Related papers: Testing general relativity with accretion onto com…
We calculate the atmospheric structure of an accretion disk around a Kerr black hole and obtain its X-ray spectrum, which exhibits prominent atomic transitions under certain circumstances. The gravitational and Doppler (red)shifts of the C…
Despite the prevalence of jets in accreting systems and their impact on the surrounding medium, the fundamental physics of how they are launched and collimated is not fully understood. Radio observations of local compact objects, including…
(abridged) In this paper we extend the idea suggested previously by Petri (2005a,b) that the high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in low-mass X-ray binaries may be explained as a resonant oscillation of the accretion disk…
Flux variability is a remarkable property of black hole (BH) accreting systems, and a powerful tool to investigate the multi-scale structure of the accretion flow. The X-ray band is where some of the most rapid variations occur, pointing to…
Recently, it has been shown that soft-state black hole X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei populate a plane in the space defined by the black hole mass, accretion rate and characteristic frequency. We show that this plane can be…
We review the recent multifrequency studies of galactic black hole binaries, aiming at revealing the underlying emission processes and physical properties in these systems. The optical and infrared observations are important for determining…
We present the publicly available model \textsc{reltrans} that calculates the light-crossing delays and energy shifts experienced by X-ray photons originally emitted close to the black hole when they reflect from the accretion disk and are…
We present the first X-ray reflection model for testing the assumption that the metric of astrophysical black holes is described by the Kerr solution. We employ the formalism of the transfer function proposed by Cunningham. The calculations…
Multiwavelength variability data, combined with spectral-timing analysis techniques, provides information about the causal relationship between different physical components in accreting black holes. Using fast-timing data and long-term…
The central engines of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are powered by accreting supermassive black holes, and while AGNs are known to play an important role in galaxy evolution, the key physical processes occur on scales that are too small to…
We present NKBB, an XSPEC model for the thermal spectrum of thin accretion disks in parametric black hole spacetimes. We employ the Novikov-Thorne model for the description of the accretion disk and the formalism of the transfer function…
We present a novel method to measure the accretion rate of radio emitting X-ray binaries (XRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) independently of the X-ray luminosity. The radio emission of the jet is used as a tracer for the accretion rate…
We present preliminary results of our study of the impact of strong gravity effects on properties of the high energy radiation produced in accretion flows around supermassive black holes. We refine a model of the X-ray emission from a hot…
Microcalorimeters have demonstrated success in delivering high spectral resolution, and have paved the path to revolutionary new science possibilities in the coming decade of X-ray astronomy. There are several research areas in compact…
We present a pseudo-Newtonian potential for accretion disk modeling around the rotating black holes. This potential can describe the general relativistic effects on accretion disk. As the inclusion of rotation in a proper way is very…
A solid theoretical understanding of how inflowing, accreting plasma around black holes and other compact objects gives rise to outflowing winds and jets is still lacking, despite decades of observations. The fact that similar processes and…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes of general relativity. However, macroscopic deviations from the Kerr background are predicted by a number of scenarios beyond Einstein's gravity. X-ray reflection…
Continuum spectrum emitted by the accretion disk around quasars hold a wealth of information regarding the strong gravitational field produced by the massive central object. Such strong gravity regime is often expected to exhibit deviations…
According to various models, the orbital and the epicyclic frequencies of particles moving on a circular orbit around compact objects are related to the quasi-periodic oscillations observed in the X-ray flux of some pulsars or black hole…
This Thesis describes the basic framework and applications of a relativistic ray-tracing code for analyzing accretion processes around Kerr black holes. We begin in Chapter 1 with a brief historical summary of the major advances in black…