Magnetic layers and neutral points near a rotating black hole
Magnetic layers are narrow regions where the field direction changes sharply. They often occur in the association with neutral points of the magnetic field. We show that an organized field can produce these structures near a rotating black hole (BH), and we identify them as potential sites of magnetic reconnection. To that end, we study the field lines affected by the frame-dragging effect, twisting the magnetic structure and changing the position of neutral points. We consider oblique fields in vacuum. We also include the possibility of translational motion of the black hole which may be relevant when the black hole is ejected from the system. The model settings apply to the innermost regions around black holes with the ergosphere dominated by a super-equipartition magnetic field and loaded with a negligible gas content.

title: Near infrared flares of Sagittarius A* - Importance of near infrared polarimetry
abstract: We report on the results of new simulations of near-infrared (NIR) observations of the Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) counterpart associated with the super-massive black hole at the Galactic Center.  Our goal is to investigate and understand the physical processes behind the variability associated with the NIR flaring emission from Sgr A * .  The observations have been carried out using the NACO adaptive optics (AO) instrument at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and CIAO NIR camera on the Subaru telescope (13 june 2004; 30 july 2005; 1 june 2006; 15 may 2007; 17 may 2007 and 28 may 2008). We used a model of synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons in the inner parts of an accretion disk. The relativistic simulations have been carried out using the Karas-Yaqoob (KY) ray-tracing code.  We probe the existence of a correlation between the modulations of the observed flux density light curves and changes in polarimetric data. Furthermore, we confirm that the same correlation is also predicted by the hot spot model. Correlations between intensity and polarimetric parameters of the observed light curves as well as a comparison of predicted and observed light curve features through a pattern recognition algorithm result in the detection of a signature of orbiting matter under the influence of strong gravity. This pattern is detected statistically significant against randomly polarized red noise. Expected results from future observations of VLT interferometry like GRAVITY experiment are also discussed.  The observed correlations between flux modulations and changes in linear polarization degree and angle can be a sign that the NIR flares have properties that are not expected from purely random red-noise. We find that the geometric shape of the emission region plays a major role in the predictions of the model. From fully relativistic simulations of a spiral shape emitting region, we conclude that the observed swings of the polarization angle during NIR flares support the idea of compact orbiting spots instead of extended patterns. The effects of gravitational shearing, fast synchrotron cooling of the components and confusion from a variable accretion disk have been taken into account. Simulated centroids of NIR images lead us to the conclusion that a clear observation of the position wander of the center of NIR images with future infrared interferometers will prove the existence of orbiting hot spots in the vicinity of our Galactic super-massive black hole.

title: A method to determine the parameters of black holes in AGNs and galactic X-ray sources with periodic modulation of variability
abstract: We propose a simple and unambiguous way to deduce the parameters of black holes which may reside in AGNs and some types of X-ray binaries. The black-hole mass and angular momentum are determined in physical units. The method is applicable to the sources with periodic components of variability, provided one can assume the following: (i) Variability is due to a star or a stellar-mass compact object orbiting the central black hole and passing periodically through an equatorial accretion disk (variability time-scale is given by the orbital period). (ii) The star orbits almost freely, deviation of its trajectory due to passages through the disk being very weak (secular); the effect of the star on the disk, on the other hand, is strong enough to yield observable photometric and spectroscopic features. (iii) The gravitational field within the nucleus is that of the (Kerr) black hole, the star and the disk contribute negligibly.

title: Prospects of 3D mapping of the Galactic Centre clouds with X-ray polarimetry
abstract: Despite past panchromatic observations of the innermost part of the Milky Way, the overall structure of the Galactic Centre (GC) remains enigmatic in terms of geometry. In this paper, we aim to show how polarimetry can probe the three-dimensional position of the molecular material in the central ~100 pc of the GC. We investigate a model where the central supermassive black hole Sgr A* is radiatively coupled to a fragmented circumnuclear disc (CND), an elliptical twisted ring representative of the central molecular zone (CMZ), and the two main, bright molecular clouds Sgr B2 and Sgr C. 8 -- 35 keV integrated polarization mapping reveals that Sgr B2 and Sgr C, situated at the two sides of the CMZ, present the highest polarization degrees (66.5 and 47.8 per cent respectively), both associated with a polarization position angle psi = 90deg (normal to the scattering plane). The CND shows a lower polarization degree, 1.0 per cent with psi = -20.5deg, tracing the inclination of the CND with respect to the Galactic plane. The CMZ polarization is spatially variable. We also consider a range of spatial locations for Sgr A* and the reprocessing media, and investigate how the modeled three-dimensional geometry influences the resulting GC polarization. The two reflection nebulae are found to always produce high polarization degrees (>> 10 per cent). We show that a 500 ks observation with a broadband polarimeter could constrain the location and the morphology of the scattering material with respect to the emitting source, revealing the past activity of Sgr A*.

title: Enhanced activity of massive black holes by stellar capture assisted by a self-gravitating accretion disc
abstract: We study the probability of close encounters between stars from a nuclear cluster and a massive black hole (10 4 MM• 10 8 M� ). The gravitational field of the system is dominated by the black hole in its sphere of influence. It is further modified by the cluster mean field (a spherical term) and a gaseous disc/torus (an axially symmetric term) causing a secular evolution of stellar orbits via Kozai oscillations. Intermittent phases of high eccentricity increase the chance that stars become damaged inside the tidal radius of the central hole. Such events can produce debris and lead to recurring episodes of enhanced accretion activity.  We introduce an effective loss cone and associate it with tidal disruptions during the high-eccentricity phases of the Kozai cycle. By numerical integration of the trajectories forming the boundary of the loss cone, we determine its shape and volume. We also include the effect of a relativistic advance of the pericentre.  The potential of the disc has the efffect of enlarging the loss cone, therefore, the predicted number of tidally disrupted stars should grow by factor of � 10 2 . On the other hand, the effect of the cluster mean potential, together with the relativistic pericentre advance, act against the eccentricity oscillations. In the end we expect the tidal disruption events to be approximately ten times more frequent in comparison with the model in which the three effects - the cluster mean field, the relativistic pericentre advance, and the Kozai mechanism - are all ignored. The competition of different influences suppresses the predicted star-disruption rate as the black hole mass increases. Hence, the process under consideration is more important for intermediate-mass black holes, M• � 10 4 M� .

title: Stellar capture by an accretion disc
abstract: The long-term evolution of a stellar orbit captured by a massive galactic centre via successive interactions with an accretion disc has been examined. An analytical solution describing the evolution of the stellar orbital parameters during the initial stage of the capture has been found. Our results are applicable to thin Keplerian discs with an arbitrary radial distribution of density and a rather general prescription for the star–disc interaction. Temporal evolution is given in the form of quadrature which can be carried out numerically.

title: Optimization of high-current ion beam acceleration and charge compensation in two cusps of induction linac
abstract: Results of the numerical simulation of the hollow high-current ion beam (HHCIB) dynamics in two magnet-isolated accelerating gaps separated by the drift gap are presented. The previous study has shown that the good charge and current compensations of the ion beam by the specially injected electron beam occur in the accelerating gaps of the induction linac. However in the drift gap the high positive electric potential due to the positive space charge of HHCIB was obtained because the essential difference between the electron and ion drift velocities exists under this compensation method. This disadvantage impairing the brightness of the ion beam can be considerably reduced by the additional injection of the thermal electrons into the drift region. In present report the some cases of the cold electron injection into drift gap are considered. The more optimal regime for the effective charge and current compensations of HHCIB without loss in the stability of ion beam was found.

title: Numerical simulation of high-current ion linear induction accelerator with additional electron beam injection

title: Plasma wake-field acceleration of charged particles by selfmodulated long relativistic electron bunch
abstract: High-amplitude plasma wake-waves are excited by high-density relativistic electron bunches (REB) moving in a plasma. The wake- fields can be used to accelerate charged particles, to serve as electrostatic wigglers in free-electron plasma lasers (FEL), and also can find many other applications.