Related papers: X-ray Reflection By Photoionized Accretion Discs
Collective X-ray Thomson scattering has become a versatile tool for the diagnostics of dense plasmas. Assuming homogeneous density and temperature throughout the target sample, these parameters can be determined directly from the plasmon…
The spectrum of Seyfert 1 Galaxies is very similar to that of several Galactic Black Hole Candidates (GBHCs) in their hard state, suggestive that both classes of objects have similar physical processes. While it appears that an accretion…
We present new calculations of X-ray polarization from black hole accretion disks in the thermally-dominated state, using a Monte-Carlo ray-tracing code in full general relativity. In contrast to many previously published studies, our…
Large energy-dependent X-ray polarization degree is detected by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer ({IXPE}) in the high-soft emission state of the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630--47. The highly significant detection (at…
Narrow absorption lines seen in the 2-10 keV spectra of active galaxies and Galactic black holes are normally attributed to iron in high velocity outflows or inflows. We consider the possibility that such features could arise naturally in…
Reflection of light from surfaces is a very common, but complex phenomenon not only in science and technology, but in every day life. The underlying basic optical principles have been developed within the last five centuries using visible…
Observationally, it is found that there is a strong correlation between the hard X-ray photon index $\Gamma$ and the Compton reflection scaling factor $\Re$ in active galactic nuclei. In this paper, we propose that the $\Gamma-\Re$…
We perform a first study of time-dependent X-ray reflection in photo-ionized accretion disks. We assume a step-functional change in the X-ray flux and use a simplified prescription to describe the time evolution of the illuminated gas…
Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies are generally accreting at high fractions of the Eddington limit. They can show complex X-ray spectra, with a strong `soft excess' below 2 keV and a sharp drop at ~7 keV. There is strong evidence linking the…
Disc spectra from highly luminous black hole binaries are observed to be rather simple, despite theoretical predictions to the contrary. We collate the disc-dominated spectra from multiple observations of 10 separate sources, and show that…
A major question in the study of black hole binaries involves our understanding of the accretion geometry when the sources are in the hard state. In this state, the X-ray energy spectrum is dominated by a hard power-law component and radio…
Many astrophysical environments such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, and accretion disks of compact objects have photoionized plasmas. The strong photoionizing environment found near these bright X-ray sources can be produced in…
X-ray-emitting symbiotic stars exhibit a variety of spectral shapes classified as $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$, $\delta$ and $\beta$/$\delta$ types, which have been attributed to different phenomena such as thermonuclear burning on the…
The accurate interpretation of experiments with matter at extreme densities and pressures is a notoriously difficult challenge. In a recent work [T.~Dornheim et al., Nature Comm. (in print), arXiv:2206.12805], we have introduced a formally…
We study a phenomenological model for the continuum emission of Seyfert galaxies. In this quasi-spherical accretion scenario, the central X-ray source is constituted by a hot spherical plasma region surrounded by spherically distributed…
We present the previously unanalysed high quality XMM-Newton spectrum of an ultraluminous X-ray source candidate in NGC 4517. As with other high quality ULX spectra, a downturn in the spectrum is observed at ~6 keV. Both of the recent disc…
We present first results of modeling convective photospheres of neutron stars. We show that in photospheres composed of the light elements convection arises only at relatively low effective temperatures (< 3-5*10^4 K), whereas in the case…
We here consider the pressure equilibrium during an intense magnetic flare above the surface of a cold accretion disk. Under the assumption that the heating source for the plasma trapped within the flaring region is an influx of energy…
ASCA and GINGA X-ray data from the magnetic Cataclysmic Variable BY Cam show that the spectrum is strongly affected by complex absorption, probably from the pre-shock accretion column. The intrinsic emission from the shock is significantly…
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…