Related papers: Black Hole Spin Measurements Based on a Thin Disc …

In a previous paper, we presented an extension of our reflection model RELXILL_NK to include the finite thickness of the accretion disk following the prescription in Taylor & Reynolds (2018). In this paper, we apply our model to fit the…

We present an analysis of the observed broad iron line feature and putative warm absorber in the long 2001 XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert-1.2 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. The new "kerrdisk" model we have designed for simulating line emission…

The X-ray spectra of accretion discs of eight stellar-mass black holes have been analyzed to date using the thermal continuum fitting method, and the spectral fits have been used to estimate the spin parameters of the black holes. However,…

We present the results of a multi-epoch and multi-instrument study of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy MCG-05-23-16 aiming at the determination of its spin. We have analyzed high quality X-ray data of MCG-05-23-16…

We present three simultaneous/quasi-simultaneous NuSTAR and Swift datasets of the black hole GRS 1716-249 in its hard intermediate state. The accretion disk in this state may have reached the innermost stable circular orbit, and the NuSTAR…

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…

The black-hole spin parameter, $a_*$, was measured to be close to its maximum value of 1 in many accreting X-ray binaries. In particular, $a_*\gtrsim 0.9$ was found in a number of studies of LMC X-1. These measurements were claimed to take…

The Galactic black hole candidate MAXI J0637-430 was first discovered by $\textit{MAXI/GSC}$ on 2019 November 02. We study the spectral properties of MAXI J0637-430 by using the archived $\textit{NuSTAR}$ data and $\textit{Swift}$/XRT data.…

We discuss black hole spin measurements employing the relativistic iron line profiles in the X-ray domain. We investigate the iron line band for two representative sources -- MCG -6-30-15 (active galaxy) and GX 339-4 (X-ray binary). We…

We present a high density disc reflection spectral analysis of a sample of 17 Seyfert 1 galaxies to study the inner disc densities at different black hole mass scales and accretion rates. All the available XMM-Newton observations in the…

We perform a detailed study of the black hole spin of Cyg X-1, using accurate broad-band X-ray data obtained in the soft spectral state by simultaneous NICER and NuSTAR observations, supplemented at high energies by INTEGRAL data. We use…

The spin of Cygnus X-1 is measured by fitting reflection models to Suzaku data covering the energy band 0.9-400 keV. The inner radius of the accretion disc is found to lie within 2 gravitational radii (r_g=GM/c^2) and a value for the…

During its yearlong outburst in 1975--76, the transient source A0620--00 reached an intensity of 50 Crab, an all-time record for any X-ray binary. The source has been quiescent since. We recently determined accurate values for the black…

We re-examine archival Ginga data for the black hole binary system GS 1124-683, obtained when the system was undergoing its 1991 outburst. Our analysis estimates the dimensionless spin parameter a=cJ/GM^2 by fitting the X-ray continuum…

X-ray reflection is a very powerful method to assess the spin of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGN), yet this technique is not universally accepted. Indeed, complex reprocessing (absorption, scattering) of the…

X-ray reflection spectroscopy (or iron line method) is a powerful tool to probe the strong gravity region of black holes, and currently is the only technique for measuring the spin of the supermassive ones. While all the available…

Understanding the nature of the accretion disk, its interplay with the X-ray corona, and assessing black hole spin demographics are some open challenges in astrophysics. In this work, we examine the predictions of the standard $\alpha$-disk…

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…

The two established techniques for measuring black hole spin in X-ray binaries often yield conflicting results, which must be resolved before either method may be deemed robust. In practice, black hole spin measurements based on fitting the…

Astrophysical black hole systems are the ideal laboratories for testing Einstein's theory of gravity in the strong field regime. We have recently developed a framework which uses the reflection spectrum of black hole systems to perform…