IMBH into
SMBH with LISA
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Conclusions
Tremendously exciting set of future projects aimed at the
physics/astrophysics of black holes
– Con-X, EXIST, GLAST, LISA, MAXIM, NEXT, Spectrum X-,
mm-VLBI, XEUS + numerical relativity, GR-MHD disk sims
Era of quantitative strong-gravity studies is approaching…
– Even if gravity is as expected, we will learn enormous amounts
about interaction of matter/fields with strong gravity
New windows on the demographics/origin of black holes
– ULXs as a window to the early universe?
Next step in assessing role of black holes on
structure/galaxy formation
– Outflows from quasars
– Dynamics of ICM… detailed study of massive galaxy suppression
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