On the determination of the spin and disc truncation of accreting black holes using X-ray reflection
A. C. Fabian,Michael Parker,Dan R. Wilkins,Jon M. Miller,Erin Kara,Christopher S. Reynolds,Thomas Dauser +6 more
TLDR
In this paper, a simple relativistically-blurred X-ray reflection model was used to determine the spin and the inner radius of the disc in accreting black holes, and it was shown that robust determination of disc truncation requires that the location of the coronal source is quasi-static and at a height and radius less than the truncation radius.Abstract:
We discuss the application of simple relativistically-blurred X-ray reflection models to the determination of the spin and the inner radius of the disc in accreting black holes. Observationally, the nature of the corona is uncertain a priori, but a robust determination of the inner disk radius can be made when the disc emissivity index is tightly constrained. When the inner disc is well illuminated, the black hole spin can also be determined. Using reflection modelling derived from ray tracing, we show that robust determination of disc truncation requires that the location of the coronal source is quasi-static and at a height and radius less than the truncation radius of the disc. Robust spin measurements require that at least part of the corona lies less than about 10 gravitational radii above the black hole in order that the innermost regions, including the innermost stable circular orbit, are well illuminated. The width of the blurring kernel (e.g., the iron line) has a strong dependence on coronal height. These limitations may be particularly applicable at low Eddington fractions (e.g. the low/hard state, and low-luminosity AGN) where the height of the corona may be relatively large, or outflowing, and tied to jet production.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The role of the reflection fraction in constraining black hole spin
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors calculate the reflection fraction in the lamp post geometry in order to determine its maximal possible value for a given value of black hole spin, and they show that high reflection fractions in excess of 2 are only possible for rapidly rotating black holes, suggesting that the high spin sources produce the strongest relativistic reflection features.
Journal ArticleDOI
The corona contracts in a black-hole transient
Erin Kara,James F. Steiner,A. C. Fabian,Edward M. Cackett,Phil Uttley,Ron Remillard,Keith C. Gendreau,Zaven Arzoumanian,Diego Altamirano,S. Eikenberry,Teruaki Enoto,Jeroen Homan,Joseph Neilsen,Abigail L. Stevens +13 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported that the reverberation time lags between the continuum-emitting corona and the irradiated accretion disk are 6 to 20 times shorter than previously seen.
Journal ArticleDOI
The NuSTAR spectrum of Mrk 335: extreme relativistic effects within two gravitational radii of the event horizon?
Michael Parker,Dan R. Wilkins,Dan R. Wilkins,A. C. Fabian,Dirk Grupe,Thomas Dauser,Giorgio Matt,Fiona A. Harrison,Laura Brenneman,Steven E. Boggs,Finn Erland Christensen,William W. Craig,William W. Craig,Luigi C. Gallo,C. J. Hailey,Erin Kara,Stefanie Komossa,Andrea Marinucci,Jon M. Miller,Guido Risaliti,Guido Risaliti,D. Stern,Dominic J. Walton,W. W. Zhang +23 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present 3-50keV NuSTAR observations of the active galactic nuclei Mrk 335 in a very low flux state and find that the spectra can be well fitted with relativistic reflection, and that the lowest flux state spectrum is described by reflection alone, suggesting the effects of extreme light bending occurring within ∼2 gravitational radii (RG) of the event horizon.
Journal ArticleDOI
NuSTAR and Suzaku Observations of the Hard State in Cygnus X-1: Locating the Inner Accretion Disk
Michael Parker,John A. Tomsick,Jon M. Miller,Kazutaka Yamaoka,Anne M. Lohfink,M. Nowak,A. C. Fabian,William Alston,S. E. Boggs,Finn Erland Christensen,Walter Craig,Walter Craig,Felix Fürst,Poshak Gandhi,Brian W. Grefenstette,Victoria Grinberg,C. J. Hailey,Fiona A. Harrison,Erin Kara,A. L. King,D. Stern,Dominic J. Walton,Jörn Wilms,W. W. Zhang +23 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the reflection models of Garcia et al. to simultaneously measure the black hole spin, disk inner radius, and coronal height in a self-consistent manner.
Journal ArticleDOI
The truncated and evolving inner accretion disc of the black hole GX 339−4
D. S. Plant,Rob Fender,Rob Fender,Gabriele Ponti,T. Muñoz-Darias,T. Muñoz-Darias,Mickael Coriat +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a systematic study of the Fe line region to track how the inner accretion disc evolves in the low/hard state of the black hole GX 339-4.
References
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Advection-Dominated Accretion and the Spectral States of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries: Application to Nova Muscae 1991
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a self-consistent model of accretion flows around black holes that unifies all of these states except the very high state, which is an extension of the following paradigm applied successfully to the quiescent state.
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A comprehensive range of X-ray ionized-reflection models
Randy R. Ross,Andrew C. Fabian +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the results from a comprehensive grid of models computed with their code, which has now been extended to include what they consider to be all energetically important ionization states and transitions.
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Improved Reflection Models of Black Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-Rays
Javier A. García,Thomas Dauser,Anne M. Lohfink,Timothy R. Kallman,James F. Steiner,Jeffrey E. McClintock,Laura Brenneman,Jörn Wilms,W. Eikmann,Christopher S. Reynolds,Francesco Tombesi,Francesco Tombesi +11 more
TL;DR: In this paper, an angle-dependent reflection model with the XILLVER code and self-consistently connected it with the relativistic blurring code RELLINE is presented.
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