Related papers: Reflection Spectra from Photoionized Accretion Dis…
Relativistic reflection features in the X-ray spectra of accreting black holes are considered to be generated by the illumination of the accretion disk by the hot corona. In this work, we present a numerical method for the emission line…
We have simultaneously fit Chandra and RXTE spectra of the Galactic black hole XTE J1118+480 with three models for X-ray reflection. We explored a range of accretion disc ionizations (log(xi)=1-4; xi=L_X/nR^{2}) and iron abundances…
We present spectra of accretion discs around white-dwarfs calculated with an improved and updated version of the Shaviv & Wehrse (1991) model. The new version includes line opacities and convective energy transport and can be used to…
X-ray reflection models are used to constrain the properties of the accretion disk, such as the degree of ionization of the gas and the elemental abundances. In combination with general relativistic ray tracing codes, additional parameters…
The illumination of the accretion disc in a neutron star X-ray binary by X-rays emitted from (or close to) the neutron star surface is explored through general relativistic ray tracing simulations. The applicability of the canonical suite…
We apply a reflection-dominated model to the second XMM-Newton observation of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H 0707-495. As in the first XMM-Newton observation a sharp spectral drop is detected with energy that has shifted from 7 keV to…
We present a deep study of the average hard X-ray spectra of Seyfert galaxies. We analyzed all public INTEGRAL IBIS/ISGRI data available on all the 165 Seyfert galaxies detected at z<0.2. Our final sample consists of 44 Seyfert 1's, 29…
X-ray reflection generates much of the spectral complexity in the X-ray spectra of AGN. It is argued that strong relativistic blurring of the reflection spectrum should commonly be expected from objects accreting at a high Eddington rate.…
The ionized disc reflection model of Ross & Fabian is applied to a sample of five Seyfert 1 galaxies observed by BeppoSAX. Good fits were obtained for all the objects in the sample. NGC 4051 and Mkn 335 (usually classified as NLSy 1s) show…
Accretion around black holes is very often characterized by distinctive X-ray reflection features (mostly, iron inner-shell transitions), which arise due to the primary radiation being reprocessed by a dense and relatively colder medium,…
We present the first significant detection of relativistic smearing of the X-ray reflection spectrum from the putative accretion disk in the low/hard state of Cyg X-1. The ionization state, and amount of relativistic smearing are…
Recent time-resolved X-ray spectra of a neutron star undergoing a superburst revealed an Fe K line and edge consistent with reprocessing from the surrounding accretion disc. Here, we present models of X-ray reflection from a constant…
We present a new model to calculate reflection spectra of thin accretion disks in Kerr spacetimes. Our model includes the effect of returning radiation, which is the radiation that is emitted by the disk and returns to the disk because of…
We study the X-ray illumination of an accretion disk. We relax the simplifying assumption of constant gas density used in most previous studies; instead we determine the density from hydrostatic balance. It is found that the thermal…
We present the first significant detection of relativistic smearing of the X-ray reflection spectrum from the putative accretion disk in the low/hard state of Cyg X--1. The ionization state, and amount of relativistic smearing are…
We present results from fitting ionized accretion disc models to three long ASCA observations of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG--6-30-15. All three datasets can be fit by a model consisting of ionized reflection from the inner region of the…
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 (AGN) are the most luminous persistent objects in the universe. An excess of X-ray emission below about 2 keV, called soft-excess, is very common in Type 1 AGN spectra. The origin of this feature remains debated.…
We consider the reflection of non-polarized radiation from the point-like sources above the accretion discs both the optically thick and optically thin. We investigate the dependence of the polarization of reflected radiation on the…
I briefly review the theoretical models of radiatively efficient, geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk spectra that currently exist for AGN. I then discuss three recent observational developments that have real potential to…