The intrinsic Baldwin effect in broad Balmer lines of six long-term monitored AGNs

We investigate the intrinsic Baldwin effect (Beff) of the broad H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ emission lines for six Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with different broad line characteristics: two Seyfert 1 (NGC 4151 and NGC 5548), two AGNs with double-peaked broad line profiles (3C 390.3 and Arp 102B), one narrow line Seyfert 1 (Ark 564), and one high-luminosity quasar with highly red asymmetric broad line profiles (E1821+643). We found that a significant intrinsic Beff was present in all Type 1 AGNs in our sample. Moreover, we do not see strong difference in intrinsic Beff slopes in different types of AGNs which probably have different physical properties, such as inclination, broad line region geometry, or accretion rate. Additionally, we found that the intrinsic Beff was not connected with the global one, which, instead, could not be detected in the broad H$\alpha$ or H$\beta$ emission lines. In the case of NGC 4151, the detected variation of the Beff slope could be due to the change in the site of line formation in the BLR. Finally, the intrinsic Beff might be caused by the additional optical continuum component that is not part of the ionization continuum.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

High-Q Nanomechanics via Destructive Interference of Elastic Waves

Mechanical dissipation poses an ubiquitous challenge to the performance of nanomechanical devices. Here we analyze the support-induced dissipation of high-stress nanomechanical resonators. We develop a model for this loss mechanism and test it on silicon nitride membranes with circular and square geometries. The measured Q-values of different harmonics present a non-monotonic behavior which is successfully explained. For azimuthal harmonics of the circular geometry we predict that destructive interference of the radiated waves leads to an exponential suppression of the clamping loss in the harmonic index. Our model can also be applied to graphene drums under high tension.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Long-term variability of the optical spectra of NGC 4151: II. Evolution of the broad Ha and Hb emission-line profiles

Results of the long-term (11 years, from 1996 to 2006) H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ line variations of the active galactic nucleus of NGC 4151 are presented. High quality spectra (S/N>50 and R~8A) of H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ were investigated. We analyzed line profile variations during monitoring period. Comparing the line profiles of H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$, we studied different details (bumps, absorption features) in the line profiles. The variations of the different H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ line profile segments have been investigated. Also, we analyzed the Balmer decrement for whole line and for line segments. We found that the line profiles were strongly changing during the monitoring period, showing blue and red asymmetries. This indicates a complex BLR geometry of NGC 4151 with, at least, three kinematically distinct regions: one that contributes to the blue line wing, one to the line core and one to the red line wing. Such variation can be caused by an accelerating outflow starting very close to the black hole, where the red part may come from the region {closer to the black hole than the blue part, which is coming} from the region having the highest outflow velocities. Taking into account the fact that the BLR of NGC 4151 has a complex geometry (probably affected by an outflow) and that a portion of the broad line emission seems to have not a pure photoionization origin, one can ask the question whether the study of the BLR by reverberation mapping may be valid in the case of this galaxy.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publications in A&

Line shape variability in a sample of AGN with broad lines

The spectral variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is one of their key features that enables us to study in more details the structure of AGN emitting regions. Especially, the broad line profiles, that vary both in flux and shape, give us invaluable information about the kinematics and geometry of the broad line region (BLR) where these lines are originating from. We give here a comparative review of the line shape variability in a sample of five type 1 AGN, those with broad emission lines in their spectra, of the data obtained from the international long-term optical monitoring campaign coordinated by the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science. The main aim of this campaign is to study the physics and kinematics of the BLR on a uniform data set, focusing on the problems of the photoionization heating of the BLR and its geometry, where in this paper we give for a first time a comparative analysis of the variabilty of five type 1 AGN, discussing their complex BLR physics and geometry in the framework of the estimates of the supermassive black hole mass in AGN.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, Springe

Spectral monitoring of AGNs: Preliminary results for Ark 564 and Arp 102B

We present preliminary results of the long term spectral monitoring of two active galactic nuclei with different broad line shapes: Ark 564 and Arp 102B. Ark 564 is a bright nearby narrow line Syfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy with relatively narrow permitted optical emission lines and a high FeII/H${\beta}$ ratio, while Arp 102B is a nearby broad-line radio galaxy with broad double-peaked Balmer emission lines. The spectra of Ark 564 were observed during 11-year period (1999-2009) and the spectra of Arp 102B in the 12-year period (1998-2009), with SAO 6-m and 1-m telescopes (Russia) and the GHAO 2.1-m telescope (Cananea, Mexico).Comment: Presented on "8th Serbian Conference on Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics". In revised version minor changes in the tex

Oscillatory patterns in the light curves of 5 long-term monitored type 1 AGN

A new combined data of 5 well known type 1 AGN are probed with a novel hybrid method in a search for oscillatory behavior. Additional analysis of artificial light curves obtained from the coupled oscillatory models gives confirmation for detected periods that could have physical background. We find periodic variations in the long-term light curves of 3C 390.3, NGC 4151, NGC 5548 and E1821+643, with correlation coefficients larger than 0.6. We show that oscillatory patterns of two binary black hole candidates NGC 5548 and E1821+643 corresponds to qualitatively different dynamical regimes of chaos and stability, respectively. We demonstrate that absence of oscillatory patterns in Arp 102B could be due to a weak coupling between oscillatory mechanisms. This is the first good evidence that 3C 390.3 and Arp 102B, categorized as double-peaked Balmer line objects, have qualitative different dynamics. Our analysis shows a novelty in the oscillatory dynamical patterns of the light curves of these type 1 AGN.Comment: Manuscript accepted for publication in MNRAS on 2017 November 3

Acousto-optic and opto-acoustic modulation in piezo-optomechanical circuits

Acoustic wave devices provide a promising chip-scale platform for efficiently coupling radio frequency (RF) and optical fields. Here, we use an integrated piezo-optomechanical circuit platform that exploits both the piezoelectric and photoelastic coupling mechanisms to link 2.4 GHz RF waves to 194 THz (1550 nm) optical waves, through coupling to propagating and localized 2.4 GHz acoustic waves. We demonstrate acousto-optic modulation, resonant in both the optical and mechanical domains, in which waveforms encoded on the RF carrier are mapped to the optical field. We also show opto-acoustic modulation, in which the application of optical pulses gates the transmission of propagating acoustic waves. The time-domain characteristics of this system under both pulsed RF and pulsed optical excitation are considered in the context of the different physical pathways involved in driving the acoustic waves, and modeled through the coupled mode equations of cavity optomechanics.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure