X-rays and accretion discs as probes of the strong gravity of black holes

Abstract

The observations and interpretation of broad iron lines in the X-ray spectra of Seyfert 1 galaxies are reviewed. The line profiles observed from MCG--6-30-15 and NGC 3516 show extended red wings to the line explained by large gravitational redshifts. The results are consistent with the emission expected from an X-ray irradiated flat accretion disc orbiting very close to a black hole. Results from XMM-Newton and Chandra are presented and the possibility of broad oxygen lines discussed.

arXiv comment12 pages, 24 figures, Invited Talk at Texas Conference (Dec 2000, Austin Texas)

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Magnetic fields in AGNs and microquasars
• The iron $K_{\alpha }$ lines as a tool for magnetic field estimations in non-flat accretion flows