Related papers: Simulation-Based Prediction of Black Hole X-ray Sp…
We present a numerical method which evolves a two-temperature, magnetized, radiative, accretion flow around a black hole, within the framework of general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics. As implemented in the code KORAL, the gas…
The X-ray spectra of accreting stellar-mass black hole systems exhibit spectral features due to reflection, especially broad iron K alpha emission lines. We investigate the reflection by the accretion disc that can be expected in the…
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 present the first results from two-dimensional simulations of radiatively-efficient accretion of metal-free gas onto intermediate-mass black holes. We fix the shape of the spectral energy distribution of the radiation produced near the…
We develop a model of particle energization and emission from strongly turbulent black-hole coronae. Our local model is based on a set of 2D radiative particle-in-cell simulations with an electron-ion plasma composition, injection and…
Numerical simulations of MHD accretion flows in the vicinity of a supermasssive black hole provide important insights to the problem of why and how systems -- such as the Galactic Center -- are underluminous and variable. To access…
We perform two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection in electron-ion plasmas subject to strong Compton cooling and calculate the X-ray spectra produced by this process. The simulations are performed for…
We model the spectral energy distribution of the type 1 Seyfert galaxies, fitting data from simultaneous optical, UV, and X-ray monitoring observations. We assume a geometry consisting of a hot central Comptonizing region surrounded by a…
Accretion disks around stellar-mass black holes offer unique opportunities to study the fundamental physics of standard thin disks, super-Eddington disks, and structure that may be connected to flux variability. These local analogues of…
The results of a spectral analysis, using {\it XMM-Newton} and {\it Chandra} data of the brightest ultra luminous X-ray source in the nearby galaxy M82, are presented. The spectrum of M82 X-1, was found to be unusually hard (photon spectral…
We discuss the emergent spectra from accreting black holes, considering in particular the case where the accretion is characterized by relativistic bulk motion. We suggest that such accretion is likely to occur in a wide variety of black…
X-ray variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and black hole binaries can be analysed by means of the power spectral density (PSD). The break observed in the power spectrum defines a characteristic variability timescale of the accreting…
Some thermonuclear (type I) X-ray bursts at the neutron star surfaces in low-mass X-ray binaries take place during hard persistent states of the systems. Spectral evolution of these bursts is well described by the atmosphere model of a…
We present a survey of how the spectral features of black hole X-ray binary systems depend on spin, accretion rate, viewing angle, and Fe abundance when predicted on the basis of first principles physical calculations. The power law…
We analyse the spectra of black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) X-ray binaries (XBs) in the hard state using archival RXTE observations. We find that there is a clear dichotomy in the strength of Comptonisation between NS and BH sources, as…
We propose a jet model for the low/hard state of Galactic black-hole X-ray sources that can explain the energy spectra from radio to X-rays. The model assumes that i) there is a magnetic field along the axis of the jet; ii) the electron…
We present the results of several numerical simulations of two dimensional axi-symmetric accretion flows around black holes using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) in the presence of cooling effects. We consider both stellar black holes…
The observation of energetic X-ray emission from black holes, inconsistent with thermal emission from an accretion disk, has long indicated the presence of a "corona" around these objects. However, our knowledge of the geometry,…
Using three-dimensional general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of accretion flows around stellar mass black holes, we report that the relatively cold disk ($\gtrsim 10^{7}$K) is truncated near the black hole. Hot…
We critically examine issues associated with determining the fundamental properties of the black hole and the surrounding accretion disk in an X-ray binary based on modeling the disk X-ray continuum of the source. We base our work mainly on…