Related papers: An XSPEC model to explore spectral features from b…
X-ray reflection spectroscopy is a powerful technique for probing the nature of gravity around black holes in the so-called strong field regime. One of the most popular of such probes is to look at theory-agnostic deviations away from the…
We study correlations betwen X-ray spectral index, strength of Compton reflection, and X-ray and radio fluxes in accreting black holes (Seyferts and black-hole binaries). We critically evaluate the evidence for the correlation of the X-ray…
For the past 17 years, both XMM-Newton and Chandra have brought the powerful combination of high spatial and spectral resolution to the study of black hole systems. Each of these attributes requires special consideration--- in comparison to…
The emergence of precision gravity simulators in quantum and fluid systems is opening new avenues for probing curved-spacetime physics and black-hole phenomenology under controlled laboratory conditions. In parallel, advances in…
X-ray binaries, as bright local sources with short variability timescales for a wide range of accretion processes, represent ideal targets for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. In this chapter, we present a high-resolution X-ray spectral…
We model the reflected spectrum expected from localized magnetic flares above an ionised accretion disk. We concentrate on the case of very luminous magnetic flares above a standard accretion disk extending down to the last stable orbit,…
We present new reflection models specifically tailored to model the X-ray radiation reprocessed in accretion disks around neutron stars, in which the primary continuum is characterized by a single temperature blackbody spectrum, emitted…
(Abridged) We here continue our effort to model the behaviour of matter when orbiting or accreting onto a generic black hole by developing a new numerical code employing advanced techniques geared solve the equations of in…
We present the expected X-ray polarization signal resulting from distant reprocessing material around black holes. Using a central isotropic power-law emission at the center of the simulated model, we add distant equatorial and axially…
The thesis is mainly devoted to the study of spectral and timing characteristics of the X-ray emission from Galactic black hole candidates GRS 1915+105, GX 339-4, 4U 1630-47, XTE J1748-288, GRS 1739-278, KS/GRS 1730-312 and GRS 1737-31. The…
X-ray emission spectroscopy is a well-established technique used to study continuum lowering in dense plasmas. It relies on accurate atomic physics models to robustly reproduce high-resolution emission spectra, and depends on our ability to…
A critical review is presented of the current status of our understanding of the the spectral output of thermally-radiating accretion disks around black holes, with special attention to those around supermassive black holes in active…
We compare standard models of accretion disks around black holes that include the appropriate zero-torque inner boundary condition and relativistic effects on the emission and propagation of radiation. The comparison is performed adopting…
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…
Models of black hole accretion disks are reviewed, with an emphasis on the theory of hard X-ray production. The following models are considered: i) standard, ii) super-critical, iii) two-temperature, and iv) disk+corona. New developments…
This paper summarises two recently developed techniques in power spectral analysis and their application to a sample of X-ray light curves of accreting collapsed objects in active galactic nuclei and X-ray binaries. The first technique is…
I review the temporal/spectral data of accreting black hole sources paying most attention to the properties of the temporal variability such as photon energy dependent auto- and cross-correlation functions, average shot profiles and…
In most accreting black-hole systems the copious X-rays commonly observed from the inner-most regions are accompanied by a reflection spectrum. The latter is the signature of energetic photons reprocessed by the optically thick material of…
All prior work on measuring the spins of stellar-mass black holes via the X-ray continuum-fitting method has relied on the use of weakly-Comptonized spectra obtained in the thermal dominant state. Using a self-consistent Comptonization…
We report results obtained from six XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert galaxy 1H 0419-577. Here we show that the X-ray spectrum and variability are well described by a two-component model comprising a power law with constant spectral…