Modeling uncertainties in X-ray reflection spectroscopy measurements II: Impact of the radiation from the plunging region
arXiv:2005.06719 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.101.123014
Abstract
X-ray reflection spectroscopy is a powerful tool to probe the strong gravity region around black holes, but the available relativistic reflection models have a number of simplifications that lead to systematic uncertainties (not fully under control) in the measurement of the properties of a source. In Paper I, we considered the case of an optically thin plunging region and we studied the impact of the radiation produced by the other side of the disk or circling the black hole one or more times. In the present paper, we discuss the case of an optically thick plunging region and we study the impact of the reflection spectrum of the plunging gas. We show that the contribution of such radiation is more important for low values of the black hole spin parameter and large values of the viewing angle, and it decreases significantly as the spin parameter increases and the inclination angle decreases. While the estimate of some parameters may be affected by the reflection spectrum of the plunging gas if this is not included in the theoretical model, we find that such radiation does not appreciably limit our capability of testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis.
arXiv comment13 pages, 7 figures. v2: refereed version
References in corpus (46)
- On the Absorption of X-rays in the Interstellar Medium
- Improved Reflection Models of Black-Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-rays
- An XMM-Newton survey of broad iron lines in Seyfert galaxies
- Constraining Black Hole Spin Via X-ray Spectroscopy
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations
- Measuring Black Hole Spin using X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy
- Relativistic X-ray Lines from the Inner Accretion Disks Around Black Holes
- Irradiation of an Accretion Disc by a Jet: General Properties and Implications for Spin Measurements of Black Holes
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. I. Constant density atmospheres
- Testing black hole candidates with electromagnetic radiation
- Simulations of Magnetized Disks Around Black Holes: Effects of Black Hole Spin, Disk Thickness, and Magnetic Field Geometry
- Suzaku observations of 'bare' active galactic nuclei
- A rapidly spinning supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC 1365
- Stellar-mass Black Hole Spin Constraints from Disk Reflection and Continuum Modeling
- Regular Black Hole Metric with Three Constants of Motion
- Iron fluorescence from within the innermost stable orbit of black hole accretion disks
- Direct calculation of the radiative efficiency of an accretion disk around a black hole
- The Masses and Spins of Neutron Stars and Stellar-Mass Black Holes
- Broad iron K-alpha emission lines as a diagnostic of black hole spin
- Dependence of inner accretion disk stress on parameters: the Schwarzschild case
- Three-Dimensional Simulations of Magnetized Thin Accretion Disks around Black Holes: Stress in the Plunging Region
- A code to compute the emission of thin accretion disks in non-Kerr space-times and test the nature of black hole candidates
- Testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- NuSTAR Spectroscopy of GRS 1915+105: Disk Reflection, Spin, and Connections to Jets
- The Reflection Component from Cygnus X-1 in the Soft State Measured by NuSTAR and Suzaku
- Testing the space-time geometry around black hole candidates with the analysis of the broad K iron line
- Spacetime and orbits of bumpy black holes
- Testing the No-Hair Theorem with Observations in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. IV. Relativistically Broadened Iron Lines
- Profiles of emission lines generated by rings orbiting braneworld Kerr black holes
- Astrophysical Black Holes: A Compact Pedagogical Review
- Testing general relativity with the reflection spectrum of the supermassive black hole in 1H0707495
- Systematic Study of Event Horizons and Pathologies of Parametrically Deformed Kerr Spacetimes
- Towards precision tests of general relativity with black hole X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Public Release of RELXILL_NK: A Relativistic Reflection Model for Testing Einstein's Gravity
- Constraints on the spacetime metric around seven "bare" AGNs using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Thin Disk Theory with a Non-Zero Torque Boundary Condition and Comparisons with Simulations
- Reflection spectra of thick accretion disks
- Accretion in Strong Field Gravity with eXTP
- Tests of the Kerr hypothesis with GRS 1915+105 using different RELXILL flavors
- Testing the accuracy of reflection-based supermassive black hole spin measurements in AGN
- Modeling bias in supermassive black hole spin measurements
- Venturing beyond the ISCO: Detecting X-ray emission from the plunging regions around black holes
- Testing the Kerr hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy with NuSTAR data of Cygnus X-1 in the soft state
- Modeling uncertainties in X-ray reflection spectroscopy measurements I: Impact of higher order disk images
- Experimental Relativity with Accretion Disk Observations
- Spectral line broadening in magnetized black holes
Cited by in corpus (22)
- Towards precision measurements of accreting black holes using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Testing General Relativity with NuSTAR data of Galactic Black Holes
- Testing the Kerr Black Hole Hypothesis with GX 339-4 by a combined analysis of its thermal spectrum and reflection features
- Testing Gravity with Black Hole Shadow Subrings
- Impact of the returning radiation on the analysis of the reflection spectra of black holes
- Testing General Relativity with X-ray reflection spectroscopy: The Konoplya-Rezzolla-Zhidenko parametrization
- Reflection spectra of accretion disks illuminated by disk-like coronae
- The hard to soft transition of GX 339-4 as seen by Insight-HXMT
- Impact of the reflection model on the estimate of the properties of accreting black holes
- Testing relativistic reflection models with GRMHD simulations of accreting black holes
- X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries with returning radiation
- Constraining the KRZ deformation parameters I: limits from supermassive black hole X-ray data
- Testing the Weak Equivalence Principle near black holes
- Testing the Keplerian disk hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Impact of the returning radiation in current tests of the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Testing Gravity with Black Hole X-Ray Data
- Impact of ionization and electron density gradients in X-ray reflection spectroscopy measurements
- Reflection Spectra of Accretion Disks Illuminated by an Off-Axis Corona
- Impact of the returning radiation on X-ray reflection spectroscopy measurements: the case of Galactic black holes
- Measuring black hole spins with x-ray reflection spectroscopy: A GRMHD outlook
- Morphology of Relativistically Broadened Line Emission from Axisymmetric Equatorial Accretion Disks
- Polarization Signatures of Inspiraling Hotspots around Kerr Black Holes