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
Croston J
(2007)
Shock Heating in the Nearby Radio Galaxy NGC 3801
in The Astrophysical Journal
Croston J
(2008)
Chandra Evidence for AGN Feedback in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 6764
in The Astrophysical Journal
De Rosa A
(2008)
An X-ray view of absorbed INTEGRAL AGN
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
De Rosa A
(2008)
Bulk Compton motion in the luminous quasar 4C04.42
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
De Rosa A
(2009)
Hard X-ray observations of PSR J1833-1034 and its associated pulsar wind nebula
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dean A
(2008)
INTEGRAL observations of PSR J1811-1925 and its associated pulsar wind nebula
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Dean A
(2008)
The properties of the putative pulsar associated with IGR J18135-1751/HESS J1813-178
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dean AJ
(2008)
Polarized gamma-ray emission from the crab.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Del Santo M
(2009)
Broad-band X-ray spectral evolution of GX 339-4 during a state transition ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Detmers R
(2008)
The warm absorber in NGC 5548 The lean years
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dieball A
(2009)
Blue hook stars in globular clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Dieball A
(2007)
Unveiling the Core of the Globular Cluster M15 in the Ultraviolet
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dunn R
(2008)
Studying the X-ray hysteresis in GX 339-4: the disc and iron line over one decade
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evans D
(2008)
XMM-Newton Observations of the Nuclei of the Radio Galaxies 3C 305, DA 240, and 4C 73.08
in The Astrophysical Journal
Evans D
(2008)
A Radio through X-Ray Study of the Jet/Companion-Galaxy Interaction in 3C 321
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fender R
(2009)
An anticorrelation between X-ray luminosity and Ha equivalent width in X-ray binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fender R
(2007)
The variable radio counterpart and possible large-scale jet of the new Z source XTE J1701-462
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Fender R
(2006)
A transient relativistic radio jet from Cygnus X-1 Cygnus X-1 transient jet
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fiocchi M
(2008)
The INTEGRAL long monitoring of persistent ultra compact X-ray bursters
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Galache J
(2008)
A Long Look at the Be/X-Ray Binaries of the Small Magellanic Cloud
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Gallo E
(2006)
A radio-emitting outflow in the quiescent state of A0620-00: implications for modelling low-luminosity black hole binaries Radio outflow of A0620-00
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gallo E
(2007)
The Spectral Energy Distribution of Quiescent Black Hole X-Ray Binaries: New Constraints from Spitzer
in The Astrophysical Journal
Giommi P
(2007)
Swift detection of all previously undetected blazars in a micro-wave flux-limited sample of WMAP foreground sources
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gonzlez-Solares E
(2008)
Initial data release from the INT Photometric H Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goodger J
(2008)
Inverse Compton emission from the lobes of 3Câ??353
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society