Physics of the Central Engines of Active Galactic Nuclei

活动星系核中央引擎的物理学

• 批准号: 9120599
• 负责人: Mitchell Begelman
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1992
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1992-10-01 至 1997-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9120599&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Physics; Central; Engines; Active; Galactic

Diverse manifestations of violent activity in the nuclei of galaxies are believed to result from the interactions of matter with a supermassive black hole. However, the details of these interactions and their observational signatures are not well understood. This award will support theoretical research studying three important classes of phenomena in active galactic nuclei (AGNs): the formation of relativistic jets, the production of X-ray spectra, and interactions involving ultrarelativistic particles. The investigations described in this proposal will address the questions: Why do some AGNs produce powerful jets while others do not? What can X-ray observations tell us about the temperatures, densities, and spatial organization of matter close to the black hole? What roles (if any) do ultrarelativistic particles play in shaping the energy output of an AGN, and how does this energy affect the environment of the AGN? The long-term goals of this research are: 1) to determine whether the interactions of matter with a supermassive black hole really are responsible for AGN phenomena; 2) to understand in detail how these interactions take place: and 3) to learn what effects nuclear activity can have on the appearance and evolution of the host galaxy.

星系核中剧烈活动的多种表现被认为是物质与超大质量黑洞相互作用的结果。 然而，这些相互作用的细节及其观察特征尚不清楚。 该奖项将支持研究活动星系核（AGN）中三类重要现象的理论研究：相对论性喷流的形成、X射线光谱的产生以及涉及超相对论粒子的相互作用。 该提案中描述的研究将解决以下问题：为什么一些活动星系核能够产生强大的喷气式飞机，而另一些则不能？ 关于黑洞附近物质的温度、密度和空间组织，X 射线观测可以告诉我们什么？ 超相对论粒子在影响活动星系核的能量输出方面发挥什么作用（如果有的话），以及这种能量如何影响活动星系核的环境？ 这项研究的长期目标是：1）确定物质与超大质量黑洞的相互作用是否真的是活动星系核现象的原因； 2）详细了解这些相互作用是如何发生的：3）了解核活动对宿主星系的外观和演化产生什么影响。