Related papers: Reflection Spectra from Photoionized Accretion Dis…
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…
We investigate the use of relativistically blurred photoionized disc models on an XMM-Newton observation of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PG 1404+226. The model is designed to reproduce the radiation from the inner accretion disc around…
When considering the X-ray spectrum resulting from the reflection off the surface of accretion discs of AGN, it is necessary to account for the variation in reflected flux over the disc, i.e. the emissivity profile. This will depend on…
Relativistic reflection features are commonly observed in the X-ray spectra of stellar-mass and supermassive black holes and originate from illumination of the inner part of the accretion disk by a hot corona. All the available relativistic…
We present a new and complete library of synthetic spectra for modeling the component of emission that is reflected from an illuminated accretion disk. The spectra were computed using an updated version of our code XILLVER that incorporates…
The reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle…
(abridged) The soft excess seen in the X-ray spectra of many high mass accretion rate AGN can be well modelled by reflection from a partially ionised accretion disc. However, the derived parameters are often extreme, both in terms of the…
X-ray observations suggest high compactness of coronae in active galactic nuclei as well as in X-ray binaries. The compactness of the source implies a strong radial dependence in the illumination of the accretion disc. This will, for any…
Spectral features can arise by reflection of coronal X-rays on a black hole accretion disc. The resulting profile bears various imprints of strong gravitational field acting on the light emitting gas. The observed shape of the reflection…
(Abridged) We present the results of fitting ASCA spectra of six narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies with the ionised reflection models of Ross & Fabian (1993). We find that five of the galaxies (TONS 180, PKS 0558-504, Ark 564, Mrk 335…
Accreting black holes show characteristic 'reflection' features in their X-ray spectra, including the iron K$\alpha$ fluorescence line, which result from X-rays radiated by a compact central corona being reprocessed in the accretion disc…
We present a comprehensive study of the emission spectra from accreting sources. We use our new reflection code to compute the reflected spectra from an accretion disk illuminated by X-rays. This set of models covers different values of…
X-ray reflection off the accretion disc surrounding a black hole, together with the associated broad iron K$\alpha$ line, has been widely used to constrain the innermost accretion-flow geometry and black hole spin. Some recent measurements…
X-ray polarimetric missions planned for this decade will significantly enhance our knowledge of compact accreting sources. Observations of the X-ray polarization signal from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or X-ray binary systems (XRBs) will…
The relativistically-broadened reflection spectrum, observed in both AGN and X-ray binaries, has proven to be a powerful probe of the properties of black holes and the environments in which they reside. Being emitted from the inner-most…
Over the last few years several models have been proposed to interpret the widespread soft excess observed in the X-ray spectra of type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN). In particular, reflection from the photoionized accretion disc blurred…
We present a spectral variability study of the XMM-Newton and Suzaku observations of one of the most extreme Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies, IRAS13224-3809. The X-ray spectrum is characterized by two main peculiar features, i) a strong soft…
We model the optical to X-ray continuum spectrum of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy RE J1034+396. We show that the flat optical spectrum is consistent with emission from an irradiated accretion disk. The X-ray emission can be modelled with…
We analyse a long archival XMM-Newton observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ton S180, using the latest reflection models to explore the high quality X-ray spectrum. We find that the iron line is relatively narrow and sharp, and…
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…