Related papers: Public Release of RELXILL_NK: A Relativistic Refle…
We report on a new general relativistic computational model enhancing, in various respects, the capability of presently available tools for fitting spectra of X-ray sources. The new model is intended for spectral analysis of black-hole…
While Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity (GR) has been tested extensively in our solar system, it is just beginning to be tested in the strong gravitational fields that surround black holes. As a way to study the behavior of…
We present a new three-dimensional fully general-relativistic hydrodynamics code using high-resolution shock-capturing techniques and a conformal traceless formulation of the Einstein equations. Besides presenting a thorough set of tests…
There are many simplifications in current relativistic reflection models and this introduces systematic uncertainties in the measurement of the properties of the source. In this paper, we study the impact of the radiation crossing the…
Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a theoretically well-motivated alternative theory of gravity emerging as a low-energy 4-dimensional model from heterotic string theory. Its rotating black hole solutions are known numerically and can…
The presence of spacetime singularities in physically relevant solutions of the Einstein Equations is normally interpreted as a symptom of the breakdown of classical general relativity at very high densities/curvatures. However, despite…
Rebirth of X-ray polarimetric instruments will have a significant impact on our knowledge of compact accreting sources. The properties of inner-accreting regions of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or X-ray binary systems (XRBs), such as…
Electromagnetic observations have been used over the past decades to understand the nature of black holes and the material around them. Our ability to learn about the fundamental physics relies on our understanding of two key ingredients in…
X-ray reflection spectroscopy has evolved as one of the leading methods to measure black hole spins. However, the question is whether its measurements are subjected to systematic biases, especially considering the possible discrepancy…
We present an implementation of a ray tracing code in the Schwarzschild metric. We aim at building a numerical code with a correct implementation of both special (aberration, amplification, Doppler) and general (deflection of light,…
The general theory of relativity is currently the accepted theory of gravity and as such, a large repository of test results has been obtained since its inception in 1915. However, in this paper we only focus on what are considered as the…
The Novikov-Thorne model is the standard framework for the description of geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disks around black holes and is widely used to study the electromagnetic spectra of accreting black holes. One of the…
Different astrophysical methods can be combined to detect possible deviations from General Relativity. In this work, we consider a class of $f(R)$ gravity models selected by the existence of Noether symmetries. In this framework, it is…
Kaluza-Klein theory is a popular alternative theory of gravity, with both non-rotating and rotating black hole solutions known. This allows for the possibility that the theory could be observationally tested. We present a model which…
The recently released images of the supermassive black holes in the M87 galaxy and the galaxy of our own make probing black hole spacetimes and testing general relativity (GR) possible. The violation of equatorial reflection symmetry of…
The effect of the returning radiation has long been ignored in the analysis of the reflection spectra of Galactic black holes and active galactic nuclei and only recently has been implemented in the relxill package. Here we present a study…
We continue exploring the constraining capabilities of X-ray reflection spectroscopy to test the Kerr-nature of astrophysical black holes and we present the results of our analysis of two NuSTAR observations of Cygnus X-1 in the soft state.…
This paper aims to investigate the astrophysical applicability of the electrically and magnetically charged black hole solutions obtained in a model of nonlinear electrodynamics proposed by Kruglov (Ann. Phys. Berlin 2017, 529, 170073).…
The inspirals of ``small'' ($1 - 100 M_\odot$) compact bodies through highly relativistic orbits of massive (several $\times 10^5 M_\odot -$ several $\times 10^6 M_\odot$) black holes are among the most anticipated sources for the LISA…
We describe a new code which can accurately calculate the relativistic effects which distort the emission from an accretion disc around a black hole. We compare our results for a disk which extends from the innermost stable orbit to…