Active Galactic Nuclei

Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Julian H. Krolik
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 632
Release: 2021-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691227470

This is the first comprehensive treatment of active galactic nuclei--the cosmic powerhouses at the core of many distant galaxies. The term active galactic nuclei refers to quasars, radio galaxies, Seyfert galaxies, blazars, and related objects, all of which are believed to share a similar central engine--a supermassive black hole many times the mass of the Sun. Astrophysicists have studied these phenomena for the past several decades and have begun to develop a consensus about many of their properties and internal mechanisms. Julian Krolik, one of the world's leading authorities on the subject, sums up leading ideas from across the entire range of research, making this book an invaluable resource for astronomers, physicists interested in applications of the theory of gravitation, and graduate students. Krolik begins by addressing basic questions about active galactic nuclei: What are they? How can they be found? How do they evolve? He assesses the evidence for massive black holes and considers how they generate power by accretion. He discusses X-ray and g-ray emission, radio emission and jets, emission and absorption lines, anisotropic appearance, and the relationship between an active nucleus and its host galaxy. He explores the mysteries of what ignites, fuels, and extinguishes active galactic nuclei, and concludes with a general review of where the field now stands. The book is unique in paying careful attention to relevant physics as well as astronomy, reflecting in part the importance of general relativity to understanding active galactic nuclei. Clear, authoritative, and detailed, this is crucial reading for anyone interested in one of the most dynamic areas of astrophysics today.

X-ray Studies of the Central Engine in Active Galactic Nuclei with Suzaku

X-ray Studies of the Central Engine in Active Galactic Nuclei with Suzaku
Author: Hirofumi Noda
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2015-12-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9812877215

The aim of this research was to use the X-ray satellite Suzaku to establish a picture of a central engine that effectively converts the gravitational energy of accreting matter onto the supermassive black hole to a huge amount of radiation in an active galactic nucleus. Although the engine is known to consist of a Comptonizing corona and an accretion disk, its image has remained unclear because primary emissions, coming directly from the engine, cannot be identified in X-ray spectra without models. The book describes a technique of time variability assisted spectral decomposition to model-independently examine X-ray signals, and how this was applied to the Suzaku archive data of active galactic nuclei. As a result, at least three distinct primary X-ray components have been discovered in an X-ray from an active galactic nucleus, presumably indicating a novel picture that the engine is composed of multiple coronae with different physical properties in an accretion flow. Furthermore, the determination of the spectral shapes of the primary X-rays has a significant impact on estimations of black hole spins, because it is essential to quantify reprocessed X-ray spectra. The successful model-independent decomposition of X-ray spectral components with flux variations of active galactic nuclei is likely to be effective in future data analyses from the soon-to-be-launched Japanese X-ray satellite ASTRO-H, which is capable of achieving unprecedented fine spectros copy and broad energy band coverage.

An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei

An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Bradley M. Peterson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1997-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521479110

How can we test if a supermassive black hole lies at the heart of every active galactic nucleus? What are LINERS, BL Lacs, N galaxies, broad-line radio galaxies and radio-quiet quasars and how do they compare? This timely textbook answers these questions in a clear, comprehensive and self-contained introduction to active galactic nuclei - for graduate students in astronomy and physics. The study of AGN is one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary astronomy, involving one fifth of all research astronomers. This textbook provides a systematic review of the observed properties of AGN across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, examines the underlying physics, and shows how the brightest AGN, quasars, can be used to probe the farthest reaches of the Universe. This book serves as both an entry point to the research literature and as a valuable reference for researchers in the field.

Literature 1991, Part 2

Literature 1991, Part 2
Author: Astronomisches Rechen-Institut
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1592
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662123762

"Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts" appearing twice a year has become oneof the fundamental publications in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics andneighbouring sciences. It is the most important English-language abstracting journal in the mentioned branches. The abstrats are classified under more than a hundred subject categories, thus permitting a quick survey of the whole extended material. The AAA is a valuable and important publication for all students and scientists working in the fields of astronomy and related sciences. As such it represents a necessary ingredient of any astronomical library all over the world.

Active Galactic Nuclei

Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Volker Beckmann
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2012-09-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527410783

Active Galactic Nuclei This AGN textbook gives an overview on the current knowledge of the Active Galacitc Nuclei phenomenon. The spectral energy distribution will be discussed, pointing out what can be observed in different wavebands. The different physical models are presented together with formula important for the understanding of AGN physics. Furthermore, the authors discuss the AGN with respect to its environment, host galaxy, feedback in galaxies and in clusters of galaxies, variability, etc. and finally the cosmological evolution of the AGN phenomenon. This book includes phenomena based on new results in the X-Ray and gamma-ray domain from new telescopes such as Chandra, XMM-Newton, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, and the VHE regime not mentioned so far in AGN books. Those and other new developments as well as simulations of AGN merging events and formations, enabled through latest super-computing capabilities. From the contents: The observational picture of AGN Radiative processes The central engine AGN types and unification AGN through the electromagnetic spectrum AGN variability Environment Quasars and cosmology Formation, evolution and the ultimate fate of AGN What we do not know (yet)

Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei

Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Markus Boettcher
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2012-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527410376

Written by a carefully selected consortium of researchers working in the field, this book fills the gap for an up-to-date summary of the observational and theoretical status. As such, this monograph includes all used wavelengths, from radio to gamma, the FERMI telescope, a history and theory refresher, and jets from gamma ray bursts. For astronomers, nuclear physicists, and plasmaphysicists.

Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei

Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Markus Boettcher
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 425
Release: 2012-02-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527641750

Written by a carefully selected consortium of researchers working in the field, this book fills the gap for an up-to-date summary of the observational and theoretical status. As such, this monograph includes all used wavelengths, from radio to gamma, the FERMI telescope, a history and theory refresher, and jets from gamma ray bursts. For astronomers, nuclear physicists, and plasmaphysicists.

Quasars and Black Holes

Quasars and Black Holes
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2013
Genre: Black holes (Astronomy)
ISBN: 9780716695899

"An introduction to quasars and black holes with information about their formation and characteristics. Includes diagrams, fun facts, a glossary, a resource list, and an index"--Provided by publisher.

Cosmic Rays at Earth

Cosmic Rays at Earth
Author: P.K.F. Grieder
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1117
Release: 2001-07-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080530052

In 1912 Victor Franz Hess made the revolutionary discovery that ionizing radiation is incident upon the Earth from outer space. He showed with ground-based and balloon-borne detectors that the intensity of the radiation did not change significantly between day and night. Consequently, the sun could not be regarded as the sources of this radiation and the question of its origin remained unanswered. Today, almost one hundred years later the question of the origin of the cosmic radiation still remains a mystery.Hess' discovery has given an enormous impetus to large areas of science, in particular to physics, and has played a major role in the formation of our current understanding of universal evolution. For example, the development of new fields of research such as elementary particle physics, modern astrophysics and cosmology are direct consequences of this discovery. Over the years the field of cosmic ray research has evolved in various directions: Firstly, the field of particle physics that was initiated by the discovery of many so-called elementary particles in the cosmic radiation. There is a strong trend from the accelerator physics community to reenter the field of cosmic ray physics, now under the name of astroparticle physics. Secondly, an important branch of cosmic ray physics that has rapidly evolved in conjunction with space exploration concerns the low energy portion of the cosmic ray spectrum. Thirdly, the branch of research that is concerned with the origin, acceleration and propagation of the cosmic radiation represents a great challenge for astrophysics, astronomy and cosmology. Presently very popular fields of research have rapidly evolved, such as high-energy gamma ray and neutrino astronomy. In addition, high-energy neutrino astronomy may soon initiate as a likely spin-off neutrino tomography of the Earth and thus open a unique new branch of geophysical research of the interior of the Earth. Finally, of considerable interest are the biological and medical aspects of the cosmic radiation because of it ionizing character and the inevitable irradiation to which we are exposed. This book is a reference manual for researchers and students of cosmic ray physics and associated fields and phenomena. It is not intended to be a tutorial. However, the book contains an adequate amount of background materials that its content should be useful to a broad community of scientists and professionals. The present book contains chiefly a data collection in compact form that covers the cosmic radiation in the vicinity of the Earth, in the Earth's atmosphere, at sea level and underground. Included are predominantly experimental but also theoretical data. In addition the book contains related data, definitions and important relations. The aim of this book is to offer the reader in a single volume a readily available comprehensive set of data that will save him the need of frequent time consuming literature searches.