Old Posts

Title: High energy emission component, population, and contribution to the extragalactic gamma-ray background of gamma-ray emitting radio galaxies.
Authors: Yasushi Fukazawa, Hiroto Matake, Taishu Kayanoki, Yoshiyuki Inoue, Justin Finke

In this study, we systematically studied the X-ray to GeV gamma-ray spectra of 61 {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected radio galaxies. We found an anticorrelation between peak frequency and peak luminosity in the high-energy spectral component of radio galaxies, similar to blazars. With this sample, we also constructed a gamma-ray luminosity function (GLF) of gamma-ray-loud radio galaxies. We found that blazar-like GLF shapes can reproduce their redshift and luminosity distribution, but the logN-logS relation prefers models with more low-z radio galaxies. This indicates many low-z gamma-ray-loud radio galaxies. By utilizing our latest GLF, the contribution of radio galaxies to the extragalactic gamma-ray background is found to be 1–10%. We further investigated the nature of gamma-ray-loud radio galaxies. Compared to radio or X-ray flux-limited radio galaxy samples, the gamma-ray selected sample tends to lack high radio power galaxies like FR-II radio galaxies. We also found that only ∼10% of radio galaxies are GeV gamma-ray loud. Radio galaxies may contribute to the cosmic MeV gamma-ray background comparable to blazars if gamma-ray-quiet radio galaxies have X-ray to gamma-ray spectra like Cen A, with a small gamma-ray to X-ray flux ratio.

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We are pleasure to hear that our excellent undergraduate student defended his bachelor thesis presentation. Tomoya Yamada worked on radio emission signals from AGN disk winds. Congratulations!

Title: Interstellar Gas Heating by Primordial Black Holes.
Authors: Volodymyr Takhistov, Philip Lu, Graciela B. Gelmini, Kohei Hayashi, Yoshiyuki Inoue, Alexander Kusenko

Title: A fundamental plane in X-ray binary activity of external galaxies.
Authors: Yoshiyuki Inoue, Kiyoto Yabe, Yoshihiro Ueda

We construct a new catalog of extragalactic X-ray binaries (XRBs) by matching the latest Chandra source catalog with local galaxy catalogs. Our XRB catalog contains 4430 XRBs hosted by 237 galaxies within $\sim130$ Mpc. As XRBs dominate the X-ray activity in galaxies, the catalog enables us to study the correlations between the total X-ray luminosity of a galaxy, star formation rate, and stellar mass. We find that there is a fundamental plane in those three parameters. In order to investigate this relation, we construct a phenomenological binary population synthesis model. We find that the high mass XRB and low mass XRB fraction in formed compact object binary systems is $\sim 9$% and $\sim0.04$%, respectively. Utilizing the latest XMM-Newton, and Swift X-ray source catalog data sets, additional XRB candidates are also found resulting in 5757 XRBs hosted by 311 galaxies.

Title: Spatial variations of magnetic field along active galactic nuclei jets on sub-pc to Mpc scales.
Authors: Soichiro Ito, Yoshiyuki Inoue, Jun Kataoka

We report the systematic analysis of knots, hotspots, and lobes in 57 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to investigate the variation of the magnetic field along with the jet from the sub-pc base to the terminus in kpc-to-Mpc scales. Expanding the number of radio/X-ray samples in \citet{2005ApJ…622..797K}, we analyzed the data in 12 FRI and 30 FRII radio galaxies, 12 quasars, and 3 BL Lacs that contained 76 knots, 42 hotspots, and 29 radio lobes. We first derived the equipartition magnetic fields in the cores and then estimated those in various jet components by assuming $B_{\rm est}$ $\propto$ $d^{-1}$, where $d$ is the distance from the jet base. On the other hand, the magnetic field in large-scale jets (knots, hotspots, and lobes), $B_{\rm eq}$, can be estimated from the observed flux and spatial extent under the equipartition hypothesis. We show that the magnetic field decreases as the distance along the jet increases, but generally gentler than $\propto d^{-1}$. The increase in $B_{\rm eq}/B_{\rm est}$ at a larger $d$ may suggest the deceleration of the jet around the downstream, but there is no difference between FRI and FRII jets. Moreover, the magnetic fields in the hotspots are systematically larger than those of knots and lobes. Finally, we applied the same analysis to knots and lobes in Centaurus~A to check whether the above discussion will hold even in a {\it single} jet source.

Title: Cross-match between the latest Swift-BAT and Fermi-LAT catalogs.
Authors: Naomi Tsuji, Hiroki Yoneda, Yoshiyuki Inoue, Tsuguo Aramaki, Georgia Karagiorgi, Reshmi Mukherjee, Hirokazu Odaka

We report the results of a cross-match study between the hard X-ray and GeV gamma-ray catalogs, by making use of the latest 105-month Swift-BAT and 10-yr Fermi-LAT catalogs, respectively. The spatial cross-matching between the two catalogs results in the matching of 132 point-like sources, including ~5% of false-match sources. Additionally, 24 sources that have been identified as the same identifications are matched. Among the 75 extended sources in the Fermi-LAT catalog, 31 sources have spatial coincidences with at least one Swift-BAT source inside their extent. All the matched sources consist of blazars (>60%), pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae (~13%), radio galaxies (~7%), binaries (~5%), and others. Compared to the original catalogs, the matched sources are characterized by a double-peaked photon index distribution, higher flux, and larger gamma-ray variability index. This difference arises from the different populations of sources, particularly the large proportion of blazars (i.e., FSRQ and BL Lac). We also report 13 cross-matched and unidentified sources. The matched sources in this study would be promising in the intermediate energy band between the hard X-ray and GeV gamma-ray observations, that is the unexplored MeV gamma-ray domain.

Title: Gamma-ray and Neutrino Signals from Accretion Disk Coronae of Active Galactic Nuclei.
Authors: Yoshiyuki Inoue, Dmitry Khangulyan, Akihiro Doi

To explain X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN), non-thermal activity in AGN coronae such as pair cascade models has been extensively discussed in the past literature. Although X-ray and gamma-ray observations in the 1990s disfavored such pair cascade models, recent millimeter-wave observations of nearby Seyferts establish the existence of weak non-thermal coronal activity. Besides, the IceCube collaboration reported NGC 1068, a nearby Seyfert, as the hottest spot in their 10-yr survey. These pieces of evidence are enough to investigate the non-thermal perspective of AGN coronae in depth again. This article summarizes our current observational understandings of AGN coronae and describes how AGN coronae generate high-energy particles. We also provide ways to test the AGN corona model with radio, X-ray, MeV gamma-ray, and high-energy neutrino observations.

We are pleasure to hear that our excellent undergraduate student defended his bachelor thesis presentation. Kaoru Yanagisawa worked on new PBH constraint method using AGN torus. Congratulations!