Related papers: Strong gravity effects: X-ray spectra, variability…
In the past decades, the phenomenology of fast time variations of high-energy flux from black-hole binaries has increased, thanks to the availability of more and more sophisticated space observatories, and a complex picture has emerged.…
Emission-line variability data for Seyfert 1 galaxies provide strong evidence for the existence of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of these galaxies, and that the line-emitting gas is moving in the gravitational potential of that…
The detection of X-ray narrow spectral features in the 5-7 keV band is becoming increasingly more common in AGN observations, thanks to the capabilities of current X-ray satellites. Such lines, both in emission and in absorption, are mostly…
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…
The geometry of black hole spacetimes can be probed with exquisite precision in the gravitational-wave window, and possibly also in the optical regime. We study the accretion of bright spots -- objects which emit strongly in the optical or…
We explore the implications of the discovery of hard, power-law X-ray sources in the spectra of nearby elliptical galaxies for the origin of the X-ray background. The spectra of these sources are consistent with models of thermal…
We first present a short overview of X-ray probes of the black hole region of active galaxies (AGN) and then concentrate on the X-ray search for supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in optically non-active galaxies. The first part focuses on…
We present optical and X-ray data for the first object showing strong evidence for being a black hole in a globular cluster. We show the initial X-ray light curve and X-ray spectrum which led to the discovery that this is an extremely…
X-ray astronomy is closely related to the study of black hole sources. The discovery that some unseen objects, more massive than any degenerate star, emit huge amounts of X-rays helped accept the concept that back holes are present in X-ray…
Transient spectral features have been discovered in the X-ray spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei, mostly in the 5--7 keV energy range. Several interpretations were proposed for the origin of these features. We examined a model of Doppler…
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…
Tidal forces close to massive black holes can violently disrupt stars that make a close approach. These extreme events are discovered via bright X-ray and optical/UV flares in galactic centers. Prior studies based on modeling decaying flux…
AGNs with narrow Balmer lines show various extreme properties. In particular, rapid X-ray variability, steep X-ray spectra, peculiar optical and UV line ratios, and possibly peculiar line profiles. Since all these phenomena occur together…
Accretion disk reflection spectra, including broad iron emission lines, bear the imprints of the strong Doppler shifts and gravitational red-shifts close to black holes. The extremity of these shifts depends on the proximity of the…
We present an analysis of all XMM-Newton and Suzaku X-ray spectra of the nearby luminous Seyfert galaxy Fairall 9. Confirming previous analyses, we find robust evidence for a broad iron line associated with X-ray reflection from the…
Images from the vicinity of the black hole horizon at the Galactic centre (Sgr A*) could be obtained in the near future with a Very Large Baseline Array of sub-millimetre telescopes. The recently observed short-term infrared and X-ray…
Recent studies have indicated that the emission of gravitational waves at the merger of two black holes gives a kick to the final black hole. If the supermassive black hole at the center of a disk galaxy is kicked but the velocity is not…
X-rays are emitted from the corona above the orbiting matter of the accretion disk and travel either directly to us or illuminate the disk. This illumination of the inner disk is enhanced by gravitational light bending, which focuses the…
Current, accumulating evidence for (mildly) relativistic blue- and red-shifted absorption lines in AGNs is reviewed. XMM-Newton and Chandra sensitive X-ray observations are starting to probe not only the kinematics (velocity) but also the…
(abridged) We review how the recent increase in X-ray and radio data from black hole and neutron star binaries can be merged together with theoretical advances to give a coherent picture of the physics of the accretion flow in strong…