[en] The relevance of combining X-ray imaging with several techniques is presented, with the aim of providing richer data for synchrotron users. The technical and practical challenges associated with approaches that combine X-ray imaging with diffraction, fluorescence and X-ray absorption are also detailed. Finally, I will give some concrete examples of recent measurements and current developments to address the problems of materials science in particular

[en] There have been several recent claims of black hole binaries in globular clusters. I show that these candidate systems could instead be ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) in which a neutron star accretes from a white dwarf. They would represent a slightly earlier evolutionary stage of known globular cluster UCXBs such as 4U 1820-30, with white dwarf masses ∼0.2 M_sun and orbital periods below 5 minutes. Accretion is slightly super-Eddington and makes these systems ultraluminous sources with rather mild beaming factors b ∼ 0.3. Their theoretical luminosity function flattens slightly just above L_Edd and then steepens at ∼3L_Edd. It predicts of order two detections in elliptical galaxies such as NGC 4472, as observed. The very bright X-ray source HLX-1 lies off the plane of its host S0a galaxy. If this is an indication of globular cluster membership, it could conceivably be a more extreme example of a UCXB with white dwarf mass M₂ ≅ 0.34 M_sun. The beaming here is tighter (b ∼ (2.5-9) x 10^-3), but the system's distance of 95 Mpc easily eliminates any need to invoke improbable alignment of the beam for detection. If its position instead indicates membership of a satellite dwarf galaxy, HLX-1 could have a much higher accretor mass ∼1000 M_sun

[en] We suggest a common physical origin connecting the fast, highly ionized winds (UFOs) seen in nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and the slower and less ionized winds of broad absorption line (BAL) QSOs. The primary difference is the mass-loss rate in the wind, which is ultimately determined by the rate at which mass is fed toward the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) on large scales. This is below the Eddington accretion rate in most UFOs, and slightly super-Eddington in extreme UFOs such as PG1211+143, but ranges up to ∼10-50 times this in BAL QSOs. For UFOs this implies black hole accretion rates and wind mass-loss rates which are at most comparable to Eddington, giving fast, highly ionized winds. In contrast, BAL QSO black holes have mildly super-Eddington accretion rates, and drive winds whose mass-loss rates are significantly super-Eddington, and so are slower and less ionized. This picture correctly predicts the velocities and ionization states of the observed winds, including the recently discovered one in SDSS J1106+1939. We suggest that luminous AGNs may evolve through a sequence from BAL QSO through LoBAL to UFO-producing Seyfert or quasar as their Eddington factors drop during the decay of a bright accretion event. LoBALs correspond to a short-lived stage in which the AGN radiation pressure largely evacuates the ionization cone, but before the large-scale accretion rate has dropped to the Eddington value. We show that sub-Eddington wind rates would produce an M-σ relation lying above that observed. We conclude that significant SMBH mass growth must occur in super-Eddington phases, either as BAL QSOs, extreme UFOs, or obscured from direct observation.

[en] It is now generally agreed that some process prevents the diffuse gas in galaxy clusters from cooling significantly, although there is less agreement about the nature of this process. I suggest that cluster gas may be heated by a natural extension of the mechanism establishing the M _BH-σ and M _BH-M _bulge relations in galaxies, namely outflows resulting from super-Eddington accretion on to the galaxy's central black hole. The black holes in cD galaxies are sporadically fed at unusually high Eddington ratios. These are triggered as the cluster gas tries to cool, but rapidly quenched by the resulting shock heating. This mechanism is close to the optimum efficiency for using accretion energy to reheat cluster gas, and probably more effective than 'radio mode' heating by jets, for example. The excess energy is radiated in active phases of the cD galaxy nucleus, probably highly anisotropically.

[en] It is widely suspected that active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity ultimately sweeps galaxies clear of their gas. We work out the observable properties required to achieve this. Large-scale AGN-driven outflows should have kinetic luminosities ∼η L_Edd/2 ∼ 0.05 L_Edd and momentum rates ∼20 L_Edd/c, where L_Edd is the Eddington luminosity of the central black hole and η ∼ 0.1 its radiative accretion efficiency. This creates an expanding two-phase medium in which molecular species coexist with hot gas, which can persist after the central AGN has switched off. This picture predicts outflow velocities ∼1000-1500 km s^–1 and mass outflow rates up to 4000 M_☉ yr^–1 on kpc scales, fixed mainly by the host galaxy velocity dispersion (or equivalently black hole mass). All these features agree with those of outflows observed in galaxies such as Mrk231. This strongly suggests that AGN activity is what sweeps galaxies clear of their gas on a dynamical timescale and makes them red and dead. We suggest future observational tests of this picture.

[en] We review recent progress in studying accretion flows on to supermassive black holes (SMBH). Much of this removes earlier assumptions of symmetry and regularity, such as aligned and prograde disc rotation. This allows a much richer variety of effects, often because cancellation of angular momentum allows rapid infall. Potential applications include lower SMBH spins allowing faster mass growth and suppressing gravitational-wave reaction recoil in mergers, gas-assisted SMBH mergers, and near-dynamical accretion in galaxy centres. (paper)

[en] High accuracy non-relativistic quantum chemical calculations of the ground state energies and wavefunctions of symmetric three-particle Coulomb systems of the form (m₁^±m₂^±m₃^∓), m₁ = m₂, are calculated using an efficient and effective series solution method in a triple orthogonal Laguerre basis set. These energies are used to determine an accurate lower bound to the stability zone of unit-charge three-particle Coulomb systems using an expression for the width of the stability band in terms of g, the fractional additional binding due to a third particle. The results are presented in the form of a reciprocal mass fraction ternary diagram and the energies used to derive a parameterised function g(a₃), where a₃=m₃⁻¹/(m₁⁻¹+m₂⁻¹+m₃⁻¹) is the reciprocal mass of the uniquely charged particle. It is found that the function is not minimal at a₃ = 0 which corresponds to ∞H⁻ nor is it minimal at the positronium negative ion (Ps⁻) the system with the least absolute energetic gain by association with a third particle; the function g(a₃) is minimal at m₁/m₃ = 0.49, and a possible physical interpretation in terms of the transition from atomic-like to molecular-like is provided

[en] We suggest a new picture of supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth in galaxy centers. Momentum-driven feedback from an accreting hole gives significant orbital energy, but little angular momentum to the surrounding gas. Once central accretion drops, the feedback weakens and swept-up gas falls back toward the SMBH on near-parabolic orbits. These intersect near the black hole with partially opposed specific angular momenta, causing further infall and ultimately the formation of a small-scale accretion disk. The feeding rates into the disk typically exceed Eddington by factors of a few, growing the hole on the Salpeter timescale and stimulating further feedback. Natural consequences of this picture include (1) the formation and maintenance of a roughly toroidal distribution of obscuring matter near the hole; (2) random orientations of successive accretion disk episodes; (3) the possibility of rapid SMBH growth; (4) tidal disruption of stars and close binaries formed from infalling gas, resulting in visible flares and ejection of hypervelocity stars; (5) super-solar abundances of the matter accreting on to the SMBH; and (6) a lower central dark-matter density, and hence annihilation signal, than adiabatic SMBH growth implies. We also suggest a simple subgrid recipe for implementing this process in numerical simulations

[en] Non-relativistic quantum chemical calculations of the particle mass, m₂^±, corresponding to the dissociation threshold in a range of Coulomb three-particle systems of the form (m₁^±m₂^±m₃^∓), are performed variationally using a series solution method with a Laguerre-based wavefunction. These masses are used to calculate an accurate stability boundary, i.e., the line that separates the stability domain from the instability domains, in a reciprocal mass fraction ternary diagram. This result is compared to a lower bound to the stability domain derived from symmetric systems and reveals the importance of the asymmetric (mass-symmetry breaking) terms in the Hamiltonian at dissociation. A functional fit to the stability boundary data provides a simple analytical expression for calculating the minimum mass of a third particle required for stable binding to a two-particle system, i.e., for predicting the bound state stability of any unit-charge three-particle system

[en] The ANATOMIX light line at the SOLEIL Synchrotron, in operation since 2018, offers full-field microtomography and nanotomography covering length scales corresponding to a pixel size of around 20 nm to 20 μm, with a field of view ranging from 20 μm to several cm. With a U18 cryogenic vacuum inverter as source, it provides X-rays in a photon energy range from around 5 keV to over 50 keV in white beam (up to around 25 keV in monochromatic beam). Two types of instrument are available to users: parallel-beam microtomography can go down to a useful pixel size of 130 nm. For imaging finer structures, a transmission X-ray microscope (TXM), using a Fresnel lens ('flat zone') as the objective, allows even higher resolutions, down to 20 nm (pixel size)