High Energy Astrophysics at Southampton
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
On the smallest scales we are interested in why pulsars seem to favour the low neutral hydrogen environments in the SMC. We are also interested in the products of stellar collisions and near misses in the high density environment of globular clusters, and in studying the compact objects (ie black holes, neutron stars, or white dwarfs) in our Galaxy which are strong emitter of optical light from hydgrogen atoms. Some galactic X-ray binary sources, which consist of black hole of similar mass to our sun together with a more normal star have, as well as accretion discs, through which matter spirals onto the black hole, strong jets. We want to understand the relationship between the emission from jets and from the hot X-ray emitting coronae and to find out how the jet might emerge from the corona. In some cases the disappearance of the inner disc is followed by ejection of material along the jet and we shall determine whether such behaviour is typical in Active Galaxies, ie galaxies whose emission is powered material falling onto (ie being accreted) by a massive black hole. In the 20-100 keV band where absorption of photons by cold gas is unimportant, and so we obtain a very clear view, we are surveying the Galactic Plane with INTEGRAL to determine an unbiased census of compact objects. As time goes on, we will extend that survey to the extragalactic sky. We study the X-ray variability of Active Galaxies to determine how they relate to galactic X-ray binaries sources and whether characteristic timescales reflect only mass or another parameter such as accretion rate. We are interested in the binary populations of nearby galaxies and in the so-called `ultra luminous X-ray sources (ULXs)'. ULXs may be the long sought after black holes with masses intermediate between those of galactic binaries and Active Galaxies and so are very important for testing mass-based scaling relationships. We are interested in how the emission in different wavebands (Gamma-ray, X-ray, optical/IR, radio) in binaries and Active Galaxies is related and what is the dependence on mass. We are interested how the jet emission from Active Galaxies heats clusters of galaxies. On the largest scales, we are interested in whether the different faint source populations which we see in the radio, X-ray and IR bands are just different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon and how massive black hole growth might be related to growth of the galaxy in which the black hole lives. We are also building detailed theoretical models, using computers, to explain the complicated variability which we see in the sky at high energies.
Organisations
Publications
Migliari S
(2007)
Tracing the Jet Contribution to the Mid-IR over the 2005 Outburst of GRO J1655-40 via Broadband Spectral Modeling
in The Astrophysical Journal
Miller J
(2006)
Simultaneous Chandra and RXTE Spectroscopy of the Microquasar H1743-322: Clues to Disk Wind and Jet Formation from a Variable Ionized Outflow
in The Astrophysical Journal
Miller J
(2006)
A Long, Hard Look at the Low/Hard State in Accreting Black Holes
in The Astrophysical Journal
Miller-Jones J
(2008)
Coupled Radio and X-Ray Emission and Evidence for Discrete Ejecta in the Jets of SS 433
in The Astrophysical Journal
Miller-Jones J
(2008)
Zooming in on a sleeping giant: milliarcsecond High Sensitivity Array imaging of the black hole binary V404 Cyg in quiescence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Miller-Jones J
(2007)
Evidence for deceleration in the radio jets of GRS 1915+105?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Miller-Jones J
(2006)
Opening angles, Lorentz factors and confinement of X-ray binary jets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Molina M
(2008)
A broad-band spectral analysis of eight radio-loud type 1 active galactic nuclei selected in the hard X-ray band
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Molina M
(2006)
INTEGRAL observations of active galactic nuclei obscured by the Galactic plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Molina M
(2007)
Broad-band X-ray spectrum of the newly discovered broad-line radio galaxy IGR J21247+5058
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moss D
(2007)
A deep Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope 610-MHz survey of the 1HXMM-Newton/Chandra survey field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Munoz-Darias T
(2007)
Echoes from the companion star in Sco X-1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Muñoz-Darias T
(2009)
Dynamical constraints on the neutron star mass in EXO 0748-676
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Ness J
(2009)
SWIFT X-RAY AND ULTRAVIOLET MONITORING OF THE CLASSICAL NOVA V458 VUL (NOVA VUL 2007)
in The Astronomical Journal
Niemela V
(2008)
The very massive X-ray bright binary system Wack 2134 (= WR 21a) ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
O'Donoghue D
(2006)
First science with the Southern African Large Telescope: peering at the accreting polar caps of the eclipsing polar SDSS J015543.40+002807.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Onken C
(2007)
The Black Hole Mass of NGC 4151: Comparison of Reverberation Mapping and Stellar Dynamical Measurements
in The Astrophysical Journal
Page M
(2006)
X-ray spectra of sources in the 13HXMM-Newton/Chandra deep field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Paltani S
(2008)
A deep INTEGRAL hard X-ray survey of the 3C 273/Coma region
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Panessa F
(2008)
The broad-band XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL spectra of bright type 1 Seyfert galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Papadakis I
(2008)
A correlation between the spectral and timing properties of AGN
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Papadakis I
(2006)
XMM-Newton observation of the NLS1 galaxy Ark 564 I. Spectral analysis of the time-average spectrum
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Patterson J
(2008)
SDSS 1507+52: A Halo Cataclysmic Variable?1
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Pavlovski G
(2008)
Morphology of flows and buoyant bubbles in the Virgo cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society