The Multiwavelength Structure of a Quasar from Microlensing
Jeffrey Blackburne (OSU/Astronomy)
The gravitationally lensed quasar HE 1104-1805 has been observed at a variety of wavelengths ranging from the mid-infrared to X-ray, over nearly 20 years. The light curves show variability resulting from the microlensing of the quasar by stars in the lens galaxy. We combine data from the literature with new observations from the SMARTS telescope and HST, and use them to investigate the spatial structure of the central regions of the quasar. The wide wavelength coverage allows us to constrain not only the size of the accretion disk, but the power-law slope of the size-wavelength relation. The size is larger than the standard thin disk model predicts by a factor of 3-10, and its variation with wavelength is consistent with the model, but favors smaller values. We put upper limits on the source size in soft and hard X-ray bands, finding that the majority of the light in both bands comes from the innermost ~10 gravitational radii. We also estimate the inclination of the accretion disk (close to face-on) the mean mass of the stars in the foreground lensing galaxy, the direction of the transverse peculiar velocity of the lens, and the position angle of the projected accretion disk's major axis.
AGN Outflows: The Case of Relativistic Outflows in Ark564
Anjali Gupta (OSU/Astronomy)
AGN feedback has been invoked to solve a number of astrophysical problems. Feedback from jets is sufficient to regulate black hole growth in dominant cluster galaxies, but only about 10% of all quasars have powerful radio jets, so jet-related feedback cannot be generic. Outflows are ubiquitous in AGNs, manifested by blue shifted absorption lines in the soft X-ray and UV bands. The outflows could potentially be a more common form of AGN feedback, but in few cases where mass, energy, and momentum outflow rates could be determined, the feedback was found to be several orders of magnitude below what is required by theoretical models. Recently discovered relativistic outflows (with velocities over ~0.1c) would alleviate this problem, making it crucial to understand whether outflows with relativistic velocities are common in AGN. In this talk, I will review the X-ray AGN outflows and present our results on the discovery of relativistic outflows in Ark564.
