Direct detection of a magnetic field in the innermost regions of an accretion disk

Models predict that magnetic fields play a crucial role in the physics of astrophysical accretion disks and their associated winds and jets. For example, the rotation of the disk twists around the rotation axis the initially vertical magnetic field, which responds by slowing down the plasma in the disk and by causing it to fall towards the central star. The magnetic energy flux produced in this process points away from the disk, pushing the surface plasma outwards, leading to a wind from the disk and sometimes a collimated jet. But these predictions have hitherto not been supported by observations. Here we report the direct detection of the magnetic field in the core of the protostellar accretion disk FU Orionis. The surface field reaches strengths of about 1 kG close to the centre of the disk, and it includes a significant azimuthal component, in good agreement with recent models. But we find that the field is very filamentary and slows down the disk plasma much more than models predict, which may explain why FU Ori fails to collimate its wind into a jet.     

Dynamos in asymptotic-giant-branch stars as the origin of magnetic fields shaping planetary nebulae

Planetary nebulae are thought to be formed when a slow wind from the progenitor giant star is overtaken by a subsequent fast wind generated as the star enters its white dwarf stage. A shock forms near the boundary between the winds, creating the relatively dense shell characteristic of a planetary nebula. A spherically symmetric wind will produce a spherically symmetric shell, yet over half of known planetary nebulae are not spherical; rather, they are elliptical or bipolar in shape. A magnetic field could launch and collimate a bipolar outflow, but the origin of such a field has hitherto been unclear, and some previous work has even suggested that a field could not be generated. Here we show that an asymptotic-giant-branch (AGB) star can indeed generate a strong magnetic field, having as its origin a dynamo at the interface between the rapidly rotating core and the more slowly rotating envelope of the star. The fields are strong enough to shape the bipolar outflows that produce the observed bipolar planetary nebulae. Magnetic braking of the stellar core during this process may also explain the puzzlingly slow rotation of most white dwarf stars.     

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

The processes leading to the birth of low-mass stars such as our Sun have been well studied, but the formation of high-mass (over eight times the Sun's mass, M(o)) stars remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that high-mass stars may form through accretion of material from a circumstellar disk, in essentially the same way as low-mass stars form, rather than through the merging of several low-mass stars. There is as yet, however, no conclusive evidence. Here we report the presence of a flattened disk-like structure around a massive 15M(o) protostar in the Cepheus A region, based on observations of continuum emission from the dust and line emission from the molecular gas. The disk has a radius of about 330 astronomical units (Au) and a mass of 1 to 8 M(o). It is oriented perpendicular to, and spatially coincident with, the central embedded powerful bipolar radio jet, just as is the case with low-mass stars, from which we conclude that high-mass stars can form through accretion.     

活动星系核吸积盘辐射的研究

在标准吸积盘辐射模型的基础上,考虑了不同的质量吸积率、不同的无量纲旋转参数a(中心黑洞为克尔黑洞)、最小稳定轨道半径处存在的约束(产生一个矩)和吸积盘表面磁场的存在(喷流辐射与吸积盘辐射之间存在一定的耦合)对吸积盘辐射的影响。结果表明,中心黑洞为正旋转的克尔黑洞比史瓦西黑洞辐射的峰值及峰值频率大,负旋转的克尔黑洞比史瓦西黑洞辐射的峰值及峰值频率小,质量吸积率越大峰值和峰值频率变大,无量纲黑洞旋转参数a越大峰值与峰值频率越大,喷流辐射能量和吸积盘辐射能量之比越大峰值和峰值频率越小,辐射效率越大峰值和峰值频率越大。     

反常粘滞吸积薄盘的稳定结构

根据描述吸积盘的流体动力学方程,给出无磁场情况下的质量、动量和能量守恒方程。在所给定方程的基础上,利用新的反常粘滞计算了黑洞周围吸积盘内区的结构。数值结果表明盘内区的气体不是做开普勒旋转,温度随吸积率变化比较明显,在M=10M_⊙,M ^.=100M ^._E的情况下,吸积盘的最大温度可达到3.35×10⁷K。 同时文中也给出了面密度和径向速度的分布规律。     

自引力均分吸积盘的不稳定性

采用微扰方法导了磁粘滞情况下自引力均分薄吸积盘的色散方程研究了吸积秀斩不稳定性，并分析了自引力，磁场，粘滞对吸积盘不稳定性的影响，数值计算表明，在同时考虑自引力和磁场时，吸积盘存在着３种振荡模式（总是稳定的粘滞横模式和通常不稳定的磁声模式及中性模式）这些结果为解释ＢＬ．Ｌａｃ天体，Ｓｅｙｆｅｒｔ星系，类星体等活动星系核的光变现象提供了理论依据。     

Spherical episodic ejection of material from a young star

The exact processes by which interstellar matter condenses to form young stars are of great interest, in part because they bear on the formation of planets like our own from the material that fails to become part of the star. Theoretical models suggest that ejection of gas during early phases of stellar evolution is a key mechanism for removing excess angular momentum, thereby allowing material to drift inwards towards the star through an accretion disk. Such ejections also limit the mass that can be accumulated by the stellar core. To date, these ejections have been observed to be bipolar and highly collimated, in agreement with theory. Here we report observations at very high angular resolution of the proper motions of an arc of water-vapour masers near a very young, massive star in Cepheus. We find that the arc of masers can be fitted to a circle with an accuracy of one part in a thousand, and that the structure is expanding. Only a sphere will always produce a circle in projection, so our observations strongly suggest that the perfectly spherical ejection of material from this star took place about 33 years earlier. The spherical symmetry of the ejecta and its episodic nature are very surprising in the light of present theories.     

MHD吸积盘上两种能量转移机制的比较

MHD张力在黑洞吸积盘模型的角动量转移上扮演重要的角色，大尺度上的MHD力矩促进吸积盘垂直向的角动量转移，并出现与吸积相关的各种流的普遍现象，而且能够影响吸积盘的辐射谱。在标准吸积盘辐射模型的基础上，考虑坡印廷流主导（Poynting-fluxdominated）和物质流主导（Mass—fluxdominated）（质量吸积率随吸积盘的半径而变化），对吸积盘辐射产生的变化。理论表明两种主导因素对标准吸积盘的辐射能够产生很好的修正。同时两种主导模型之间也存在着一定的差别。坡印廷流主导的盘产生的辐射峰值频率比物质流主导的要高。物质流主导的吸积盘产生的辐射谱型在低频部分要比坡印廷流主导的要平坦。     

磁场对中微子主导吸积盘粒子丰度的影响

中微子主导吸积盘被认为可能是伽玛射线暴中心能源机制的一种模型.为了详细地考虑微观粒子分布,计算了伪牛顿势框架下磁场对中微子主导吸积盘微观粒子丰度的影响.结果表明,在吸积盘的外区,磁场对粒子丰度和电子简并度几乎没有影响；而在吸积盘的内区,考虑和没考虑磁场时,电子简并度,电子、中子等粒子丰度具有比较大的差异.     

黑洞磁化薄吸积盘的热稳定性

首先回顾了吸积盘理论产生的背景和研究概况.自从1991年Balbus和Hawley揭示了磁转动不稳定性(MRI)在较差转动流体系统中的重要性之后,磁场逐渐成为吸积盘理论研究所不可回避的成分.因此在标准薄盘模型的框架下,引入了环向磁场.假设在热扰动发生的时标内局部环向磁通量守恒,具体分析了当环向磁场参与到吸积盘垂向流体静力学平衡以及粘滞产热等过程之后,对盘的热稳定性所产生的影响.结果显示:当磁压在总压强中所占比例高于24%时,对任意的吸积率吸积盘都将呈现出热稳定性.这一结果有别于传统薄盘在辐射压主导情况下是热不稳定的结论,可以用于解释部分高光度X射线双星系统中缺少相应光变的观测事实,以及有助于理解近年来磁化吸积盘数值模拟中的一些结果.     

磁场从黑洞吸积盘提取能量的解析模型

提出了一种磁场提取黑洞吸积盘能量的解析模型,其中涉及到3种能量机制: (1) Blandford-Znajek (BZ)与连接黑洞与天体物理负载的开放磁力线有关, (2) 磁耦合(MC)过程与连接黑洞与盘负载的闭合磁力线有关, (3) DL过程与连接吸积盘与天体物理负载的开放磁力线有关.利用等效电路导出上述能量机制的电磁功率和力矩表达式.此外还讨论了这个模型潜在的天体物理应用.     

Broad-line active galactic nuclei rotate faster than narrow-line ones

The super-massive black holes of 10(6)M(⊙) to 10(9)M(⊙) that reside in the nuclei of active galaxies (AGN) are surrounded by a region emitting broad lines, probably associated with an accretion disk. The diameters of the broad-line regions range from a few light-days to more than a hundred light-days, and cannot be resolved spatially. The relative significance of inflow, outflow, rotational or turbulent motions in the broad-line regions as well as their structure (spherical, thin or thick accretion disk) are unknown despite intensive studies over more than thirty years. Here we report a fundamental relation between the observed emission linewidth full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) and the emission line shape FWHM/σ(line) in AGN spectra. From this relation we infer that the predominant motion in the broad-line regions is Keplerian rotation in combination with turbulence. The geometry of the inner region varies systematically with the rotation velocity: it is flattest for the fast-rotating broad-line objects, whereas slow-rotating narrow-line AGN have a more spherical structure. Superimposed is the trend that the line-emitting region becomes geometrically thicker towards the centre within individual galaxies. Knowing the rotational velocities, we can derive the central black-hole masses more accurately; they are two to ten times smaller than has been estimated previously.     

A collimated, high-speed outflow from the dying star V Hydrae

Stars with masses in the range 1-8 solar masses (M(\circ)) live ordinary lives for approximately 10(9)-10(10) years, but die extraordinary deaths. First, during their death throes as asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars they eject, over 10(4)-10(5) years, half or more of their mass in slowly expanding, spherical winds, and then, in a short (a few 100-1,000 years) and poorly understood phase, they are transformed into aspherical planetary nebula. Recent studies support the idea that high-speed, jet-like flows play a crucial role in this transformation. Evidence for such outflows is indirect, however; this phase is so short that few nearby stars are likely to be caught in the act. Here we report the discovery of a newly launched, high-speed jet-like outflow in the nearby AGB star, V Hydrae. We have detected both proper motions and ongoing evolution in the jet. These results support a model in which the jet is driven by an accretion disk around an unseen, compact companion. We also find a central, dense equatorial disk-like structure which may enable and/or enhance the formation of the accretion disk.     

The magnetic nature of disk accretion onto black holes

Although disk accretion onto compact objects-white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes-is central to much of high-energy astrophysics, the mechanisms that enable this process have remained observationally difficult to determine. Accretion disks must transfer angular momentum in order for matter to travel radially inward onto the compact object. Internal viscosity from magnetic processes and disk winds can both in principle transfer angular momentum, but hitherto we lacked evidence that either occurs. Here we report that an X-ray-absorbing wind discovered in an observation of the stellar-mass black hole binary GRO J1655 - 40 (ref. 6) must be powered by a magnetic process that can also drive accretion through the disk. Detailed spectral analysis and modelling of the wind shows that it can only be powered by pressure generated by magnetic viscosity internal to the disk or magnetocentrifugal forces. This result demonstrates that disk accretion onto black holes is a fundamentally magnetic process.     

An optical counterpart to the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U0142+61

The energy source of the anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) is not understood, hence their designation as anomalous. Unlike binary X-ray pulsars, no companions are seen, so the energy cannot be supplied by accretion of matter from a companion star. The loss of rotational energy, which powers radio pulsars, is insufficient to power AXPs. Two models are generally considered: accretion from a large disk left over from the birth process, or decay of a very strong magnetic field (10(15) G) associated with a 'magnetar'. The lack of counterparts at other wavelengths has hampered progress in our understanding of these objects. Here we report deep optical observations of the field around 4U0142+61, which is the brightest AXP in X-rays. The source has no associated supernova remnant, which, together with its spin-down timescale of approximately 10(5) yr (ref. 5), suggests that it may be relatively old. We find an object with peculiar optical colours at the position of the X-ray source, and argue that it is the optical counterpart. The optical emission is too faint to admit the presence of a large accretion disk, but may be consistent with magnetospheric emission from a magnetar.     

A circumstellar disk associated with a massive protostellar object

The formation process for stars with masses several times that of the Sun is still unclear. The two main theories are mergers of several low-mass young stellar objects, which requires a high stellar density, or mass accretion from circumstellar disks in the same way as low-mass stars are formed, accompanied by outflows during the process of gravitational infall. Although a number of disks have been discovered around low- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects, the presence of disks around massive young stellar objects is still uncertain and the mass of the disk system detected around one such object, M17, is disputed. Here we report near-infrared imaging polarimetry that reveals an outflow/disk system around the Becklin-Neugebauer protostellar object, which has a mass of at least seven solar masses (M(o)). This strongly supports the theory that stars with masses of at least 7M(o) form in the same way as lower mass stars.     

Investigation of the obscuring circumnuclear torus in the active galaxy Mrk231

Active galaxies are characterized by prominent emission from their nuclei. In the 'unified' view of active galaxies, the accretion of material onto a massive compact object--now generally believed to be a black hole--provides the fundamental power source. Obscuring material along the line of sight can account for the observed differences in the nuclear emission, which determine the classification of AGN (for example, as Seyfert 1 or Seyfert 2 galaxies). Although the physical processes of accretion have been confirmed observationally, the structure and extent of the obscuring material have not been determined. Here we report observations of powerful hydroxyl (OH) line emissions that trace this obscuring material within the circumnuclear environment of the galaxy Markarian 231. The hydroxyl (mega)-maser emission shows the characteristics of a rotating, dusty, molecular torus (or thick disk) located between 30 and 100 pc from the central engine. We now have a clear view of the physical conditions, the kinematics and the spatial structure of this material on intermediate size scales, confirming the main tenets of unification models.     

The rotating wind of the quasar PG 1700+518

It is now widely accepted that most galaxies undergo an active phase, during which a central super-massive black hole generates vast radiant luminosities through the gravitational accretion of gas. Winds launched from a rotating accretion disk surrounding the black hole are thought to play a critical role, allowing the disk to shed angular momentum that would otherwise inhibit accretion. Such winds are capable of depositing large amounts of mechanical energy in the host galaxy and its environs, profoundly affecting its formation and evolution, and perhaps regulating the formation of large-scale cosmological structures in the early Universe. Although there are good theoretical grounds for believing that outflows from active galactic nuclei originate as disk winds, observational verification has proven elusive. Here we show that structures observed in polarized light across the broad Halpha emission line in the quasar PG 1700+518 originate close to the accretion disk in an electron scattering wind. The wind has large rotational motions (approximately 4,000 km s(-1)), providing direct observational evidence that outflows from active galactic nuclei are launched from the disks. Moreover, the wind rises nearly vertically from the disk, favouring launch mechanisms that impart an initial acceleration perpendicular to the disk plane.     

Circumbinary disk, an efficient medium extracting orbital angular momentum in close binaries

The loss of orbital angular momentum plays an important role in the mass transfer and orbital evolution of close binaries. The traditional mechanisms of orbital angular momentum loss consist of gravitational wave radiation, mass loss and magnetic braking. However, a small fraction of the mass outflow may form a thin circumbinary disk (CB disk) located in the orbital plane of the binary during mass exchange. The tide torques caused by the gravitational interaction between a CB disk and a binary system brake binary effectively, and extract the orbital angular momentum from the binary system. In this study, numerical calculations for the evolution of the white dwarf binary show that a CB disk is an efficient medium extracting orbital angular momentum even if the mass loss is very small. Finally, some theoretical research and observational progress on CB disks are presented. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10873011, 10573009, 10573010) and Program for Science & Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province, China     

An ancient nova shell around the dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis

Cataclysmic variables (classical novae and dwarf novae) are binary star systems in which a red dwarf transfers hydrogen-rich matter, by way of an accretion disk, to its white dwarf companion. In dwarf novae, an instability is believed to episodically dump much of the accretion disk onto the white dwarf. The liberation of gravitational potential energy then brightens these systems by up to 100-fold every few weeks or months. Thermonuclear-powered eruptions thousands of times more luminous occur in classical novae, accompanied by significant mass ejection and formation of clearly visible shells from the ejected material. Theory predicts that the white dwarfs in all dwarf novae must eventually accrete enough mass to undergo classical nova eruptions. Here we report a shell, an order of magnitude more extended than those detected around many classical novae, surrounding the prototypical dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis. The derived shell mass matches that of classical novae, and is inconsistent with the mass expected from a dwarf nova wind or a planetary nebula. The shell observationally links the prototypical dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis with an ancient nova eruption and the classical nova process.