Related papers: A truncated inner disc in the Seyfert 1 galaxy WKK…
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 peaks of the spectra of the accretion disks surrounding massive black holes in quasars are in the far-UV or soft X-ray band, which are usually not observed. However, in the disk corona model, the soft photons from the disk are…
Approximately 10-20% of Active Galactic Nuclei are known to eject powerful jets from the innermost regions. There is very little observational evidence if the jets are powered by spinning black holes and if the accretion disks extend to the…
The innermost regions of accretion disks around black holes are strongly irradiated by X-rays that are emitted from a highly variable, compact corona, in the immediate vicinity of the black hole. The X-rays that are seen reflected from the…
We report on an observation of the Galactic black hole candidate GRS 1739-278 during its 2014 outburst, obtained with NuSTAR. The source was captured at the peak of a rising "low/hard" state, at a flux of ~0.3 Crab. A broad, skewed iron…
We present a new analysis of NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of the black hole Cygnus X-1 in the intermediate state. The analysis uses kerrC, a new model for analyzing spectral and spectropolarimetric X-ray observations of black holes. kerrC…
In active galactic nuclei, X-ray illumination of the accretion disk around a supermassive black hole (SMBH) results in the production of the K$\alpha$ fluorescent line of iron, which provides insights into accretion physics and SMBH spins.…
Spectroscopy of X-ray emission lines emitted in accretion discs around supermassive black holes is one of the most powerful probes of the accretion flow physics and geometry, while also providing in principle observational constraints on…
The observed iron K-alpha fluorescence lines in Seyfert-1 galaxies provide strong evidence for an accretion disk near a supermassive black hole as a source of the emission. Here we present an analysis of the geometrical and kinematic…
In the microquasar V4641 Sgr the spin of the black hole is thought to be misaligned with the binary orbital axis. The accretion disc aligns with the black hole spin by the Lense-Thirring effect near to the black hole and further out becomes…
We present X-ray timing and spectral analyses of simultaneous 150 ks Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Suzaku X-ray observations of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 4151. We disentangle the continuum emission, absorption, and…
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 spectral analysis of the NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert 1h galaxy/ULIRG IRAS 05189-2524 taken in 2013. We find evidence for relativistic disk reflection in the broadband X-ray spectrum: a highly asymmetric…
Active galactic nuclei host an accretion disc with an X-ray producing corona around a supermassive black hole. In bright sources, such as the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335, reflection of the coronal emission off the accretion disc has been…
The X-ray emission from bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is believed to originate in a hot corona lying above a cold, geometrically thin accretion disk. A highly concentrated corona located within $\sim10$ gravitational radii above the…
Relativistically blurred reflection from the accretion disc provides a powerful probe of the extreme environments close to supermassive black holes; the inner regions of the accretion flow and the corona that produces the intense X-ray…
Accretion disks and coronae around massive black holes have been studied extensively, and they are known to be coupled. Over a period of 30 years, however, the X-ray (coronal) flux of Mrk 817 increased by a factor of 40 while its UV (disk)…
We report results obtained from six XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert galaxy 1H 0419-577. Here we show that the X-ray spectrum and variability are well described by a two-component model comprising a power law with constant spectral…
Variations in the X-ray emission from the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, Markarian 335 (Mrk 335), are studied on both long and short timescales through observations made between 2006 and 2013 with XMM-Newton, Suzaku and NuSTAR. Changes in…
Emission from within the plunging region of black hole accretion flows has recently been detected in two X-ray binary systems. There is, furthermore, a possible discrepancy between the inferred spins of gravitational wave and…