The X-ray spectra of accreting Kerr black holes
arXiv:astro-ph/0507409
Abstract
The relativistic broad iron lines seen in the X-ray spectra of several active galaxies and Galactic black hole systems are reviewed. Most such objects require emission from within the innermost stable orbit of a non-rotating black hole, suggesting that the black holes are rapidly spinning Kerr holes. We discuss the soft excess, the broad iron line and the Compton hump characteristic of reflection from partially ionized gas and show that they may be a common ingredient in the X-ray spectra of many radiatively-efficient, accreting black holes. Strong gravitational bending of the radiation close to a Kerr black hole can explain the otherwise puzzling spectral variability seen in some objects. The Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies may be among the most extreme objects yet seen.
arXiv comment35 pages, 25 figures, to appear in "Kerr Spacetime: Rotating Black Holes in General Relativity" eds. D.L. Wiltshire, M. Visser and S.M. Scott, (Cambridge Univ. Press)
Cited by in corpus (13)
- Ergoregion instability of ultra-compact astrophysical objects
- Measuring the Spin of GRS 1915+105 with Relativistic Disk Reflection
- Super-Eddington QSO RX J0439.6-5311. I. Origin of the Soft X-ray Excess and Structure of the Inner Accretion Flow
- Super-Eddington QSO RX J0439.6-5311. II. Multi-wavelength Constraints on the Global Structure of the Accretion Flow
- The Best Constraints on A Super-Eddington Accretion Flow: XMM-Newton Observations of An Intermediate-mass Black Hole
- How to constrain mass and spin of supermassive black holes through their disk emission
- Probing variability patterns of the Fe K line complex in bright nearby AGNs
- Relativistic iron lines in accretion disks: the contribution of higher order images in the strong deflection limit
- 4U 1344-60: a bright intermediate Seyfert galaxy at z=0.012 with a relativistic Fe Kalpha emission line
- Towards a Supersymmetric Generalization of the Schwarzschild Black Hole
- Black Holes Admitting Strong Resonant Phenomena
- Evolution of massive black holes
- Multi-resonance orbital model applied to high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in Sgr A*