Related papers: Relativistic reflection within an extended hot pla…
We have calculated the relativistic reflection component of the X-ray spectra of accretion disks in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Our calculations have shown that the spectra can be significantly modified by the motion of the accretion flow…
The fundamental parameters describing the coronal spectrum of an accreting black hole are the slope $\Gamma$ of the power-law continuum and the energy $E_{cut}$ at which it rolls over. Remarkably, this parameter can be accurately measured…
X-ray irradiation of the accretion disc leads to strong reflection features, which are then broadened and distorted by relativistic effects. We present a detailed, general relativistic approach to model this irradiation for different…
Accreting black holes commonly exhibit hard X-ray emission, originating from a region of hot plasma near the central engine referred to as the corona. The origin and geometry of the corona are poorly understood, and models invoking either…
We study the lamppost model, in which the X-ray source in accreting black-hole systems is located on the rotation axis close to the horizon. We point out a number of inconsistencies in the widely used lamppost model relxilllp, e.g., the…
We present a generally applicable formalism for modeling the emission, absorption, reflection, and reprocessing of radiation by moving plasma streams close to a Kerr Black hole. The formalism can be used to investigate the observational…
We study light curves and spectra (equivalent widths of the iron line and some other spectral characteristics) which arise by reflection on the surface of an accretion disc, following its illumination by a primary off-axis source - an X-ray…
X-ray reflection spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study the strong gravity region of black holes. The next generation of astrophysical X-ray missions promises to provide unprecedented high-quality data, which could permit us to get very…
We report the detection of relativistically broadened iron K alpha emission in the X-ray spectra of AGN detected in the 4Ms CDF-S. Using the Bayesian X-ray analysis (BXA) package, we fit 199 hard band (2-7 keV) selected sources in the…
We present the results of a new global radiation transport code coupled to a general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic simulation of an accreting, non-rotating black hole. For the first time, we are able to explain from first principles in…
This is a collection of notes to calculate electromagnetic spectra of geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disks around black holes. The presentation is intentionally pedagogical and most calculations are reported step by step.…
X-ray reverberation in AGN, believed to be the result of the reprocessing of corona photons by the underlying accretion disk, has allowed us to probe the properties of the inner-most regions of the accretion flow and the central black hole.…
We present the public release version of relxill_nk, an X-ray reflection model for testing the Kerr hypothesis and general relativity. This model extends the relxill model that assumes the black hole spacetime is described by the Kerr…
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…
We calculate the structure of a standard accretion disk with corona surrounding a massive Kerr black hole in general relativistic frame, in which the corona is assumed to be heated by the reconnection of the strongly buoyant magnetic fields…
In the disk-corona model, the X-ray spectrum of a stellar-mass black hole in an X-ray binary is characterized by three components: a thermal component from a thin and cold accretion disk, a Comptonized component from a hot corona, and a…
Very steep reflection emissivity profiles in the inner part of accretion disks are commonly found in the analysis of X-ray observations of black hole binaries and AGN, but there is some debate about their exact origin. While steep…
To gain a better understanding of the inner disc region that comprises active galactic nuclei it is necessary to understand the pattern in which the disc is illuminated (the emissivity profile) by X-rays emitted from the continuum source…
In this paper, we briefly present RELXILL_NK, the first and currently only readily available model of the relativistic reflection spectrum of black hole accretion disks that includes non-Kerr solutions for the black hole spacetime, thus…
The models that seek to explain the reflection spectrum in black hole binaries usually invoke a point-like primary source of hard X-rays. This source illuminates the accretion disk and gives rise to the discrete (lines) and…