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Solar eclipse is a unique phenomenon that produces an orderly disturbance in the ionosphere within a specific time frame. It provides us an opportunity to understand the ionospheric response due to its systematic variation during an eclipse. The amplitude and phase of a Very Low Frequency (VLF) signal carry the response of lower ionospheric perturbation due to the varying solar radiation impinging on Earth. During the Annular Solar Eclipse on December 26, 2019, (ASE2019), Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP), Kolkata, India conducted a nationwide VLF radio signal monitoring campaign to obtain the amplitude and phase variations of propagating VLF signal from fourteen different locations across India. The signal amplitude and phase profile exhibit unique profiles at these locations. These profiles in the VLF signal during ASE2019 are explained using the Long Wavelength Propagation Capability (LWPC) code and the modeled variation of solar disk obscuration by the moon. Furthermore, the lower ionospheric electron density ( N e ) computed from the model is in agreement with the observed lower ionospheric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016–17, the Galactic transient black hole candidate GRS 1716-249 exhibited an outburst event after a long quiescence period of almost 23 years. The source remained in the outbursting phase for almost 9 months. We study the spectral and temporal properties of the source during this outburst using archival data from four astronomy satellites, namely MAXI, Swift, NuSTAR and AstroSat. Initial spectral analysis is done using combined disk black body and power-law models. For a better understanding of the accretion flow properties, we studied spectra with the physical two component advective flow (TCAF) model. Accretion flow parameters are extracted directly from the spectral fits with the TCAF model. Low frequency quasi periodic oscillations are also observed in the Swift/XRT and AstroSat/LAXPC data. From the spectral fit, we also estimate the probable mass of GRS 1716-249 to be in the range of 4.50– 5.93 M ⊙ or 5.01 − 0.51 + 0.92 M ⊙ . Refitting of all spectra is done by freezing the mass at its average value. An insignificant deviation of the TCAF model parameters is observed. From the nature of the variation of the newly fitted spectral and temporal properties, we find that the source stays in only the harder (hard and hard-intermediate) states during the outburst. It does not make a transition to the softer states which makes it a 'failed' outburst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetized accretion flows around black holes which include standing or oscillating shock waves can produce very realistic spectrum till a few MeV. These shocks accelerate hot electrons which produce power-law spectrum. The post-shock region intercepts soft-photons from an external source, namely, a Keplerian disk and also from distributed sources such as the synchrotron photons emitted from thermal and non-thermal electrons originated in the pre-shock and post-shock flow. These photons are inverse Comptonized by the thermal and the non-thermal electrons present in the CENBOL region. Computations show that the emitted radiation is extended till a few MeV. We include the bulk motion Comptonization as well and discuss its importance vis-a-vis the power-law spectrum produced by non-thermal electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fit the spectra of Cyg X-1 using two component advective flows with Keplerian accretion disks on the equatorial plane surrounded by sub-Keplerian disks when standing shocks are present. The soft photons generated by the bremsstrahlung and synchrotron processes in the sub-Keplerian flow, as well as the multi-colour black body emission from the Keplerian disk are Comptonized by the thermal and non-thermal electrons. By varying Keplerian and sub-Keplerian rates we are able to reproduce the observed soft and hard states as far as X-ray region is concerned and ‘low γ-ray intensity’ and ‘high γ-ray intensity’ states as far as the soft γ-ray region is concerned. We also find two pivotal points where the spectra intersect as is observed in Cyg X-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report multi-wavelength and multi-band observations of a radio galaxy, J0037+18, optical counterpart of which appears to be interacting with the galaxy J003754+182118. We present the map of J0037+18 in various radio frequencies and discuss radio properties of the source using data from the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope and the Very Large Array. We use optical data to investigate the environment of the host. The angle between the upper lobe and the lower lobe of the radio galaxy is found to be 38 degree near the base of the jets which makes it a narrow-angle tail galaxy. Spectral index based on radio observations between 148 MHz and 1489 MHz exhibit a strong gradient along the jet with flatter spectra near the core and steeper spectra near the outer ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The galactic black hole candidate (BHC) XTE J1118+480 during its 2000 outburst has been studied in a broad energy range using the archival data of PCA and HEXTE payloads of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Detailed spectral and temporal properties of the source are studied. Low and very low frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), with a general trend of increasing frequency are observed during the outburst. Spectral analysis is done using the combined data of the PCA and HEXTE instruments with two types of models: the well-known phenomenological power-law model and the current version of the fits file of two-component advective flow (TCAF) solution as an additive table model in XSPEC. During the entire period of the outburst, a non-thermal power-law component and the TCAF model fitted to the sub-Keplerian halo rate were found to be highly dominant. We suggest that this so-called outburst is due to enhanced jet activity. Indeed, the 'outburst' subsides when this activity disappears. We estimated the X-ray fluxes coming from the base of the jet and found that the radio flux is correlated with this X-ray flux. Though the object was in the hard state in the entire episode, the spectrum becomes slightly softer with the rise in the Keplerian disk rate in the late declining phase. We also estimated the probable mass of the source from our spectral analysis with the TCAF solution. Our estimated mass of XTE J1118+480 is 6.99−0.74+0.50M⊙ i.e., in the range of 6.25-7.49M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]