HOW TO IDENTIFY AND SEPARATE BRIGHT GALAXY CLUSTERS FROM THE LOW-FREQUENCY RADIO SKY
In this work, we simulate the 50-200 MHz radio sky that is constrained in the field of view (5 degrees radius) of the 21 Centimeter Array (21CMA), a low-frequency radio interferometric array constructed in the remote area of Xinjiang, China, by carrying out Monte Carlo simulations to model the strong contaminating foreground of the redshifted cosmological reionization signals, including emissions from our Galaxy, galaxy clusters, and extragalactic discrete sources (i.e., star-forming galaxies, radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and radio-loud AGNs). As an improvement over previous works, we consider in detail not only random variations of morphological and spectroscopic parameters within the ranges allowed by multi-band observations, but also the evolution of radio halos in galaxy clusters, assuming that relativistic electrons are re-accelerated in the intracluster medium (ICM) in merger events and lose energy via both synchrotron emission and inverse Compton scattering with cosmic microwave background photons. By introducing a new approach designed on the basis of independent component analysis and wavelet detection algorithm, we prove that, with a cumulative observation of one month with the 21CMA array, about 80% of galaxy clusters (37 out of 48 clusters assuming a mean magnetic field of B = 2 mu G in the ICM, or 15 out of 18 clusters assuming B = 0.2 mu G) with central brightness temperatures of > 10 K at 65 MHz can be safely identified and separated from the overwhelmingly bright foreground. By examining the brightness temperature images and spectra extracted from these identified clusters, we find that the morphological and spectroscopic distortions are extremely small compared to the input simulated clusters, and the reduced chi(2) of brightness temperature profiles and spectra are controlled to be less than or similar to 0.5 and less than or similar to 1.3, respectively. These results robustly indicate that in the near future a sample of dozens of bright galaxy clusters will be disentangled from the foreground in 21CMA observations, the study of which will greatly improve our knowledge about cluster merger rates, electron acceleration mechanisms in cluster radio halos, and magnetic field in the ICM.

title: A Method to Extract the Angular Power Spectrum of the Epoch of Reionization from Low-Frequency Radio Interferometers
abstract: The redshifted 21 cm signal of neutral hydrogen from the epoch of reionization (EoR) is extremely weak and its first detection is therefore expected to be statistical with first-generation low-frequency radio interferometers. In this Letter, we propose a method to extract the angular power spectrum of the EoR from the visibility correlation coefficients p{sub ij} (u, v), instead of the visibilities V{sub ij} (u, v) measured directly by radio interferometers in conventional algorithm. The visibility correlation coefficients are defined as p{sub ij}(u,v)=V{sub ij}(u,v)/{radical}(|V{sub ii}||V{sub jj}|) by introducing the autocorrelation terms V{sub ii} and V{sub jj} such that the angular power spectrum C{sub l} can be obtained through C{sub l} = T {sup 2}{sub 0}(|p{sub ij} (u, v)|{sup 2}), independently of the primary beams of antennas. This also partially removes the influence of receiver gains in the measurement of C{sub l} because the amplitudes of the gains cancel each other out in the statistical average operation of (|p{sub ij} (u, v)|{sup 2}). We use the average system temperature T{sub 0} as a calibrator of C{sub l}, which is dominated by the Milky Way and extragalactic sources in the frequency range that we are interested in, below 200 MHz. Finally, we demonstratemore » the feasibility of this novel method using the simulated sky maps as targets and the 21 CentiMeter Array (21CMA) as interferometer.« less

title: CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF A WEAK SHOCK IN THE GALAXY CLUSTER A2556
abstract: Based on a 21.5 ks Chandra observation of A2556, we identify an edge on the surface brightness profile at about 160 h(71)(-1) kpc northeast of the cluster center, and it corresponds to a shock front whose Mach number M is calculated to be 1.25(-0.03)(+0.02). No prominent substructure, such as sub-cluster, is found in either the optical or X-ray band that can be associated with the edge, suggesting that the conventional supersonic motion mechanism may not work in this case. As an alternative solution, we propose that the nonlinear steepening of an acoustic wave, which is induced by the turbulence of the intracluster medium at the core of the cluster, can be used to explain the origin of the shock front. Although nonlinear steepening weak shock is expected to occur frequently in clusters, why it is rarely observed still remains a question that requires further investigation, including both deeper X-ray observation and extensive theoretical studies.

title: Central gas entropy excess as direct evidence for AGN feedback in galaxy groups and clusters
abstract: By analyzing Chandra X-ray data of a sample of 21 galaxy groups and 19 galaxy clusters, we find that in 31 sample systems there exists a significant central ( R ≤10 h -1 71 kpc) gas entropy excess (∆ K 0 ), which corresponds to ≃ 0.1 - 0.5 keV per gas particle, beyond the power-law model that best fits the radial entropy profile of the outer regions. We also find a distinct correlation between the central entropy excess ∆ K 0 and K-band luminosity LK of the central dominating galaxies (CDGs), which is scaled as ∆ K 0 ∝ L 1.6±0.4 K , where L K is tightly associated with the mass of the supermassive black hole hosted in the CDG. In fact, if an effective mass-to-energy conversion- efficiency of 0.02 is assumed for the accretion process, the cumulative AGN feedback E AGN feedback ≃ ηM BH c 2 yields an extra heating of ≃0.5 - 17.0 keV per particle, which is sufficient to explain the central entropy excess. In most cases, the AGN contribution can compensate the radiative loss of the X-ray gas within the cooling radius ( ≃0.002 - 2.2 keV per particle), and apparently exceeds the energy required to cause the scaling relations to deviate from the self-similar predictions ( ≃0.2 - 1.0 keV per particle). In contrast to the AGN feedback, the extra heating provided by supernova explosions accounts for ≃0.01 - 0.08 keV per particle in groups and is almost negligible in clusters. Therefore, the observed correlation between ∆ K 0 and L K can be considered as direct evidence for AGN feedback in galaxy groups and clusters.

title: A CHANDRA STUDY OF TEMPERATURE SUBSTRUCTURES IN INTERMEDIATE-REDSHIFT GALAXY CLUSTERS
abstract: By analyzing the gas temperature maps created from the Chandra archive data, we reveal the prevailing existence of temperature substructures on ~100 h –1 70 kpc scales in the central regions of nine intermediate-redshift (z ≈ 0.1) galaxy clusters, which resemble those found in the Virgo and Coma Clusters. Each substructure contains a clump of hot plasma whose temperature is about 2-3 keV higher than the environment, corresponding to an excess thermal energy of ~1058-1060 erg per clump. If there were no significant nongravitational heating sources, these substructures would have perished in 108-109 yr due to thermal conduction and turbulent flows, whose velocity is found to range from about 200 to 400 km s–1, we conclude that the substructures cannot be created and sustained by inhomogeneous radiative cooling. We also eliminate the possibilities that the temperature substructures are caused by supernova explosions, or by the nonthermal X-ray emission due to the inverse-Comptonization of the cosmic microwave background photons. By calculating the rising time of active galactic nucleus (AGN)-induced buoyant bubbles, we speculate that the intermittent AGN outbursts (≥1060 erg per burst) may have played a crucial role in the formation of the high-temperature substructures. Our results are supported by the recent study of McNamara and Nulsen, posing a tight observational constraint on future theoretical and numerical studies.

title: A joint Chandra and XMM-Newton view of Abell 3158: a massive off-centre cool gas clump as a robust diagnostic of a merger stage
abstract: In previous works, the nearby galaxy cluster Abell 3158 was reported to possess a relatively regular, relaxed morphology in the X-ray band. By analysing the Chandra and XMM-Newton archived data of Abell 3158, we have identified a bow-edge-shaped discontinuity in the X-ray surface brightness distribution about 120 h -1 71 kpc west of the X-ray peak. This feature is found to be associated with a massive, off-centre cool gas clump, and actually forms the west boundary of the cool clump. By calculating the thermal gas pressures in the cool clump and in the free-stream region, we determine that the cool gas clump is moving at a subsonic velocity of 700 +140 -340 km s -1 (M = 0.6 +0.1 -0.3 ) towards west on the sky plane. We exclude the possibility that this cool clump was formed by local inhomogeneous radiative cooling in the intracluster medium, because of the effectiveness of the thermal conduction on the time-scale of ∼.3 Gyr. As no evidence for central active galactic nucleus activity has been found in Abell 3158, and this cool clump bears many similarities to the off-centre cool gas clumps detected in other merging clusters in terms of their mass, size, location and thermal properties (e.g. lower temperature and higher abundance as compared with the environment), we speculate that the cool clump in Abell 3158 was caused by a merger event, and is the remnant of the original central cool-core of the main cluster or the infalling subcluster. This idea is supported not only by the study of the line-of-sight velocity distribution of the cluster member galaxies, but also by the study of the gas entropy-temperature correlation. This example shows that the appearance of such massive, off-centre cool gas clumps can be used to diagnose the dynamical state of a cluster, especially when prominent shocks and cold fronts are absent.

title: Measurement of CC interactions produced by ${}^8$B solar neutrinos at SNO

title: Collisions among Clouds inside Dusty Tori in Active Galactic Nuclei: Observational Consequences
abstract: A geometrically thick dusty torus in NGC 1068 has been unambiguously resolved by an infrared interferometry telescope. This implies that clouds composing the dusty torus are undergoing supersonic collisions with each other. We show that the collisions form strong nonrelativistic shocks, which accelerate populations of relativistic electrons. The torus reprocesses emission from the accretion disk into an infrared band. We show that the energy density of the infrared photons inside the torus is much higher than that of the magnetic field in the clouds, and the seed photons of inverse Compton scattering are mainly from the infrared. The maximum energy of the relativistic electrons can reach a Lorentz factor of 105. We calculate the spectrum of the synchrotron and inverse Compton scattering radiation from the electrons in the torus. The relativistic electrons in the torus radiate nonthermal emission from radio to γ-ray, which isotropically diffuses in the region of the torus. We find that the most prominent character is a peak at ~0.5-1 GeV. We apply this model to NGC 1068 and find that the observed radio emission from the core component S1 can be explained by the synchrotron emission from the relativistic electrons. We predict that there is γ-ray emission with a luminosity of 1040 ergs s-1 peaking at ~1 GeV from the torus, which could be detected by the Gamma-Ray Large-Array Space Telescope in the future. This will provide a new clue to understanding the physics in the torus. The nonthermal radiation from the dusty torus may explain the radio emission from Seyfert galaxies. The cosmological implications of the nonthermal emission to the γ-ray background radiation are also discussed.

title: Optical identification of radio-loud active galactic nuclei in the ROSAT-Green-Bank sample with SDSS spectroscopy
abstract: Results of extended and refined optical identification of 181 radio/X-ray sources in the RASS-Green Bank (RGB) catalog are presented (Brinkmann et al. 1997) which have been spectroscopically observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5. The SDSS spectra of the optical counterparts are modeled in a careful and self-consistent way by incorporating the host galaxy's starlight. Optical emission line parameters are presented, which are derived accurately and reliably, along with the radio 1.4-5 GHz spectral indices estimated using (non-simultaneous) archival data. For 72 sources, the identifications are presented for the first time. It is confirmed that the majority of strong radio/X-ray emitters are radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs), particularly blazars. Taking advantage of the high spectral quality and resolution and our refined spectral modeling, we are able to disentangle narrow line radio galaxies (NLRGs), as vaguely termed in most previous identification work, into Seyfert II galaxies and LINERs (low-ionization nuclear emission regions), based on the standard emission line diagnostics. The NLRGs in the RGB sample, mostly belonging to 'weak line radio galaxies', are found to have optical spectra consistent predominantly with LINERs, and only a small fraction with Seyfert II galaxies. A small number of LINERs have radio power as high as 10(23)-10(26) W Hz(-1) at 5 GHz, being among the strongest radio emitting LINERs known so far. Two sources are identified with radio-loud narrow line Seyfert I galaxies (NLS1s), a class of rare objects. The presence is also confirmed of flat-spectrum radio quasars whose radio-optical-X-ray effective spectral indices are similar to those of High-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), as suggested by Padovani et al., although it is still a debate as to whether this is the case for their actual spectral energy distributions.

title: TUNING AND FIELD SENSITIVITY OF PI-MODE STANDING WAVE LINACS FOR THE NLC
abstract: In order to mitigate the effects of electrical breakdown (which have been found to occur in SLAC X-band traveling wave structures) standing wave structures are being considered for the NLC linac. At SLAC, structures consisting of 15 cells operating in the {pi} accelerating mode are being tested for their electrical breakdown characteristics. In this paper the tuning requirement on the cavities is elucidated by utilizing a circuit model of the structure. The sensitivity of the field to both random and systematic errors is also discussed.

title: Search for the Signal of Monotop Production at the Early LHC
abstract: The main tasks of the LHC are to answer the fundamental questions in particle physics: whether the Higgs boson exist or not; are there new physics beyond the SM such as supersymmetry (SUSY), extra dimension, etc., at the TeV scale? The first stage of the LHC has discovered a scalar resonance closely resembling the SM Higgs boson, but provides no clue on the new physics beyond the SM.