Related papers: Iron K Line Diagnostics in Active Galactic Nuclei
An intrinsically narrow line emitted by an accretion disk around a black hole appears broadened and skewed as a result of the Doppler effect and gravitational redshift. The fluorescent iron line in the X-ray band at 6.4-6.9keV is the…
Supernova remnants (SNRs) have been regarded as major acceleration sites of Galactic cosmic rays. Recent X-ray studies revealed neutral Fe K$\alpha$ line emission from dense gas in the vicinity of some SNRs, which can be best interpreted as…
Broad emission lines, particularly broad iron-K lines, are now commonly seen in the X-ray spectra of luminous AGN and Galactic black hole binaries. Sensitive NuSTAR spectra over the energy range of 3-78 keV and high frequency reverberation…
We present measurements of the Fe-K line for nine Seyfert I galaxies using Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) data. The centroid energies are narrowly dispersed (6.403 +/- 0.062 keV) and indicate an origin of the…
This paper summarizes the observations which provide the best evidence for the presence of black holes in active galactic nuclei. This includes: X-ray variability; kinematical studies using optical emission lines as well as the distribution…
Recent X-ray observations of microquasars and Seyfert galaxies reveal broad emission lines in their spectra, which can arise in the innermost parts of accretion disks. Simulations indicate that at low inclination angle the line is measured…
The iron K line is perhaps the most important spectral diagnostic available in the study of accreting black holes. The line is thought to result from the reprocessing of external X-rays by the surface of the accretion disk. However, as is…
The super-massive objects in galactic nuclei are thought to be the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity, although a definite proof of their actual nature is still lacking. The most massive objects in AGN ($M \sim 10^9 M_\odot$)…
The fluorescent iron Ka line is a powerful observational probe of the inner regions of black holes accretion disks. Previous studies have assumed that only material outside the radius of marginal stability can contribute to the observed…
Using Suzaku observations of three neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (Ser X-1, 4U 1820-30 and GX 349+2) we have found broad, asymmetric, relativistic Fe K emission lines in all three objects. These Fe K lines can be well fit by a model…
Emission-line studies in the active galactic nuclei (AGNs), particularly those utilizing high spatial resolution, provide the most accurate method to determine critical quantities of the central engine and of the gas a few tens of parsecs…
Asymmetric, broad iron lines are a common feature in the X-ray spectra of both X-ray binaries (XRBs) and type-1 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). It was suggested that the distortion of the Fe K_alpha emission results from Doppler and…
The spin of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) is directly related to the radiative efficiency of accretion on to the hole, and therefore impacts the amount of fuel required for the black hole to reach a certain mass. Thus, a knowledge of the…
Accretion models predict that fluorescence lines broadened by relativistic effects should arise from reflection of X-ray emission onto the inner region of the accretion disc surrounding the central black hole of active galactic nuclei…
Extragalactic X-ray surveys are exceptionally powerful tools for studying the evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, by detecting large numbers of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxies over a wide…
In this paper, the dependence of the broad Fe K$\alpha$ line on the physical parameters of AGN, such as the black hole mass $M_{BH}$, accretion rate (equivalently represented by Eddington ratio $\lambda_{Edd}$), and optical classification,…
Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes predicted by General Relativity, but there is not yet clear evidence that the geometry of the space-time around these objects is really described by the Kerr metric.…
We continue our study on the capabilities of present and future X-ray missions to test the nature of astrophysical black hole candidates via X-ray reflection spectroscopy and distinguish Kerr black holes from other solutions of…
Line profiles represent an important probe of the geometry and dynamics of the central accretion engines in AGN. Although a flat disk illuminated from above can explain the relativistic Fe K alpha line profile in some cases, current data,…
We present a study of the core of the Fe Ka emission line at ~6.4 keV in a sample of type II Seyfert galaxies observed by the Chandra High Energy Grating (HEG). The sample consists of 29 observations of 10 unique sources. We present…