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An article "In Situ Characterization of the Catalyst Layer in a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell," by Feng-Yuan Zhang and colleagues that was published in the previous is retracted.

Observations have shown that the UV/optical variation amplitude of quasars depends on several physical parameters including luminosity, Eddington ratio, and possibly black hole mass. Identifying new factors which correlate with the variation is essential to probing the underlying physical processes. Combining around 10 years of quasar light curves from SDSS stripe 82 and X-ray data from Stripe 82X, we build a sample of X-ray-detected quasars to investigate the relation between UV/optical variation amplitude () and X-ray loudness. We find that quasars with more intense X-ray radiation (compared to bolometric luminosity) are more variable in the UV/optical. This correlation remains highly significant after excluding the effect of other parameters including luminosity, black hole mass, Eddington ratio, redshift, and rest frame wavelength (i.e., through partial correlation analyses). We further find that the intrinsic link between X-ray loudness and UV/optical variation is gradually more prominent on longer timescales (up to 10 yr in the observed frame), but tends to disappear at timescales <100 days. This suggests a slow and long-term underlying physical process. The X-ray reprocessing paradigm, in which the UV/optical variation is produced by variable central X-ray emission illuminating the accretion disk, is thus disfavored. This discovery points to an interesting scenario in which both the X-ray coronal heating and UV/optical variation in quasars are closely associated with magnetic disc turbulence, and the innermost disc turbulence (where coronal heating occurs) correlates with slow turbulence at larger radii (where UV/optical emission is produced). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How galaxies maintain the inefficiency of star formation with physically self-consistent models is a central problem in understanding galaxy evolution. Although numerous theoretical models have been proposed in recent decades, the debate continues. By means of high-resolution two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we study the three feedback effects (the stellar wind heating, supernova (SN) feedback, and active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback) in suppressing star formation activities on the evolution of early-type galaxies with different stellar masses. The AGN feedback models are updated from work by Yuan et al. The gas sources arise exclusively from the mass losses of dying low-mass stars for most of our models. We find that SN feedback can keep star formation at a significantly low level for low-mass elliptical galaxies for a cosmological evolution time. For high-mass galaxies, AGN feedback can efficiently offset radiative cooling and thus regulate star formation activity. Such a suppression of star formation is extremely efficient in the inner regions of galaxies. Asymptotic giant branch heating cannot account for this suppression for low- or high-mass galaxies. The X-ray temperature TX and luminosity LX of hot plasma can be in agreement with the observed data with the inclusion of effective feedback processes. These results thus suggest that we can use TX and LX to probe the role of different feedback processes. The inclusion of additional gas sources can cause the mass scale between SN and AGN feedback to dominate in suppressing star formation decrease to an observationally inferred value of a few 1010M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second paper of our series of works of studying the effects of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) feedback on the cosmological evolution of an isolated elliptical galaxy by performing two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. Compared to previous works, the main improvement here is that we adopt the most up-to-date AGN physics, which is described in detail in the first paper, including the discrimination of the two accretion modes and the most up-to-date descriptions of the wind and radiation in the two modes. In Paper I, we consider the case that the specific angular momentum of the gas in the galaxy is very low. In this paper, we consider the case that the specific angular momentum of the gas is high. At the galactic scale, we adopt the gravitational torques raised due to non-axisymmetric structure in the galaxy as the mechanism of the transfer of angular momentum of gas, as proposed in some recent works. Because our simulations are axisymmetric, we make use of a parameterized prescription to mimic this mechanism. Special attention is paid to the effects of specific angular momentum of the galaxy on the AGN light curve, growth of the black hole mass, AGN duty-cycle, star formation, and the X-ray surface brightness. We find that some results are qualitatively similar to those shown in Paper I, while other results, such as star formation and black hole growth, show a significant difference due to the mass concentration in the galactic disk as a consequence of galactic rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effects of AGN feedback on the cosmological evolution of an isolated elliptical galaxy by performing two-dimensional high-resolution hydrodynamical numerical simulations. The inner boundary of the simulation is chosen so that the Bondi radius is resolved. Compared to previous works, the two accretion modes—namely, hot and cold, which correspond to different accretion rates and have different radiation and wind outputs—are carefully discriminated, and the feedback effects by radiation and wind in each mode are taken into account. The most updated AGN physics, including the descriptions of radiation and wind from the hot accretion flows and wind from cold accretion disks, are adopted. Physical processes like star formation and SNe Ia and II are taken into account. We study the AGN light curve, typical AGN lifetime, growth of the black hole mass, AGN duty cycle, star formation, and X-ray surface brightness of the galaxy. We compare our simulation results with observations and find general consistency. Comparisons with previous simulation works find significant differences, indicating the importance of AGN physics. The respective roles of radiation and wind feedback are examined, and it is found that they are different for different problems of interest, such as AGN luminosity and star formation. We find that it is hard to neglect any of them, so we suggest using the names “cold feedback mode” and “hot feedback mode” to replace the currently used ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tight interband correlation and the lag–wavelength relation among UV/optical continua of active galactic nuclei have been firmly established. They are usually understood within the widespread reprocessing scenario; however, the implied interband lags are generally too small. Furthermore, it is challenged by new evidence, such as that the X-ray reprocessing yields too much high-frequency UV/optical variation and that it fails to reproduce the observed timescale-dependent color variations among the Swift light curves of NGC 5548. In a different manner, we demonstrate that an upgraded inhomogeneous accretion disk model, whose local independent temperature fluctuations are subject to a speculated common large-scale temperature fluctuation, can intrinsically generate the tight interband correlation and lag across the UV/optical and be in nice agreement with several observational properties of NGC 5548, including the timescale-dependent color variation. The emergent lag is a result of the differential regression capability of local temperature fluctuations when responding to the large-scale fluctuation. An average speed of propagations as large as ≳15% of the speed of light may be required by this common fluctuation. Several potential physical mechanisms for such propagations are discussed. Our interesting phenomenological scenario may shed new light on comprehending the UV/optical continuum variations of active galactic nuclei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report combined magnetic susceptibility, dielectric constant, nuclear quadruple resonance (NQR), and zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on single crystals of multiferroics CuBr2. High quality of the sample is demonstrated by the sharp magnetic and magnetic-driven ferroelectric transition at 74 K. The zero-field 79Br and 81Br NMR are resolved below TN. The spin-lattice relaxation rates reveal charge fluctuations when cooled below 60 K. Evidences of an increase of NMR linewidth, a reduction of dielectric constant, and an increase of magnetic susceptibility are also seen at low temperatures. These data suggest an emergent instability which competes with the spiral magnetic ordering and the ferroelectricity. Candidate mechanisms are discussed based on the quasi-one-dimensional nature of the magnetic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Andromeda galaxy (M31) hosts one of the nearest and most quiescent supermassive black holes, which provides a rare, but promising opportunity for studying the physics of black hole accretion at the lowest state. We have conducted a multifrequency, multi-epoch observing campaign, using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in its extended configurations in 2011–2012, to advance our knowledge of the still poorly known radio properties of M31*. For the first time, we detect M31* at 10, 15, and 20 GHz and measure its spectral index, α ≈ −0.45 ± 0.08 (Sν ∝ να), over the frequency range of 5–20 GHz. The relatively steep spectrum suggests that the observed radio flux is dominated by the optically thin part of a putative jet, which is located at no more than a few thousand Schwarzschild radii from the black hole. On the other hand, our sensitive radio images show little evidence for an extended component, perhaps except for several parsec-scale “plumes,” the nature of which remains unclear. Our data also reveal significant (a few tens of percent) flux variation of M31* at 6 GHz, on timescales of hours to days. Furthermore, a curious decrease of the mean flux density, by ∼50%, is found between VLA observations taken during 2002–2005 and our new observations, which might be associated with a substantial increase in the mean X-ray flux of M31* starting in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AGN feedback is now widely believed to play a crucial role in the co-evolution between the central black hole and its host galaxy. Two feedback modes have been identified, namely the radiative and kinetic modes, which correspond to the luminous AGNs and low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs), respectively. In this paper, we investigate the radiative heating in the kinetic mode. This process is potentially important because (1) the radiation power of LLAGNs is higher than the jet power over a wide parameter range, (2) the spectral energy distribution of LLAGNs is such that the radiative heating is more effective compared to that of luminous AGNs with the same luminosity, and (3) most of the time in the lifecycle of an AGN is spent in the LLAGNs phase. In this paper, adopting the characteristic broadband spectral energy distributions of LLAGNs, we calculate the value of “Compton temperature” (), which determines the radiative heating by Compton scattering. We find that , depending on the spectrum of individual LLAGNs and at which distance from the black hole we evaluate the heating. We also compare this heating process with other radiative heating and cooling processes such as photoionization/recombination. Our result can be used for an accurate calculation of the radiative heating in the study of AGN feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinctive morphology of head–tail radio galaxies reveals strong interactions between the radio jets and their intra-cluster environment, the general consensus on the morphology origin of head–tail sources is that radio jets are bent by violent intra-cluster weather. We demonstrate in this paper that such strong interactions provide a great opportunity to study the jet properties and also the dynamics of the intra-cluster medium (ICM). By three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations, we analyze the detailed bending process of a magnetically dominated jet, based on the magnetic tower jet model. We use stratified atmospheres modulated by wind/shock to mimic the violent intra-cluster weather. Core sloshing is found to be inevitable during the wind-cluster core interaction, which induces significant shear motion and could finally drive ICM turbulence around the jet, making it difficult for the jet to survive. We perform a detailed comparison between the behavior of pure hydrodynamical jets and the magnetic tower jet and find that the jet-lobe morphology could not survive against the violent disruption in all of our pure hydrodynamical jet models. On the other hand, the head–tail morphology is well reproduced by using a magnetic tower jet model bent by wind, in which hydrodynamical instabilities are naturally suppressed and the jet could always keep its integrity under the protection of its internal magnetic fields. Finally, we also check the possibility for jet bending by shock only. We find that shock could not bend the jet significantly, and thus could not be expected to explain the observed long tails in head–tail radio galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent simulations on super-Eddington accretion flows have shown that, apart from the diffusion process, the vertical advection based on magnetic buoyancy can be a more efficient process to release the trapped photons in the optically thick disk. As a consequence, the radiative luminosity from the accretion disk can be far beyond the Eddington value. Following this spirit, we revisit the structure and radiation of hyper-accretion disks with mass accretion rates in the range of . Our results show that, due to the strong cooling through the vertical advection, the disk temperature becomes lower than that in the classic model without the vertical advection process, and therefore the neutrino luminosity from the disk is lower. On the other hand, the gamma-ray photons released through the vertical advection can be extremely super-Eddington. We argue that the large amount of escaped gamma-ray photons may have more significant contribution to the primordial fireball than the neutrino annihilation, and may hint at a link between gamma-ray bursts and kilonovae in the black hole hyper-accretion scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correlation among the radio luminosity (), X-ray luminosity (), and black hole (BH) mass () in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and BH binaries is known to exist and is called the “fundamental plane” of BH activity. Yuan & Cui predict that the radio/X-ray correlation index, , changes from to when decreases below a critical value of . While many works favor such a change, there are also several works claiming the opposite. In this paper, we gather from the literature the largest quiescent AGN (defined as ) sample to date, consisting of 75 sources. We find that these quiescent AGNs follow a radio/X-ray relationship, in excellent agreement with the Yuan & Cui prediction. The reason for the discrepancy between the present result and some previous works is that their samples contain not only quiescent sources but also “normal” ones (i.e., ). In this case, the quiescent sources will mix up with those normal ones in and . The value of will then be between 0.6 and ∼1.3, with the exact value being determined by the sample composition, i.e., the fraction of the quiescent and normal sources. Based on this result, we propose that a more physical way to study the fundamental plane is to replace and with and , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) are believed to be powered by an accretion-jet model, consisting of an inner advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF), an outer truncated standard thin disk, and a jet; however, model degeneracy still exists in this framework. For example, the X-ray emission can originate from either the ADAF or the jet. The aim of the present work is to check these models with the Faraday rotation measure (RM) observations recently detected for two LLAGNs, M87 and 3C 84, in the sub-mm band. For M87, we find that the RM predicted by the model in which the X-ray emission originates from the ADAF is larger than the observed upper limit of RM by over two orders of magnitude, while the model in which the X-ray emission originates from the jet predicts a RM lower than the observed upper limit. For 3C 84, the sub-mm emission is found to be dominated by the jet component, while the Faraday screen is attributed to the ADAFs. This scenario can naturally explain the observed external origin of the RM and why the RM is found to be stable during a two-year interval although the sub-mm emission increases at the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations of hot accretion flows around black holes have shown the existence of strong wind. Those works focused only on the region close to the black hole and thus it is unknown whether or where the wind production stops at large radii. To address this question, we have recently performed hydrodynamic (HD) simulations by taking into account the gravitational potential of both the black hole and the nuclear star cluster. The latter is assumed to be proportional to , with σ being the velocity dispersion of stars and r the distance from the center of the galaxy. It was found that when the gravity is dominated by nuclear stars, i.e., outside a radius , winds can no longer be produced. That work, however, neglects the magnetic field, which is believed to play a crucial dynamical role in the accretion and thus must be taken into account. In this paper, we revisit this problem by performing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. We confirm the result of our previous paper, namely that wind cannot be produced in the region . Our result, combined with recent results of Yuan et al., indicates that the formula describing the mass flux of wind, , can only be applied to the region where the black hole potential is dominant. Here is the mass accretion rate at the black hole horizon and the value of RA is similar to the Bondi radius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global evolution and dispersal of protoplanetary disks (PPDs) are governed by disk angular-momentum transport and mass-loss processes. Recent numerical studies suggest that angular-momentum transport in the inner region of PPDs is largely driven by magnetized disk wind, yet the wind mass-loss rate remains unconstrained. On the other hand, disk mass loss has conventionally been attributed to photoevaporation, where external heating on the disk surface drives a thermal wind. We unify the two scenarios by developing a one-dimensional model of magnetized disk winds with a simple treatment of thermodynamics as a proxy for external heating. The wind properties largely depend on (1) the magnetic field strength at the wind base, characterized by the poloidal Alfvén speed vAp, (2) the sound speed cs near the wind base, and (3) how rapidly poloidal field lines diverge (achieve scaling). When , corotation is enforced near the wind base, resulting in centrifugal acceleration. Otherwise, the wind is accelerated mainly by the pressure of the toroidal magnetic field. In both cases, the dominant role played by magnetic forces likely yields wind outflow rates that exceed purely hydrodynamical mechanisms. For typical PPD accretion-rate and wind-launching conditions, we expect vAp to be comparable to cs at the wind base. The resulting wind is heavily loaded, with a total wind mass-loss rate likely reaching a considerable fraction of the wind-driven accretion rate. Implications for modeling global disk evolution and planet formation are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous works show that strong winds exist in hot accretion flows around black holes. Those works focus only on the region close to the black hole, so it is unknown whether or where the wind production stops at large radii. In this paper, we investigate this problem with hydrodynamical simulations. We take into account the gravities of both the black hole and the nuclear star clusters. For the latter, we assume that the velocity dispersion of stars is a constant and its gravitational potential , where σ is the velocity dispersion of stars, and r is the distance from the center of the galaxy. We focus on the region where the gravitational potential is dominated by the star cluster. We find that, just as for the accretion flow at small radii, the mass inflow rate decreases inward, and the flow is convectively unstable. However, a trajectory analysis shows that there is very little wind launched from the flow. Our result, combined with the results of Yuan et al.’s study from 2015, indicates that the mass flux of wind launched from hot accretion flow , with . Here, is the accretion rate at the black hole horizon, and RA is similar to the Bondi radius. We argue that the inward decrease of inflow rate is not due to mass loss via wind, but to convective motion. The disappearance of wind outside RA must be due to the change of the gravitational potential, but the exact reason remains to be probed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous work, we have shown that the formation of Fermi bubbles can be due to the interaction between winds launched from the hot accretion flow in Sgr A* and the interstellar medium (ISM). In that work, we focus only on the morphology. In this paper we continue our study by calculating the gamma-ray radiation. Some cosmic-ray protons (CRp) and electrons (CRe) must be contained in the winds, which are likely formed by physical processes such as magnetic reconnection. We have performed MHD simulations to study the spatial distribution of CRp, considering the advection and diffusion of CRp in the presence of magnetic field. We find that a permeated zone is formed just outside of the contact discontinuity between winds and the ISM, where the collisions between CRp and thermal nuclei mainly occur. The decay of neutral pions generated in the collisions, combined with the inverse Compton scattering of background soft photons by the secondary leptons generated in the collisions and primary CRe, can well explain the observed gamma-ray spectral energy distribution. Other features such as the uniform surface brightness along the latitude and the boundary width of the bubbles are also explained. The advantage of this “accretion wind” model is that the adopted wind properties come from the detailed small-scale MHD numerical simulation of accretion flows and the value of mass accretion rate has independent observational evidences. The success of the model suggests that we may seriously consider the possibility that cavities and bubbles observed in other contexts such as galaxy clusters may be formed by winds rather than jets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray flares have routinely been observed from the supermassive black hole at our Galactic center, Sagittarius A (Sgr A⋆). The nature of these flares remains largely unclear, despite many theoretical models. In this paper, we study the statistical properties of the Sgr A⋆ X-ray flares by fitting the count rate (CR) distribution and the structure function of the light curve with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. With the 3-million-second Chandra observations accumulated in the Sgr A⋆ X-ray Visionary Project, we construct the theoretical light curves through Monte Carlo simulations. We find that the 2–8 keV X-ray light curve can be decomposed into a quiescent component with a constant CR of count s−1 and a flare component with a power-law fluence distribution with . The duration–fluence correlation can also be modeled as a power law with (95% confidence). These statistical properties are consistent with the theoretical prediction of the self-organized criticality system with the spatial dimension S = 3. We suggest that the X-ray flares represent plasmoid ejections driven by magnetic reconnection (similar to solar flares) in the accretion flow onto the black hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous MHD simulations have shown that wind must exist in black hole hot accretion flows. In this paper, we continue our study by investigating the detailed properties of wind and the mechanism of wind production. For this aim, we make use of a 3D general relativistic MHD simulation of hot accretion flows around a Schwarzschild black hole. To distinguish real wind from turbulent outflows, we track the trajectories of the virtual Lagrangian particles from simulation data. We find two types of real outflows, i.e., a jet and a wind. The mass flux of wind is very significant, and its radial profile can be described by , with being the mass accretion rate at the black hole horizon and rs being the Schwarzschild radius. The poloidal wind speed almost remains constant once they are produced, but the flux-weighted wind speed roughly follows , with vk(r) being the Keplerian speed at radius r. The mass flux of the jet is much lower, but the speed is much higher, ∼ (0.3–0.4)c. Consequently, both the energy and momentum fluxes of the wind are much larger than those of the jet. The wind is produced and accelerated primarily by the combination of centrifugal force and magnetic pressure gradient, while the jet is mainly accelerated by the magnetic pressure gradient. Finally, we find that the wind production efficiency is in good agreement with the value required from large-scale galaxy simulations with active galactic nucleus feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic properties of pentavalent-ion (Nb5+, Ta5+, and I5+) doped anatase and rutile TiO2 are studied using spin-polarized GGA + U calculations. Our calculated results indicate that these two phases of TiO2 exhibit different conductive behavior upon doping. For doped anatase TiO2, some up-spin-polarized Ti 3d states lie near the conduction band bottom and cross the Fermi level, showing an n-type half-metallic character. For doped rutile TiO2, the Fermi level is pinned between two up-spin-polarized Ti 3d gap states, showing an insulating character. In addition to the Nb (Ta)-doped anatase TiO2, we propose that the I-doped anatase TiO2 can also be a potential transparent conducting oxide, which is worthy of further experimental verification. These findings clarify the long-standing controversy of whether GGA + U calculation can successfully predict the conducting property in the Nb (Ta)-doped anatase phase and the insulating property in the rutile phase. Moreover, our results show that the symmetry breaking can cause a metal-insulating transition in pentavalent-ion-doped anatase TiO2, though this symmetry breaking may not occur spontaneously because of the relatively high energy barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formation control and obstacle avoidance for multi-agent systems have attracted more and more attention. In this paper, the problems of formation control and obstacle avoidance are investigated by means of a consensus algorithm. A novel distributed control model is proposed for the multi-agent system to form the anticipated formation as well as achieve obstacle avoidance. Based on the consensus algorithm, a distributed control function consisting of three terms (formation control term, velocity matching term, and obstacle avoidance term) is presented. By establishing a novel formation control matrix, a formation control term is constructed such that the agents can converge to consensus and reach the anticipated formation. A new obstacle avoidance function is developed by using the modified potential field approach to make sure that obstacle avoidance can be achieved whether the obstacle is in a dynamic state or a stationary state. A velocity matching term is also put forward to guarantee that the velocities of all agents converge to the same value. Furthermore, stability of the control model is proven. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]