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Background: There is currently a high demand for bereavement support coupled with inconclusive findings as to the efficacy of existing approaches. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aims to improve human functioning and has shown efficacy across a wide range of conditions. ACT may be a promising means of supporting bereaved people, yet evidence on the use of ACT for bereavement support is lacking. The aim of this study is to explore how ACT is currently used for bereavement support and practitioner perspectives of how it helps following bereavement. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted online via MS Teams with practitioners experienced in using ACT for bereavement support. Data were analysed thematically guided by a framework approach. Results: Nine participants were recruited. Three themes were identified: (i) creating psychological space around grief; (ii) using psychological space for value-directed action in the midst of grieving, and (iii) adapting ACT for bereavement support. Practitioners indicated that ACT improves clients' relationship with distressing internal experiences. Metaphors and mindfulness techniques were used to encourage acceptance of grief responses, taking perspective on distressing thoughts and images, and contact with the present moment. Better relationships with distressing experiences were regarded as less psychologically taxing, improving coping and well-being, while providing the psychological space to engage in value-directed action. Values exploration, sometimes using metaphors and exercises, was seen as supporting the bereaved person to rediscover a sense of purpose and engage in meaningful activities alongside their grief. Practitioners used ACT flexibly, integrating other interventions, and adapted ACT to the perceived sensitivities of bereaved people, and age-related and developmental factors. Conclusion: ACT is used to support people who have been bereaved to live effectively with the difficult thoughts and feelings associated with grieving and to enable them to gradually identify, reconnect with, and act in line with their values after loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverberation mapping probes the structure of the broad emission-line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The kinematics of the BLR gas can be used to measure the mass of the central supermassive black hole. The main uncertainty affecting black hole mass determinations is the structure of the BLR.We present a new method for reverberation mapping based on regularized linear inversion (RLI) that includes modelling of the AGN continuum light curves. This enables fast calculation of velocity-resolved response maps to constrain BLR structure. RLI allows for negative response, such as when some areas of the BLR respond in inverse proportion to a change in ionizing continuum luminosity. We present time delays, integrated response functions, and velocity-delay maps for the H β broad emission line in five nearby AGN, as well as for H α and H γ in Arp 151, using data from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2008. We find indications of prompt response in three of the objects (Arp 151, NGC 5548, and SBS 1116+583A) with additional prompt response in the red wing of H β. In SBS 1116+583A we find evidence for a multimodal broad prompt response followed by a second narrow response at 10 d. We find no clear indications of negative response. The results are complementary to, and consistent with, other methods such as cross-correlation, maximum entropy, and dynamical modelling. RLI with continuum light-curve modelling provides a fast, complementary method for velocity-resolved reverberation mapping and is suitable for use on large data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present dynamical modelling of the broad-line region (BLR) for a sample of five Seyfert 1 galaxies using reverberation mapping data taken by the Lick AGN Monitoring Project in 2008. By modelling the AGN continuum light curve and Hβ line profiles directly, we are able to constrain the geometry and kinematics of the BLR and make a measurement of the black hole mass that does not depend upon the virial factor, f, needed in traditional reverberation mapping analysis. We find that the geometry of the BLR is generally a thick disc viewed close to face-on. While the Hβ emission is found to come preferentially from the far side of the BLR, the mean size of the BLR is consistent with the lags measured with cross-correlation analysis. The BLR kinematics are found to be consistent with either inflowing motions or elliptical orbits, often with some combination of the two. We measure black hole masses of $\log _{10}(M_{\rm \,BH}/\mathrm{M}_{\odot })=6.62^{+0.10}_{-0.13}$ for Arp 151, $7.42^{+0.26}_{-0.27}$ for Mrk 1310, $7.59^{+0.24}_{-0.21}$ for NGC 5548, $6.37^{+0.21}_{-0.16}$ for NGC 6814, and $6.99^{+0.32}_{-0.25}$ for SBS 1116+583A. The f factors measured individually for each AGN are found to correlate with inclination angle, although not with M BH, L5100, or FWHM/σ of the emission line profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an improved and expanded simply parametrized phenomenological model of the broad-line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei for modelling reverberation mapping data. By modelling reverberation mapping data directly, we can constrain the geometry and dynamics of the BLR and measure the black hole mass without relying on the normalization factor needed in the traditional analysis. For realistic simulated reverberation mapping data sets of high quality, we can recover the black hole mass to 0.05–0.25 dex uncertainty and distinguish between dynamics dominated by elliptical orbits and inflowing gas. While direct modelling of the integrated emission-line light curve allows for measurement of the mean time lag, other details of the geometry of the BLR are better constrained by the full spectroscopic data set of emission-line profiles. We use this improved model of the BLR to explore possible sources of uncertainty in measurements of the time lag using cross-correlation function (CCF) analysis and in measurements of the black hole mass using the virial product. Sampling the range of geometries and dynamics in our model of the BLR suggests that the theoretical uncertainty in black hole masses measured using the virial product is of the order of 0.25 dex. These results support the use of the CCF to measure time lags and the virial product to measure black hole masses when direct modelling techniques cannot be applied, provided the uncertainties associated with the interpretation of the results are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prominent broad Fe II emission blends in the spectra of active galactic nuclei have been shown to vary inresponse to continuum variations, but past attempts to measure the reverberation lag time of the optical Fe II lines have met with only limited success. Here we report the detection of Fe ii reverberation in two Seyfert 1 galaxies, NGC 4593 and Mrk 1511, based on data from a program carried out at Lick Observatory in Spring 2011. Light curves for emission lines including Hβ and Fe II were measured by applying a fitting routine to decompose the spectra into several continuum and emission-line components, and we use cross-correlation techniques to determine the reverberation lags of the emission lines relative to V-band light curves. In both cases, the measured lag (τcen) of Fe II is longer than that of Hβ, although the inferred lags are somewhat sensitive to the choice of Fe II template used in the fit. For spectral decompositions done using the Fe II template of V´eron-Cetty et al., we find τcen(Fe II)/τcen(Hβ) = 1.9±0.6 in NGC 4593 and 1.5±0.3 in Mrk 1511. The detection of highly correlated variations between Fe II and continuum emission demonstrates that the Fe II emission in these galaxies originatesin photoionized gas, located predominantly in the outer portion of the broad-line region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider active galactic nucleus (AGN) photoionization of gas in companion galaxies (cross-ionization) as a way to sample the intensity of AGN radiation in both direction and time, independent of the gas properties of the AGN host galaxies. From an initial set of 212 AGN+companion systems, identified with the help of Galaxy Zoo participants, we obtained long-slit optical spectra of 32 pairs that were a priori likely to show cross-ionization based on projected separation or angular extent of the companion. From emission-line ratios, 10 of these systems are candidates for cross-ionization, roughly the fraction expected if most AGNs have ionization cones with 70° opening angles. Among these, Was 49 remains the strongest nearby candidate. NGC 5278/9 and UGC 6081 are dual-AGN systems with tidal debris, complicating identification of cross-ionization. The two weak AGNs in the NGC 5278/9 system ionize gas filaments to a projected radius 14 kpc from each galaxy. In UGC 6081, an irregular high-ionization emission region encompasses both AGNs, extending more than 15 kpc from each. The observed AGN companion galaxies with and without signs of external AGN photoionization have similar distributions in estimated incident AGN flux, suggesting that geometry of escaping radiation or long-term variability controls this facet of the AGN environment. This parallels conclusions for luminous QSOs based on the proximity effect among Lyman α absorbers. In some galaxies, mismatch between spectroscopic classifications in the common BPT diagram and the intensity of weaker He  ii and [Ne  v ] emission lines highlights the limits of common classifications in low-metallicity environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present dynamical modeling of the broad-line region (BLR) in the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 50 using reverberation mapping data taken as part of the Lick AGN Monitoring Project (LAMP) 2011. We model the reverberation mapping data directly, constraining the geometry and kinematics of the BLR, as well as deriving a black hole mass estimate that does not depend on a normalizing factor or virial coefficient. We find that the geometry of the BLR in Mrk 50 is a nearly face-on thick disk, with a mean radius of 9.6+1.2–0.9 light days, a width of the BLR of 6.9+1.2–1.1 light days, and a disk opening angle of 25 ± 10 deg above the plane. We also constrain the inclination angle to be 9+7–5 deg, close to face-on. Finally, the black hole mass of Mrk 50 is inferred to be log10(MBH/M☼) = 7.57+0.44–0.27. By comparison to the virial black hole mass estimate from traditional reverberation mapping analysis, we find the normalizing constant (virial coefficient) to be log10f = 0.78+0.44–0.27, consistent with the commonly adopted mean value of 0.74 based on aligning the MBH-σ* relation for active galactic nuclei and quiescent galaxies. While our dynamical model includes the possibility of a net inflow or outflow in the BLR, we cannot distinguish between these two scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carried out spectroscopic monitoring of 21 low-redshift Seyfert 1 galaxies using the Kast double spectrograph on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory from 2016 April to 2017 May. Targeting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with luminosities of λ L λ (5100 Ă...) ≈ 1044 erg sâˆ'1 and predicted H β lags of ∼20â€"30 days or black hole masses of 107â€"108.5 M ⊙, our campaign probes luminosity-dependent trends in broad-line region (BLR) structure and dynamics as well as to improve calibrations for single-epoch estimates of quasar black hole masses. Here we present the first results from the campaign, including H β emission-line light curves, integrated H β lag times (8â€"30 days) measured against V -band continuum light curves, velocity-resolved reverberation lags, line widths of the broad H β components, and virial black hole mass estimates (107.1â€"108.1 M ⊙). Our results add significantly to the number of existing velocity-resolved lag measurements and reveal a diversity of BLR gas kinematics at moderately high AGN luminosities. AGN continuum luminosity appears not to be correlated with the type of kinematics that its BLR gas may exhibit. Follow-up direct modeling of this data set will elucidate the detailed kinematics and provide robust dynamical black hole masses for several objects in this sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of 14 Lyα blobs (LABs) at z ~ 0.3, existing at least 4-7 billion years later in the Universe than all other LABs known. Their optical diameters are 20-70 kpc, and GALEX data imply Lyα luminosities of (0.4-6.3) × 1043 erg s-1. Contrary to high-z LABs, they live in low-density areas. They are ionized by AGN, suggesting that cold accretion streams as a power source must deplete between z = 2 and 0.3. We also show that transient AGN naturally explain the ionization deficits observed in many LABs. Their Lyα and X-ray fluxes decorrelate below ≲106 years because of the delayed escape of resonantly scattering Lyα photons. High Lyα luminosities do not require currently powerful AGN, independent of obscuration. Chandra X-ray data reveal intrinsically weak AGN, confirming the luminous optical nebulae as impressive ionization echoes. For the first time, we also report mid-infrared thermal echoes from the dusty tori. We conclude that the AGN have faded by three to four orders of magnitude within the last 104-5 years, leaving fossil UV, optical and thermal radiation behind. The host galaxies belong to the group of previously discovered Green Bean galaxies (GBs). Gemini optical imaging reveals smooth spheres, mergers, spectacular outflows and ionization cones. Because of their proximity and high flux densities, GBs are perfect targets to study AGN feedback, mode switching and the Lyα escape. The fully calibrated, co-added optical FITS images are publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the dependence of the normalization of the high-frequency part of the X-ray and optical power spectral densities (PSDs) on black hole mass for a sample of 39 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with black hole masses estimated from reverberation mapping or dynamical modeling. We obtained new Swift observations of PG 1426+015, which has the largest estimated black hole mass of the AGNs in our sample. We develop a novel statistical method to estimate the PSD from a light curve of photon counts with arbitrary sampling, eliminating the need to bin a light curve to achieve Gaussian statistics, and we use this technique to estimate the X-ray variability parameters for the faint AGNs in our sample. We find that the normalization of the high-frequency X-ray PSD is inversely proportional to black hole mass. We discuss how to use this scaling relationship to obtain black hole mass estimates from the short timescale X-ray variability amplitude with precision ∼0.38 dex. The amplitude of optical variability on timescales of days is also anticorrelated with black hole mass, but with larger scatter. Instead, the optical variability amplitude exhibits the strongest anticorrelation with luminosity. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for estimating black hole mass from the amplitude of AGN variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping Mgii resonance emission scattered by galactic winds offers a means to determine the spatial extent and density of the warm outflow. Using Keck/LRIS spectroscopy, we have resolved scatteredMg ii emission to the east of 32016857, a star-forming galaxy at z = 0.9392 with an outflow. The Mg ii emission from this galaxy exhibits a P-Cygni profile, extends further than both the continuum and [O ii] emission along the eastern side of the slit, and has a constant Doppler shift along the slit which does not follow the velocity gradient of the nebular [O II] emission. Using the Sobolev approximation, we derive the density of Mg+ ions at a radius of 12-18 kpc in the outflow. We model the ionization correction and find that much of the outflowing Mg is in Mg++.We estimate that the total mass flux could be as large as 330-500M⊙ yr-1, with the largest uncertainties coming from the depletion of Mg onto grains and the clumpiness of the warm outflow. We show that confining the warm clouds with a hot wind reduces the estimated mass flux of the warm outflow and indicates a mass-loading factor near unity in the warm phase alone. Based on the high blue luminosities that distinguish 32016857 and TKRS 4389, described by Rubin et al., from other galaxies with P-Cygni emission, we suggest that, as sensitivity to diffuse emission improves, scattering halos may prove to be a generic property of star-forming galaxies at intermediate redshifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Some active galactic nuclei (AGN) are surrounded by extended emission-line regions (EELRs), which trace both the illumination pattern of escaping radiation and its history over the light travel time from the AGN to the gas. From a new set of such EELRs, we present evidence that the AGN in many Seyfert galaxies undergo luminous episodes 0.2-2 years in duration. Motivated by the discovery of the spectacular nebula known as Hanny's Voorwerp, ionized by a powerful AGN which has apparently faded dramatically within years, Galaxy Zoo volunteers have carried out both targeted and serendipitous searches for similar emission-line clouds around low-redshift galaxies. We present the resulting list of candidates and describe spectroscopy identifying 19 galaxies with AGN-ionized regions at projected radii kpc. This search recovered known EELRs (such as Mrk 78, Mrk 266 and NGC 5252) and identified additional previously unknown cases, one with detected emission to kpc. One new Sy 2 was identified. At least 14/19 are in interacting or merging systems, suggesting that tidal tails are a prime source of distant gas out of the galaxy plane to be ionized by an AGN. We see a mix of one- and two-sided structures, with observed cone angles from 23 to 112. We consider the energy balance in the ionized clouds, with lower and upper bounds on ionizing luminosity from recombination and ionization-parameter arguments, and estimate the luminosity of the core from the far-infrared data. The implied ratio of ionizing radiation seen by the clouds to that emitted by the nucleus, on the assumption of a non-variable nuclear source, ranges from 0.02 to ; 7/19 exceed unity. Small values fit well with a heavily obscured AGN in which only a small fraction of the ionizing output escapes to be traced by surrounding gas. However, large values may require that the AGN has faded over tens of thousands of years, giving us several examples of systems in which such dramatic long-period variation has occurred; this is the only current technique for addressing these time-scales in AGN history. The relative numbers of faded and non-faded objects we infer, and the projected extents of the ionized regions, give our estimate (0.2-2 years) for the length of individual bright phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]