An extended scheme for fitting X-ray data with accretion disk spectra in the strong gravity regime
arXiv:astro-ph/0403541 · doi:10.1086/421115
Abstract
Accreting black holes are believed to emit X-rays which then mediate information about strong gravity in the vicinity of the emission region. We report on a set of new routines for the Xspec package for analysing X-ray spectra of black-hole accretion disks. The new computational tool significantly extends the capabilities of the currently available fitting procedures that include the effects of strong gravity, and allows one to systematically explore the constraints on more model parameters than previously possible (for example black-hole angular momentum). Moreover, axial symmetry of the disk intrinsic emissivity is not assumed, although it can be imposed to speed up the computations. The new routines can be used also as a stand-alone and flexible code with the capability of handling time-resolved spectra in the regime of strong gravity. We have used the new code to analyse the mean X-ray spectrum from the long XMM--Newton 2001 campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG--6-30-15. Consistent with previous findings, we obtained a good fit to the broad Fe K line profile for a radial line intrinsic emissivity law in the disk which is not a simple power law, and for near maximal value of black hole angular momentum. However, equally good fits can be obtained also for small values of the black hole angular momentum. The code has been developed with the aim of allowing precise modelling of relativistic effects. Although we find that current data cannot constrain the parameters of black-hole/accretion disk system well, the approach allows, for a given source or situation, detailed investigations of what features of the data future studies should be focused on in order to achieve the goal of uniquely isolating the parameters of such systems.
Accepted for publication in ApJ SS
References in corpus (12)
- Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems
- A long hard look at MCG-6-30-15 with XMM-Newton
- The lack of variability of the iron line in MCG-6-30-15: general relativistic effects
- The iron line in MCG-6-30-15 from XMM-Newton: evidence for gravitational light-bending?
- The Cores of the Fe K Lines in Seyfert I Galaxies Observed by the Chandra High Energy Grating
- Observing the effects of the event horizon in black holes
- Narrow Components within the Fe Kalpha Profile of NGC 3516: Evidence for the Importance of General Relativistic Effects?
- A Model for High Frequency Quasi-periodic Oscillations from Accreting Black Holes
- Fe XXV and Fe XXVI Diagnostics of the Black Hole and Accretion Disk in Active Galaxies: Chandra Time-Resolved Spectroscopy of NGC 7314
- A two-component ionized reflection model of MCG--6-30-15
- The X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert I galaxy Mrk 766: Dusty Warm Absorber or Relativistic Emission Lines?
- The history of the iron K-alpha line profile in the Piccinotti AGN ESO198-G24
Cited by in corpus (185)
- X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
- Improved Reflection Models of Black-Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-rays
- Constraining Black Hole Spin Via X-ray Spectroscopy
- X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations
- 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
- Gravitational Lensing by Black Holes
- Broad emission lines for negatively spinning black holes
- Understanding X-ray reflection emissivity profiles in AGN: Locating the X-ray source
- Black Holes in Astrophysics
- The Masses and Spins of Neutron Stars and Stellar-Mass Black Holes
- Polarimetry of near-infrared flares from Sagittarius A*
- High-Density Effects in X-ray Reflection Models from Accretion Disks
- Black hole accretion disks in the canonical low-hard state
- A systematic look at the Very High and Low/Hard state of GX 339-4: Constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model
- Simulating the Emission and Outflows from Accretion Disks
- Extreme Gravitational Lensing near Rotating Black Holes
- Towards precision measurements of accreting black holes using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Testing the No-Hair Theorem with Observations in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. IV. Relativistically Broadened Iron Lines
- FERO: Finding Extreme Relativistic Objects. I. Statistics of Relativistic Fe Kalpha lines in Radio-Quiet Type 1 AGN
- A Suzaku survey of Fe K lines in Seyfert 1 AGN
- A Ray-Tracing Algorithm for Spinning Compact Object Spacetimes with Arbitrary Quadrupole Moments. I. Quasi-Kerr Black Holes
- Source-intrinsic near-infrared properties of Sgr A*: Total intensity measurements
- On the determination of the spin and disc truncation of accreting black holes using X-ray reflection
- Near-infrared polarimetry setting constraints on the orbiting spot model for Sgr A* flares
- A deep X-ray view of the bare AGN Ark120. IV. XMM-Newton and NuSTAR spectra dominated by two temperature (warm, hot) Comptonization processes
- Testing the No-Hair Theorem with Observations of Black Holes in the Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Initial Measurements of Black Hole Spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku Spectroscopy
- K-band polarimetry of an Sgr A* flare with a clear sub-flare structure
- Exploring The Effects Of Disk Thickness On The Black Hole Reflection Spectrum
- Self-Consistent Black Hole Accretion Spectral Models and the Forgotten Role of Coronal Comptonization of Reflection Emission
- Near infrared flares of Sagittarius A*: Importance of near infrared polarimetry
- A Monte Carlo Code for Relativistic Radiation Transport Around Kerr Black Holes
- On Relativistic Disk Spectroscopy in Compact Objects with X-ray CCD Cameras
- An intermediate black hole spin in the NLS1 galaxy SWIFT J2127.4+5654: chaotic accretion or spin energy extraction?
- A strong and broad iron line in the XMM-Newton spectrum of the new X-ray transient and black-hole candidate XTE J1652-453
- Relativistic Broadening of Iron Emission Lines in a Sample of AGN
- XMM-Newton observations of the Lockman Hole: III. A relativistic Fe line in the mean X-ray spectra of type-1 and type-2 AGN
- Polarization signatures of strong gravity in AGN accretion discs
- On the efficiency of production of the Fe Kalpha emission line in neutral matter
- On the Role of the Accretion Disk in Black Hole Disk-Jet Connections
- Assessing black hole spin in deep Suzaku observations of Seyfert 1 AGN
- The Effect of Returning Radiation on Relativistic Reflection
- Discovery of Probable Relativistic Fe Emission and Absorption in the Cloverleaf Quasar H 1413+117
- On the orientation of the Sagittarius A* system
- Ripple effects & oscillations in the broad FeKa line as a probe of massive black hole mergers
- XMM-Newton observations reveal the disappearance of the wind in 4U 1630-47
- Improved spectral models for relativistic reflection
- Origin of the X-ray disc-reflection steep radial emissivity
- Statistics of relativistically broadened Fe K-alpha lines in AGN
- The instrumental polarization of the Nasmyth focus polarimetric differential imager NAOS/CONICA (NACO) at the VLT - Implications for time-resolved polarimetric measurements of Sgr A*
- Relativistic X-ray reverberation modelling of the combined time-averaged and lag-energy spectra in AGN
- Polarized light from Sgr A* in the near-infrared -band
- HEROIC: 3D General Relativistic Radiative Postprocessor with Comptonization for Black Hole Accretion Discs
- Effect of Electromagnetic Interaction on Galactic Center Flare Components
- Testing the No-Hair Theorem with Observations of Black Holes in the Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Dramatic Drop in the X-Ray Polarization of Swift J1727.81613 in the Soft Spectral State
- On variability and spectral distortion of the fluorescent iron lines from black-hole accretion discs
- Photon Emission Near Extreme Kerr Black Holes
- Spacetime Tomography Using The Event Horizon Telescope
- Revealing the broad iron Kalpha line in Cygnus X-1 through simultaneous XMM-Newton, RXTE, and INTEGRAL observations
- Simultaneous spectral and reverberation modelling of relativistic reflection in Mrk 335
- Testing the accuracy of reflection-based supermassive black hole spin measurements in AGN
- Broad iron line in the fast spinning neutron-star system 4U 1636-53
- A combined timing/spectral study of IRAS 13224-3809 using XMM-Newton data
- Evidence of Light-Bending Effects and its implication for spectral state transitions
- Role of emission angular directionality in spin determination of accreting black holes with broad iron line
- X-ray Fluorescent Fe Kalpha Lines from Stellar Photospheres
- Discovery of a broad iron line in the black-hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127, and the disk emission in the low/hard state revisited
- Coordinated NIR/mm observations of flare emission from Sagittarius A*
- Relativistic Reflection: Review and Recent Developments in Modeling
- A deep X-ray view of the bare AGN Ark 120. II. Evidence for Fe K emission transients
- Implementation of a radial disk ionization profile in the RELXILL_NK model
- Signatures of X-ray reverberation in the power spectra of AGN
- Accretion Disk Illumination in Schwarzschild and Kerr Geometries: Fitting Formulae
- Power density spectra of modes of orbital motion in strongly curved spacetime: obtaining the observable signal
- Modelling the X-ray polarimetric signatures of complex geometry: the case study of the "changing look" AGN NGC 1365
- Monitoring the Violent Activity from the Inner Accretion Disk of the Seyfert 1.9 Galaxy NGC 2992 with RXTE
- Steep X-ray reflection emissivity profiles in AGN as the result of radially-structured disc ionisation
- Black hole spin: theory and observation
- Testing the performance and accuracy of the RELXILL model for the relativistic X-ray reflection from accretion disks
- Estimating the size of X-ray lamppost coronae in active galactic nuclei
- The structure and X-ray radiation spectra of illuminated accretion disks in AGN. III. Modeling fractional variability
- Probing general relativistic effects during AGN X-ray eclipses
- Line emission from optically thick relativistic accretion tori
- Inferring black hole spins and probing accretion/ejection flows in AGNs with the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit
- First X-ray polarization measurement confirms the low black-hole spin in LMC X-3
- A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton
- Relativistic iron lines in accretion disks: the contribution of higher order images in the strong deflection limit
- NGC 2992 in an X-ray high state observed by XMM: Response of the Relativistic Fe K Line to the Continuum
- Gravitational effects on the high energy emission of accreting black holes
- The hard X-ray spectrum of NGC 1365: scattered light, not black hole spin
- Black Hole Spin in AGN and GBHCs
- Iron lines from transient and persisting hot spots on AGN accretion disks
- Near-infrared polarimetry as a tool for testing properties of accreting super-massive black holes
- 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
- Black hole accretion rings revealed by future X-ray spectroscopy
- X-ray Probes of Black Hole Accretion Disks for Testing the No-Hair Theorem
- Accretion geometry of the black hole binary MAXI J1820+070 probed by frequency-resolved spectroscopy
- Correlation between relativistic reflection fraction and photon index in NuSTAR sample of Seyfert 1 AGN
- Variation in the primary and reprocessed radiation from an orbiting spot around a black hole
- Extremal energy shifts of radiation from a ring near a rotating black hole
- The reflection spectrum of the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53
- The relativistic shift of narrow spectral features from black-hole accretion discs
- Predictions for reverberating spectral line from a newly formed black hole accretion disk: case of tidal disruption flares
- New method for black-hole spin measurement based on flux variation from an infalling gas ring
- On the Prospect of Constraining Black-Hole Spin Through X-ray Spectroscopy of Hotspots
- Critical Emission from a High-Spin Black Hole
- Ways to constrain neutron star equation of state models using relativistic disc lines
- X-ray Polarimetry as a Tool to Measure the Black Hole Spin in Microquasars: Simulations of IXPE Capabilities
- No Signatures of Black-Hole Spin in the X-ray Spectrum of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Fairall 9
- Discovery of a correlation between the frequency of the mHz quasi-periodic oscillations and the neutron-star temperature in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53
- A reflection model with a radial disk density profile
- A Short Review of Relativistic Iron Lines from Stellar-Mass Black Holes
- An X-ray variable absorber within the Broad Line Region in Fairall 51
- X-ray polarimetry as a new tool to discriminate reflection from absorption scenarios -- Predictions for MCG-6-30-15
- Suzaku observation of IRAS 00521-7054, a peculiar type-II AGN with a very broad feature at 6 keV
- Spectral and polarization properties of reflected X-ray emission from black-hole accretion discs for a distant observer: the lamp-post model
- An evolving hot spot orbiting around Sgr A*
- Detection of blueshifted emission and absorption and a relativistic Iron line in the X-ray spectrum of ESO 323-G077
- X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries with returning radiation
- The final verdict by XMM-Newton: the X-ray obscured Seyfert galaxy NGC5506 has a broad Fe K-alpha line
- Contrasting X-ray/UV time-lags in Seyfert 1 galaxies NGC 4593 and NGC 7469 using AstroSat observations
- Theoretical aspects of relativistic spectral features
- A Hard Look At Relativistic Reverberation in MCG-5-23-16 & SWIFT J2127.4+5654: Testing the Lamp-Post Model
- Exploring departures from Schwarzschild black hole in gravity
- Towards more accurate synthetic reflection spectra: improving the calculations of returning radiation
- Testing The Lamp-Post and Wind Reverberation Models with XMM-Newton Observations of NGC 5506
- Coordinated multi-wavelength observations of Sgr A*
- XMM-Newton and Broad Iron Lines
- General Relativity effects and line emission
- Iron Fluorescent Line Emission from Black Hole Accretion Disks with Magnetic Reconnection-Heated Corona
- Warm absorber and truncated accretion disc in IRAS 05078+1626
- Astrophysical insights into magnetic Penrose process around parameterized Konoplya-Rezzolla-Zhidenko black hole
- Null geodesics in extremal Kerr-Newman black holes
- The broad-band X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert 1 galaxy, MCG+8-11-11
- Electromagnetic signatures of strong-field gravity from accreting black holes
- Flare emission from Sagittarius A*
- An XSPEC model to explore spectral features from black-hole sources - II. The relativistic iron line in the lamp-post geometry
- The flare model for X-ray variability of NGC 4258
- A New Fast Monte Carlo Code for Solving Radiative Transfer Equations based on Neumann Solution
- Atomic X-ray Spectroscopy of Accreting Black Holes
- Accretion Disc Evolution in GRO J1655-40 and LMC X-3 with Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Disc Models
- Variable oxygen emission from the accretion disk of Mrk 110
- Machine learning application to detect light echoes around black holes
- Impact of the returning radiation in current tests of the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy
- Spectra of Puffy Accretion Discs: the kynbb Fit
- Application of the FRADO model of BLR formation to the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 and the first step toward determining the Hubble constant
- Observational signatures from higher-order images of moving hotspots in accretion disks
- Exploring higher order images with Fe K_α-lines from relativistic disks: black hole spin determination and bias
- Modeling time delays in the X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert galaxy MCG-6-30-15
- Active galaxy 4U 1344-60: did the relativistic line disappear?
- Revisiting Stellar Orbits and the Sgr A Quadrupole Moment
- Coordinated mm/sub-mm observations of Sagittarius A* in May 2007
- Relativistic reflection within an extended hot plasma geometry
- Selected Chapters on Active Galactic Nuclei as Relativistic Systems
- Neutron Star Radius-to-mass Ratio from Partial Accretion Disc Occultation as Measured through Fe K Line Profiles
- X-Ray Line Profile Variations during Quasar Microlensing
- Reflection Spectra of Accretion Disks Illuminated by an Off-Axis Corona
- Relativistic Reflection Modeling in AGN and Related Variability from PCA: A Brief Review
- Magnetic Coupling of a Rotating Black Hole with Advection-Dominated Accretion Flows
- Eclipsing the innermost X-ray emitting regions in AGN
- Magnetic flares in Active Galactic Nuclei: Modeling the iron Kalpha-line
- Generally Applicable Formalism for Modeling the Observable Signatures of Inflows, Outflows, and Moving Coronal Plasma Close to Kerr Black Holes
- Measuring black hole spins with x-ray reflection spectroscopy: A GRMHD outlook
- Extracting the X-ray reverberation response functions from the AGN light curves using an autoencoder
- The Reliability of Accretion Disk Inclination Derived from X-ray Spectroscopy of Active Galaxies
- Impact of the returning radiation on X-ray reflection spectroscopy measurements: the case of Galactic black holes
- Morphology of Relativistically Broadened Line Emission from Axisymmetric Equatorial Accretion Disks
- Line shifts in accretion disks - the case of Fe K
- Probing the Bardeen-Petterson effect in tidal disruption events with spectral line reverberation mapping
- Lamp-post with an outflow and the hard state of Cyg X-1
- Timing of accreting neutron stars with future X-ray instruments: towards new constraints on dense matter equation of state
- Investigating the consistency of the shape and flux of X-ray reflection spectra in the hard state with an accretion disk reaching close to the black hole
- X-ray reflection spectroscopy with improved calculations of the emission angle
- On the Relation between the Inclination Angle of the Accretion Disk and the Broad-line Region in Active Galactic Nuclei
- Testing Relativistic Accretion Disk Models with GRO J1655-40
- Relativistic reflection X-ray spectra of accretion disks
- Flares from spiral waves by lensing and time-delay amplification?
- A possible two-fold scenario for the disc-corona of the luminous AGN 1H 0419--577: a high-density disc or a warm corona
- Accretion Geometry of Black Hole X-ray Binaries: Insights from X-ray Observations
- Constraints on a strong X-ray flare in the Seyfert galaxy MCG-6-30-15
- Non-thermal emission from fall-back clouds in the Broad-Line Region of Active Galactic Nuclei
- Strong gravity effects: X-ray spectra, variability and polarimetry