Spectral and polarization properties of reflected X-ray emission from black-hole accretion discs for a distant observer: the lamp-post model
arXiv:2307.08819 · doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2169
Abstract
Rebirth of X-ray polarimetric instruments will have a significant impact on our knowledge of compact accreting sources. The properties of inner-accreting regions of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or X-ray binary systems (XRBs), such as black-hole spin, their disc inclination and orientation, shape and size of their corona, can be polarimetrically studied, parallelly to the well-known X-ray spectroscopic and timing techniques. In this work, we provide a new spectropolarimetric numerical estimate of X-rays in the lamp-post coronal model for a distant observer, including a polarized reflected radiation from the accretion disc. The local disc reflection was simulated using the codes TITAN and STOKES and includes variable disc ionization as well as Monte Carlo treatment of Compton multiple scatterings. We introduce a relativistic code KYNSTOKES based on our well-tested KY package that accounts for all relativistic effects on radiation near a black hole, apart from the returning radiation, and adds a possibility of polarized coronal emission. We study the spectrum, polarization degree and polarization angle at spatial infinity for various global system parameters and we demonstrate the difference at infinity, if analytical local reflection computations are used. We newly predict that in the hard X-rays the reflected component can be 25% polarized and the total emission can be 9% polarized in the most favourable, yet realistic configurations of radio-quiet AGNs. Thus, the relativistic disc reflection remains important for the interpretation of X-ray polarimetric observations.
arXiv comment25 pages, 23 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Figures 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16 corrected
References in corpus (78)
- Advection-Dominated Accretion and the Spectral States of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries: Application to Nova Muscae 1991
- Modelling the behaviour of accretion flows in X-ray binaries
- Revisiting the Unified Model of Active Galactic Nuclei
- Improved Reflection Models of Black-Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-rays
- Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory
- A light bending model for the X-ray temporal and spectral properties of accreting black holes
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations
- Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems
- The Two-Phase Pair Corona Model for Active Galactic Nuclei and X-ray Binaries: How to Obtain Exact Solutions
- Plasma Ejection from Magnetic Flares and the X-ray Spectrum of Cygnus X-1
- The role of the reflection fraction in constraining black hole spin
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. I. Constant density atmospheres
- The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry mission - eXTP
- Spectral Transitions in Cyg X-1 and Other Black Hole X-Ray Binaries
- X-ray reflection spectra from ionized slabs
- An extended scheme for fitting X-ray data with accretion disk spectra in the strong gravity regime
- A physical model of the broadband continuum of AGN and its implications for the UV/X relation and optical variability
- Thermal Instability and Photoionized X-ray Reflection in Accretion Disks
- Broad-band X-ray/gamma-ray spectra and binary parameters of GX 339-4 and their astrophysical implications
- X-ray Polarization from Accreting Black Holes: II. The Thermal State
- X-ray Reflection By Photoionized Accretion Discs
- X-ray Polarization from Accreting Black Holes: Coronal Emission
- A long, hard look at MCG-6-30-15 with XMM-Newton II: detailed EPIC analysis and modelling
- Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1
- X-ray spectra of accretion discs with dynamic coronae
- Self-Consistent Thermal Accretion Disk Corona Models for Compact Objects: II. Application to Cygnus X-1
- NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of the hard state in Cygnus X-1: locating the inner accretion disk
- Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs I. Imprints of individual scattering regions
- X-ray reflection in accreting stellar-mass black hole systems
- Hot accretion flow in black hole binaries: a link connecting X-rays to the infrared
- Accretion disk models and their X-ray reflection signatures. I. Local spectra
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models.II. Diagnostic tools for X-ray observations
- Thermal disc emission from a rotating black hole: X-ray polarization signatures
- The Existence of Inner Cool Disks in the Low Hard State of Accreting Black Holes
- Inferring the Inclination of a Black Hole Accretion Disk from Observations of its Polarized Continuum Radiation
- The complex accretion geometry of GX 339-4 as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
- On the origin of spectral states in accreting black holes
- Effects of Kerr Spacetime on Spectral Features from X-Ray Illuminated Accretion Discs
- Living on a Flare: Relativistic Reflection in V404 Cyg Observed by NuSTAR During its Summer 2015 Outburst
- The Athena space X-ray Observatory and the astrophysics of hot plasma
- Uncovering the geometry of the hot X-ray corona in the Seyfert galaxy NGC4151 with IXPE
- A compendium of AGN inclinations with corresponding UV/optical continuum polarization measurements
- The structure and radiation spectra of illuminated accretion discs in AGN. I. Moderate illumination
- Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs II. Polarization imaging and complex reprocessing
- Doughnut strikes sandwich: the geometry of hot medium in accreting black hole X-ray binaries
- Light bending scenario for accreting black holes in X-ray polarimetry
- Constraining the size of the corona with fully relativistic calculations of spectra of extended corona. I - the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code
- Polarized X-rays from windy accretion in Cygnus X-1
- New Constraints on the Black Hole Low/Hard State Inner Accretion Flow with NuSTAR
- XL-Calibur -- a second-generation balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimetry mission
- Are there reliable methods to estimate the nuclear orientation of Seyfert galaxies?
- Polarization signatures of strong gravity in AGN accretion discs
- Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs III. From uniform-density to clumpy regions
- The Effect of Returning Radiation on Relativistic Reflection
- Escape probability methods versus "exact" transfer for modelling the X-ray spectrum of Active Galactic Nuclei and X-ray binaries
- Polarization constraints on the X-ray corona in Seyfert Galaxies: MCG-05-23-16
- The X-ray Polarization of the Accretion Disk Coronae of Active Galactic Nuclei
- On the lamppost model of accreting black holes
- On variability and spectral distortion of the fluorescent iron lines from black-hole accretion discs
- Prospects for differentiating extended coronal geometries in AGNs with the IXPE mission
- Mapping the circumnuclear regions of the Circinus galaxy with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer
- Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs V. Dilution by interstellar polarization and the host galaxy
- Reflected Iron Line From a Source Above a Kerr Black Hole Accretion Disc
- Predicting the X-ray polarization of type-2 Seyfert galaxies
- MoCA: A Monte Carlo code for Comptonisation in Astrophysics. I. Description of the code and first results
- Towards a complete description of spectra and polarization of black hole accretion disks: albedo profiles and returning radiation
- IXPE and NICER view of Black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47: First significant detection of polarized emission in thermal state
- Full radiative coupling in two-phase models for accreting black holes
- Estimating the size of X-ray lamppost coronae in active galactic nuclei
- Self-similar accretion in thin disks around near-extremal black holes
- Reprocessing of X-rays in AGN. I. Plane parallel geometry -- test of pressure equilibrium
- Spectral and polarization properties of reflected X-ray emission from black hole accretion discs
- Contribution of parsec-scale material onto the polarized X-ray spectrum of type-1 Seyfert galaxies
- Detection of X-ray polarized emission and accretion-disk winds with IXPE and NICER in the black-hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47
- Iron lines in model disk spectra of galactic black hole binaries
- X-ray-binary spectra in the lamp post model
- Spectral and polarization properties of black hole accretion disc emission: including absorption effects
- Active galaxy unification in the era of X-ray polarimetry