Assessing the Power-Law Emissivity Assumption in X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy: A Simulation-Based Evaluation of Different Coronal Geometries

Abstract

The emissivity profile assumed in X-ray reflection spectroscopy significantly impacts black hole spin measurements. Using simulated NuSTAR spectra generated for lamppost and disk-like coronae with the relxill model suite, we evaluate systematic biases introduced when fitting with power-law or broken power-law emissivity profiles. We find that a simple power-law can accurately recover spins for low-height lamppost coronae with long exposures and low inclination angle, while broken power-laws introduce degeneracies when the simple power-law already performs adequately. However, for extended or high-height coronae, especially at high inclinations, both models produce large systematic biases unresolved by longer exposure times. Our results demonstrate that power-law approximations are reliable for compact coronae, highlighting the need for geometry-specific models in complex cases.

16 pages, 13 figures. v2: refereed version