Related papers: Accretion disc coronae in black hole binaries
The vertical structure of optically thick accretion disks is investigated in the two-zone approximation. The disk is divided into an underlying disk and a corona, where the latter is defined as the upper surface layers for which the…
Black hole X-ray binaries in their hard and hard-intermediate states display hard and soft time lags between broadband noise variations (high-energy emission lagging low-energy and vice versa), which could be used to constrain the geometry…
We present the results of self-consistent models of Compton-heated accretion disk coronae. The models are calculated using a new method for computing monochromatic radiative transfer in two-dimensions. The method splits the radiation into…
We discuss the application of simple relativistically-blurred X-ray reflection models to the determination of the spin and the inner radius of the disc in accreting black holes. Observationally, the nature of the corona is uncertain a…
It has long been speculated that the nature of the hard X-ray corona may be an important second driver of black hole state transitions, in addition to the mass accretion rate through the disk. However, a clear physical picture of coronal…
We investigate the model of the disc/corona accretion flow around the black hole. The model, parameterized by the total (i.e. disk plus corona) accretion rate, $\dot m$, mass of the black hole, $M$ and the viscosity parameter, $\alpha$,…
We study Compton upscattering of low-frequency photons in a converging flow of thermal plasma. The photons escape diffusively and electron scattering is the dominant source of opacity. We solve numerically and approximately analytically the…
We have performed Monte Carlo simulations of Compton upscattering of low-energy photons in an accretion disk around a Schwarzschild black hole. The photons gain energy from the rotational motion of the electrons in the disk. The…
These notes resulted from a series of lectures at the IAC winter school. They are designed to help students, especially those just starting in subject, to get hold of the fundamental tools used to study accretion powered sources. As such,…
GX~339$-$4 is a black hole X-ray binary that is a key focus of accretion studies since it goes into outburst roughly every two-to-three years. Tracking of its radio, IR and X-ray flux during multiple outbursts reveals tight broadband…
We solve for the structure of a hot accretion disc with unsaturated thermal Comptonisation of soft photons and with advection, generalizing the classical model of Shapiro et al. The upper limit on the accretion rate due to advection…
An empirical relation between `canonical' X-ray states in black hole X-ray binaries and radio emission is presented. In the Low/Hard state a quasi-continuous radio-emitting jet is produced. In the the High/Soft state the jet is not…
We study reflected X-ray emission that returns to the accretion disc in the strong gravitational fields around black holes using General Relativistic ray tracing and radiative transfer calculations. Reflected X-rays that are produced when…
Black hole accretion flows can be divided into two broad classes: cold and hot. Cold accretion flows, which consist of cool optically thick gas, are found at relatively high mass accretion rates. Prominent examples are the standard thin…
We discuss properties of thermal and hybrid (thermal/non-thermal) electron-positron plasmas in the pair and energy equilibria. Various accretion disc-corona models, recently proposed to explain properties of galactic as well as…
Continuum and reflection spectral models have each been widely employed in measuring the spins of accreting black holes. However, the two approaches have not been implemented together in a photon-conserving, self-consistent framework. We…
X-ray flux from the inner hot region around central compact object in a binary system illuminates the upper surface of an accretion disc and it behaves like a corona. This region can be photoionised by the illuminating radiation, thus can…
Radiation emitted from an accretion disk around a massive black hole is a widely discussed model for the UV/soft X-ray excess emission observed in the spectra of many AGN. A self-consistent calculation of the structure and the emerging…
The soft X-ray excess in the spectra of active galactic nuclei is characterized by similar electron temperatures of 0.1 -- 0.3 keV and similar photon indices around 2.2 -- 3, if fitted with inverse Comptonization. It remains a puzzle why…
We explore the evolution in power of black holes of all masses, and their associated jets, within the scheme of an accretion rate-dependent state transition. Below a critical value of the accretion rate all systems are assumed to undergo a…