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Black hole binaries show equatorial disc winds at high luminosities, which apparently disappear during the spectral transition to the low/hard state. This is also where the radio jet appears, motivating speculation that both wind and jet are driven by different configurations of the same magnetic field. However, these systems must also have thermal winds, as the outer disc is clearly irradiated.We develop a predictive model of the absorption features from thermal winds, based on pioneering work of Begelman et al 1983. We couple this to a realistic model of the irradiating spectrum as a function of luminosity to predict the entire wind evolution during outbursts. We show that the column density of the thermal wind scales roughly with luminosity, and does not shut off at the spectral transition, though its visibility will be affected by the abrupt change in ionising spectrum. We re-analyse the data from H1743-322 which most constrains the difference in wind across the spectral transition and show that these are consistent with the thermal wind models.We include simple corrections for radiation pressure, which allows stronger winds to be launched from smaller radii. These winds become optically thick around Eddington, which may even explain the exceptional wind seen in one observation of GRO J1655-40. These data can instead be fit by magnetic wind models, but similar winds are not seen in this or other systems at similar luminosities. Hence we conclude that the majority (perhaps all) current data can be explained by thermal or thermal-radiative winds., Comment: MNRAS accepted, 10 pages, 7 figures

While most spatial data can be modeled with the assumption that distant points are uncorrelated, some problems require dependence at both far and short distances. We introduce a model to directly incorporate dependence in phenomena that influence a distant response. Spatial climate problems often have such modeling needs as data are influenced by local factors in addition to remote phenomena, known as teleconnections. Teleconnections arise from complex interactions between the atmosphere and ocean, of which the El Nino--Southern Oscillation teleconnection is a well-known example. Our model extends the standard geostatistical modeling framework to account for effects of covariates observed on a spatially remote domain. We frame our model as an extension of spatially varying coefficient models. Connections to existing methods are highlighted and further modeling needs are addressed by additionally drawing on spatial basis functions and predictive processes. Notably, our approach allows users to model teleconnected data without pre-specifying teleconnection indices, which other methods often require. We adopt a hierarchical Bayesian framework to conduct inference and make predictions. The method is demonstrated by predicting precipitation in Colorado while accounting for local factors and teleconnection effects with Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures. We show how the proposed model improves upon standard methods for estimating teleconnection effects and discuss its utility for climate applications., Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

The faintest ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), those with 0.3-10 keV luminosities 1 < L_X/10^39 < 3 erg s^-1, tend to have X-ray spectra that are disk-like but broader than expected for thin accretion disks. These `broadened disk' spectra are thought to indicate near- or mildly super-Eddington accretion onto stellar remnant black holes. Here we report that a sample of bright thermal-dominant black hole binaries, which have Eddington ratios constrained to moderate values, also show broadened disk spectra in the 0.3-10 keV band at an order of magnitude lower luminosities. This broadening would be missed in studies that only look above ~2 keV. While this may suggest that broadened disk ULXs could be powered by accretion onto massive stellar remnant black holes with close to maximal spin, we argue in favor of a scenario where they are at close to the Eddington luminosity, such that radiation pressure would be expected to result in geometrically slim, advective accretion disks. However, this implies that an additional physical mechanism is required to produce the observed broad spectra at low Eddington ratios., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The gravitationally lensed quasar APM 08279+5255 has the fastest claimed wind from any AGN, with velocities of 0.6-0.7c, requiring magnetic acceleration as special relativisitic effects limit all radiatively driven winds to v<0.3-0.5c. However, this extreme velocity derives from interpreting both the narrow and broad absorption features in the X-ray spectrum as iron absorption lines. The classic ultrafast outflow source PDS 456 also shows similar absorption systems, but here the higher energy, broader feature is generally interpreted as an absorption edge. We reanalyse all the spectra from APM 08279+5255 using a full 3-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer disc wind model for the ionised wind at 0.1-0.2c, together with complex absorption from lower ionisation material, and find that this is a better description of the data. Thus there is no strong requirement for outflow velocities beyond 0.2c, which can be powered by radiation driving. We show that UV line driving is especially likely given the spectral energy distribution of this source which is intrinsically UV bright and X-ray weak. While the peak of this emission is unobservable, it must be luminous enough to power the observed hot dust, favouring at least moderate black hole spin., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We model the energy dependence of a quasi periodic oscillation (QPOs) produced by Lense-Thirring precession of a hot inner flow. We use a fully 3-dimensional Monte-Carlo code to compute the Compton scattered flux produced by the hot inner flow intercepting seed photons from an outer truncated standard disc. The changing orientation of the precessing torus relative to the line of sight produces the observed modulation of the X-ray flux. We consider two scenarios of precession. First, we assume that the precession axis is perpendicular to the plane of the outer disc. In this scenario the relative geometry of the cold disc and the hot torus does not change during precession, so the emitted spectrum does not change, and the modulation is solely due to the changing viewing angle. In the second scenario the precession axis is tilted with respect to the outer disc plane. This leads to changes in the relative geometry of the hot flow and cold plasma, possibly resulting in variations of the plasma temperature and thus generating additional spectral variability, which combines with the variations due to the viewing angle changes., Comment: MNRAS, submitted

We continue our study of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 11 AGN at 1.5 < z < 2.2, with optical-NIR spectra, X-ray data and mid-IR photometry. In a previous paper we presented the observations and models; in this paper we explore the parameter space of these models. We first quantify uncertainties on the black hole masses (M$_{\rm BH}$) and degeneracies between SED parameters. The effect of BH spin is tested, and we find that while low to moderate spin values (a$_*$ $\leq$ 0.9) are compatible with the data in all cases, maximal spin (a$_*$ = 0.998) can only describe the data if the accretion disc is face-on. The outer accretion disc radii are well constrained in 8/11 objects, and are found to be a factor ~5 smaller than the self-gravity radii. We then extend our modelling campaign into the mid-IR regime with WISE photometry, adding components for the host galaxy and dusty torus. Our estimates of the host galaxy luminosities are consistent with the M$_{\rm BH}$-bulge relationship, and the measured torus properties (covering factor and temperatures) are in agreement with earlier work, suggesting a predominantly silicate-based grain composition. Finally, we deconvolve the optical-NIR spectra using our SED continuum model. We claim that this is a more physically motivated approach than using empirical descriptions of the continuum such as broken power-laws. For our small sample, we verify previously noted correlations between emission linewidths and luminosities commonly used for single-epoch M$_{\rm BH}$ estimates, and observe a statistically significant anti-correlation between [O III] equivalent width and AGN luminosity., Comment: 26 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS

In the unified scheme of active galactic nuclei, a dusty torus absorbs and then reprocesses a fraction of the intrinsic luminosity which is emitted at longer wavelengths. Thus, subject to radiative transfer corrections, the fraction of the sky covered by the torus as seen from the central source (known as the covering factor $f_c$) can be estimated from the ratio of the infrared to the bolometric luminosities of the source as $f_c=L_{\rm torus}/L_{\rm Bol}$. However, the uncertainty in determining $L_{\rm Bol}$ has made the estimation of covering factors by this technique difficult, especially for AGN in the local Universe where the peak of the observed SEDs lies in the UV (ultraviolet). Here, we determine the covering factors of an X-ray/optically selected sample of 51 type~1 AGN. The bolometric luminosities of these sources are derived using a self-consistent, energy-conserving model that estimates the contribution in the unobservable far-UV region, using multi-frequency data obtained from SDSS, \textit{XMM-Newton}, \textit{WISE}, 2MASS and UKIDSS. We derive a mean value of $f_c\sim$0.30 with a dispersion of 0.17. Sample correlations, combined with simulations, show that $f_c$ is more strongly anti-correlated with $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$ than with $L_{\rm Bol}$. This points to large-scale torus geometry changes associated with the Eddington-dependent accretion flow, rather than a receding torus, with its inner sublimation radius determined solely by heating from the central source. Furthermore, we do not see any significant change in the distribution of $f_c$ for sub-samples of radio-loud sources or Narrow Line Seyfert~1 galaxies (NLS1s), though these sub-samples are small., Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables. Revised version, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies have been identified by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope as a rare class of gamma-ray emitting active galactic nuclei (AGN). The lowest-redshift candidate among them is the source 1H 0323+342. Here we present quasi-simultaneous Gemini near-infrared and Keck optical spectroscopy for it, from which we derive a black hole mass based on both the broad Balmer and Paschen emission lines. We supplement these observations with a NuSTAR X-ray spectrum taken about two years earlier, from which we constrain the black hole mass based on the short timescale spectral variability. Our multiwavelength observations suggest a black hole mass of ~2x10^7 solar masses, which agrees well with previous estimates. We build the spectral energy distribution and show that it is dominated by the thermal and reprocessed emission from the accretion disc rather than the non-thermal jet component. A detailed spectral fitting with the energy-conserving accretion disc model of Done et al. constrains the Eddington ratio to L/L_Edd ~ 0.5 for a (non-rotating) Schwarzschild black hole and to L/L_Edd ~ 1 for a Kerr black hole with dimensionless spin of a*=0.8. Higher spin values and so higher Eddington ratios are excluded, since they would strongly overpredict the observed soft X-ray flux., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted by MNRAS

We investigate the sensitivity of the colour-based quasar selection algorithm of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to several key physical parameters of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), focusing on BH spin ($a_{\star}$) at the high BH-mass regime ($M_{BH} \geqslant10^9\, M_{\odot}$). We use a large grid of model spectral energy distribution, assuming geometrically-thin, optically-thick accretion discs, and spanning a wide range of five physical parameters: BH mass $M_{BH}$, BH spin $a_{\star}$, Eddington ratio $L / L_{Edd}$ , redshift $z$, and inclination angle $inc$. Based on the expected fluxes in the SDSS imaging ugriz bands, we find that $\sim 99.8\%$ of our models with $M_{BH} \leqslant 10^{9.5}\, M_{\odot}$ are selected as quasar candidates and thus would have been targeted for spectroscopic follow-up. However, in the extremely high-mass regime, $\geqslant 10^{10} M_{\odot}$, we identify a bias against slowly/retrograde spinning SMBHs. The fraction of SEDs that would have been selected as quasar candidates drops below $\sim50\%$ for $a_{\star} <0$ across $0.5

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Hitomi was expected to resolve the origin of the faint unidentified E=3.5 keV emission line reported in several low-resolution studies of various massive systems, such as galaxies and clusters, including the Perseus cluster. We have analyzed the Hitomi first-light observation of the Perseus cluster. The emission line expected for Perseus based on the XMM-Newton signal from the large cluster sample under the dark matter decay scenario is too faint to be detectable in the Hitomi data. However, the previously reported 3.5 keV flux from Perseus was anomalously high compared to the sample-based prediction. We find no unidentified line at the reported high flux level. Taking into account the XMM measurement uncertainties for this region, the inconsistency with Hitomi is at a 99% significance for a broad dark-matter line and at 99.7% for a narrow line from the gas. We do not find anomalously high fluxes of the nearby faint K line or the Ar satellite line that were proposed as explanations for the earlier 3.5 keV detections. We do find a hint of a broad excess near the energies of high-n transitions of Sxvi (E=3.44 keV rest-frame) -- a possible signature of charge exchange in the molecular nebula and another proposed explanation for the unidentified line. While its energy is consistent with XMM pn detections, it is unlikely to explain the MOS signal. A confirmation of this interesting feature has to wait for a more sensitive observation with a future calorimeter experiment., Comment: Discussion of systematics significantly expanded. 9 pages, 5 figures; ApJ Lett. in press

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure., Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July 8

Accreting stellar-mass black holes often show a `Type-C' quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in their X-ray flux, and an iron emission line in their X-ray spectrum. The iron line is generated through continuum photons reflecting off the accretion disk, and its shape is distorted by relativistic motion of the orbiting plasma and the gravitational pull of the black hole. The physical origin of the QPO has long been debated, but is often attributed to Lense-Thirring precession, a General Relativistic effect causing the inner flow to precess as the spinning black hole twists up the surrounding space-time. This predicts a characteristic rocking of the iron line between red and blue shift as the receding and approaching sides of the disk are respectively illuminated. Here we report on XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the black hole binary H 1743-322 in which the line energy varies systematically over the ~4 s QPO cycle (3.70 sigma significance), as predicted. This provides strong evidence that the QPO is produced by Lense-Thirring precession, constituting the first detection of this effect in the strong gravitation regime. There are however elements of our results harder to explain, with one section of data behaving differently to all the others. Our result enables the future application of tomographic techniques to map the inner regions of black hole accretion disks., Comment: Published online in MNRAS

We present a new analysis of X-ray spectra of the archetypal ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) Holmberg IX X-1 obtained by the Swift, XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observatories. This ULX is a persistent source, with a typical luminosity of ~10^40 erg s^-1, that varied by a factor of 4 - 5 over eight years. We find that its spectra tend to evolve from relatively flat or two-component spectra in the medium energy band (1-6 keV), at lower luminosities, to a spectrum that is distinctly curved and disc-like at the highest luminosities, with the peak energy in the curved spectrum tending to decrease with increased luminosity. We argue that the spectral evolution of the ULX can be explained by super-Eddington accretion models, where in this case we view the ULX down the evacuated funnel along its rotation axis, bounded by its massive radiatively driven wind. The spectral changes then originate in enhanced geometric beaming as the accretion rate increases and wind funnel narrows, causing the scattered flux from the central regions of the supercritical flow to brighten faster than the isotropic thermal emission from the wind, and so the curved hard spectral component to dominate at the highest luminosities. The wind also Compton down-scatters photons at the edge of the funnel, resulting in the peak energy of the spectrum decreasing. We also confirm that Holmberg IX X-1 displays spectral degeneracy with luminosity, and suggest that the observed differences are naturally explained by precession of the black hole rotation axis for the suggested wind geometry., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 18 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables

We revisited the unusual wind in GRO J1655-40 detected with Chandra in 2005 April, using long-term RXTE X-ray data and simultaneous optical/near-infrared photometric data. This wind is the most convincing case for magnetic driving in black hole binaries, as it has an inferred launch radius which is a factor of 10 smaller than the thermal wind prediction. However, the optical and near-infrared fluxes monotonically increase around the Chandra observation, whereas the X-ray flux monotonically decreases from 10 days beforehand. Yet the optical and near-infrared fluxes are from the outer, irradiated disk, so for them to increase implies that the X-rays likewise increased. We applied a new irradiated disk model to the multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Fitting the optical and near-infrared fluxes, we estimated the intrinsic luminosity at the Chandra epoch was > ~0.7 L_Edd, which is more than one order of magnitude larger than the observed X-ray luminosity. These results could be explained if a Compton-thick, almost completely ionized gas was present in the wind and strong scattering reduced the apparent X-ray luminosity. The effects of scattering in the wind should then be taken into account for discussion of the wind-driving mechanism. Radiation pressure and Compton heating may also contribute to powering the wind at this high luminosity., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The new multi-wavelength monitoring campaign on NGC 5548 shows clearly that the variability of the UV/optical lightcurves lags by progressively longer times at longer wavelengths, as expected from reprocessing of an optically thick disk, but that the timescales are longer than expected for a standard Shakura-Sunyaev accretion disc. We build a full spectral-timing reprocessing model to simulate the UV/optical lightcurves of NGC 5548. We show that disc reprocessing of the observed hard X-ray lightcurve produces optical lightcurves with too much fast variability as well as too short a lag time. Supressing the fast variability requires an intervening structure preventing the hard X-rays from illuminating the disc. We propose this is the disc itself, perhaps due to atomic processes in the UV lifting the photosphere, increasing the scale-height, making it less dense and less able to thermalise, so that it radiates low temperature Comptonised emission as required to produce the soft X-ray excess. The outer edge of the puffed-up Comptonised disc region emits FUV flux, and can illuminate the outer thin blackbody disc but while this gives reprocessed variable emission which is much closer to the observed UV and optical lightcurves, the light travel lags are still too short to match the data. We reverse engineer a solution to match the observations and find that the luminosity and temperature of the lagged emission is not consistent with material at the light travel lag distance responding to the irradiating flux (either FUV or X-ray) from the AGN. We conclude that the UV/optical lags of NGC 5548 are not the light travel time from X-ray reprocessing, nor the light travel time from FUV reprocessing, but instead could be the timescale for the outer blackbody disc vertical structure to respond to the changing FUV illumination., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

ULX-7, in the northern spiral arm of M51, demonstrates unusual behaviour for an ultraluminous X-ray source, with a hard X-ray spectrum but very high short-term variability. This suggests that it is not in a typical ultraluminous state. We analyse the source using archival data from XMM-Newton, Chandra and NuSTAR, and by examining optical and radio data from HST and VLA. Our X-ray spectral analysis shows that the source has a hard power-law spectral shape with a photon index Gamma~1.5, which persists despite the source's X-ray luminosity varying by over an order of magnitude. The power spectrum of the source features a break at 6.5^{+0.5}_{-1.1}x10^-3 Hz, from a low-frequency spectral index of alpha_1=-0.1^{+0.5}_{-0.2} to a high-frequency spectral index of alpha_2=0.65^{+0.05}_{-0.14}, making it analogous to the low-frequency break found in the power spectra of low/hard state black holes (BHs). We can take a lower frequency limit for a corresponding high-frequency break to calculate a BH mass upper limit of 1.6x10^3 solar masses. Using the X-ray/radio fundamental plane we calculate another upper limit to the BH mass of 3.5x10^4 solar masses for a BH in the low/hard state. The hard spectrum, high rms variability and mass limits are consistent with ULX-7 being an intermediate-mass BH; however we cannot exclude other interpretations of this source's interesting behaviour, most notably a neutron star with an extreme accretion rate., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The dramatic hard-soft spectral transition in Black Hole Binaries is important as it is associated with the collapse of the jet and with the strongest low frequency QPOs. These transition spectra (intermediate and very high state: VHS) are complex, with soft but distinctly non-thermal Comptonisation which merges smoothly into the disc emission. Here we develop a physical model for the accretion flow which can accommodate all these features, with an outer standard disc, which can make a transition to an energetically coupled disc-corona region, and make a further transition to a hot inner flow which can be radiatively inefficient if required. The code explicitly uses fully relativistic emissivity (Novikov-Thorne), and all Comptonisation is calculated with a hybrid (thermal and non-thermal) electron distribution. We fit this to a VHS spectrum from GX 339-4. We show that the complex continuum curvature produced by a hybrid electron distribution is enough to remove the strong constraint on black hole spin derived from reflection using simpler Comptonisation models. More fundamentally, we show that the VHS cannot be fit with the same Novikov-Thorne emissivity which can fit the disc dominated spectrum but instead requires that the inner flow is somewhat radiatively inefficient. This is consistent with an accretion powered jet, but simultaneous radio data show that the jet has already collapsed at the time of our data. Instead, it could point to truncation of the inner flow at radii larger than the innermost stable circular orbit, as predicted by the Lense-Thirring QPO models., Comment: 14 pages ,14 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication to MNRAS

This paper describes the Polarization Spectroscopic Telescope Array (PolSTAR), a mission proposed to NASA's 2014 Small Explorer (SMEX) announcement of opportunity. PolSTAR measures the linear polarization of 3-50 keV (requirement; goal: 2.5-70 keV) X-rays probing the behavior of matter, radiation and the very fabric of spacetime under the extreme conditions close to the event horizons of black holes, as well as in and around magnetars and neutron stars. The PolSTAR design is based on the technology developed for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission launched in June 2012. In particular, it uses the same X-ray optics, extendable telescope boom, optical bench, and CdZnTe detectors as NuSTAR. The mission has the sensitivity to measure ~1% linear polarization fractions for X-ray sources with fluxes down to ~5 mCrab. This paper describes the PolSTAR design as well as the science drivers and the potential science return., Comment: (Astroparticle Physics in press, 34 pages, 23 figures, 6 tables)

1H 0707-495 is the most convincing example of a supermassive black hole with an X-ray spectrum being dominated by extremely smeared, relativistic reflection, with the additional requirement of strongly supersoler iron abundance. However, here we show that the iron features in its 2--10 keV spectrum are rather similar to the archetypal wind dominated source, PDS 456. We fit all the 2--10 keV spectra from 1H 0707-495 using the same wind model as used for PDS 456, but viewed at higher inclination so that the iron absorption line is broader but not so blueshifted. This gives a good overall fit to the data from 1H 0707-495, and an extrapolation of this model to higher energies also gives a good match to the NuSTAR data. Small remaining residuals indicate that the iron line emission is stronger than in PDS 456. This is consistent with the wider angle wind expected from a continuum driven wind from the super-Eddington mass accretion rate in 1H 0707-495, and/or the presence of residual reflection from the underlying disk though the presence of the absorption line in the model removes the requirement for highly relativistic smearing, and highly supersoler iron abundance. We suggest that the spectrum of 1H 0707-495 is sculpted more by absorption in a wind than by extreme relativistic effects in strong gravity., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

In this work, a boundary value problem for Sturm-Liouville operator with discontinuous coefficient is examined. The main equation is obtained which has an important role in solution of inverse problem for boundary value problem and uniqueness of its solution is proved. Uniqueness theorem for the solution of the inverse problem is given.

The lamppost model is often used to describe the X-ray source geometry in AGN, where an infinitesimal point source is located on the black hole spin axis. This is especially invoked for Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, where an extremely broad iron line seen in episodes of low X-ray flux can both be explained by extremely strong relativistic effects as the source approaches the black hole horizon. The most extreme spectrum seen from the NLS1 1H0707-495 requires that the source is less than 1Rg above the event horizon in this geometry. However, the source must also be large enough to intercept sufficient seed photons from the disk to make the hard X-ray Compton continuum which produces the observed iron line/reflected spectrum. We use a fully relativistic ray tracing code to show that this implies that the source must be substantially larger than 1Rg in 1H0707-495 if the disk is the source of seed photons. Hence the source cannot fit as close as 1Rg to the horizon, so the observed spectrum and variability are not formed purely by effects of strong gravity but probably also by changes in corona and inner accretion flow geometry., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ

(abridged) We report on multi-wavelength measurements of Swift J1753.5-0127 in the hard state at L=2.7e36 erg/s (assuming d=3 kpc) in 2014. The radio emission is optically thick synchrotron, presumably from a compact jet. We take advantage of the low extinction and model the near-IR to UV emission with a multi-temperature disk model. Assuming a BH mass of M_BH=5 Msun and a system inclination of 40 deg, the fits imply an inner radius for the disk of Rin/Rg>212 d_3 (5Msun/M_BH). The outer radius is R_out/R_g=90,000 d_3 (5Msun/M_BH), which corresponds to 6.6e10 d_3 cm, consistent with the expected size of the disk. The 0.5-240 keV spectrum measured by Swift/XRT, Suzaku, and NuSTAR is relatively well characterized by a power-law with a photon index of Gamma=1.722+/-0.003, but a significant improvement is seen when a second continuum component is added. Reflection is a possibility, but no iron line is detected, implying a low iron abundance. We are able to fit the entire SED with a multi-temperature disk component, a Comptonization component, and a broken power-law, representing the emission from the compact jet. The broken power-law cannot significantly contribute to the soft X-ray emission, and this may be related to why Swift J1753.5-0127 is an outlier in the radio/X-ray correlation. The broken power-law might dominate above 20 keV, which would constrain the break frequency to be between 2.4e10 Hz and 3.6e12 Hz. Although the fits to the full SED do not include significant thermal emission in the X-ray band, previous observations have consistently seen such a component, and we find that there is evidence at the 3.1-sigma level for a disk-blackbody component with a temperature of 150(+30)(-20) eV and an inner radius of 5-14 R_g. If this component is real, it might imply the presence of an inner accretion disk in addition to the strongly truncated (R_in>212 R_g) disk., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, accepted by ApJ

Relativistic reflection models of the X-ray spectrum of the `complex' Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) 1H 0707-495 require a high spin, moderate inclination, low mass black hole. With these parameters fixed, the observed optical/UV emission directly determines the mass accretion rate through the outer disc and hence predicts the bolometric luminosity. This is $140-260~\times$ the Eddington limit. Such a disc should power a strong wind, and winds are generically expected to be clumpy. Changing inclination angle with respect to a clumpy wind structure gives a possible explanation for the otherwise puzzling difference between `complex' NLS1 such as 1H 0707-495 and `simple' ones like PG 1244+026. Lines of sight which intercept the wind show deep absorption features at iron from the hot phase of the wind, together with stochastic dips and complex absorption when the clumps occult the X-ray source (complex NLS1), whereas both these features are absent for more face-on inclination (simple NLS1). This geometry is quite different to the clean view of a flat disc which is assumed for the spin measurements in relativistic reflection models, so it is possible that even 1H 0707-495 has low spin. If so, this re-opens the simplest and hence very attractive possibility that high black hole spin is a necessary and sufficient condition to trigger highly relativistic (bulk Lorentz factor $\sim 10-15$) jets., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. This is a much expanded version of the original paper, with much more detailed disc modelling and longer discussion of the possible role of spin in triggering jets

We use frequency-resolved spectroscopy to examine the energy spectra of the prominent low frequency QPO and its harmonic in GX 339-4. We track the evolution of these spectra as the source makes a transition from a bright low/hard to hard intermediate state. In the hard/intermediate states, the QPO and time averaged spectra are similar and the harmonic is either undetected or similar to the QPO. By contrast, in the softer states the harmonic is dramatically softer than the QPO spectrum and the time averaged spectrum, and the QPO spectrum is dramatically harder than the time averaged spectrum. Clearly, the existance of these very different spectral shaped components mean that the time-averaged spectra are complex. We use the frequency resolved spectra to better constrain the model components, and find that the data are consistent with a time-averaged spectrum which has an additional low temperature, optically thick Comptonisation component. The harmonic can be described by this additional component alone, while the QPO spectrum is similar to that of the hard Comptonisation and its reflection. Neither QPO nor harmonic show signs of the disc component even when it is strong in the time averaged spectrum. While the similarity between the harmonic and QPO spectra in the intermediate state can be produced from the angular dependence of Compton scattering in a single region, this cannot explain the dramatic differences seen in the soft state. Instead, we propose that the soft Compton region is located predominantly above the disc while the hard Compton is from the hotter inner flow. Our results therefore point to multiple possible mechanisms for producing harmonic features in the power spectrum. The dominant mechanism in a given observation is likely a function of both inclination angle and inner disc radius., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS (updated to match final version)

RX J1140.1+0307 (hereafter RX1140) is a Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) with one of the lowest black hole masses known in an AGN (M ${\le} 10^6$ M$_{\odot}$). We show results from two new {\it XMM-Newton} observations, showing soft 2-10~keV spectra, a strong excess at lower energies, and fast X-ray variability as is typical of this class. The soft excess can be equally well fit by either low temperature Comptonisation or highly smeared, ionised reflection models, but we use a covariance analysis of the fast X-ray variability as well as lag and coherence spectra to show that the low temperature Comptonisation model gives a better description of the break in variability properties between soft and hard X-rays. Both models also require an additional component at the softest energies, as expected from the accretion disc. However, this inner disc spectrum does not join smoothly onto the variable optical and far UV emission (which should be produced in the outer disc) unless the mass is underestimated by an order of magnitude. The variable optical and far UV emission instead suggests that $L/L_{Edd}\sim 10$ through the outer disc, in which case advection and/or wind losses are required to explain the observed broadband spectral energy distribution. However, the similarity of the X-ray properties of RX1140 to other simple NLS1 such as PG 1244+026, RE J1034+396 and RX~J0136 means it is likely that these are also super-Eddington sources. This means their spectral energy distribution cannot be used to determine black hole spin despite appearing to be disc dominated. It also means that the accretion geometry close to the black hole is unlikely to be a flat disc as assumed in the new X-ray reverberation mapping techniques., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures; submitted to MNRAS