Theoretical aspects of relativistic spectral features

Abstract

The inner parts of black-hole accretion discs shine in X-rays which can be monitored and the observed spectra can be used to trace strong gravitational fields in the place of emission and along paths of light rays. This paper summarizes several aspects of how the spectral features are influenced by relativistic effects. We focus our attention onto variable and broad emission lines, origin of which can be attributed to the presence of orbiting patterns -- spots and spiral waves in the disc. We point out that the observed spectrum can determine parameters of the central black hole provided the intrinsic local emissivity is constrained by theoretical models.

To appear in Astronomische Nachrichten in the proceedings of the XMM-Newton workshop "Variable and Broad Iron Lines around Black Holes" (26-28 June 2006, Madrid), eds. A. C. Fabian and N. Schartel

References in corpus (10)

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• Towards a complete description of spectra and polarization of black hole accretion disks: albedo profiles and returning radiation
• Signatures of X-ray reverberation in the power spectra of AGN
• Kinetic equilibria of relativistic collisionless plasmas in the presence of non-stationary electromagnetic fields
• Covariant formulation of spatially non-symmetric kinetic equilibria in magnetized astrophysical plasmas
• On the high energy cut-off of accreting sources: is GR relevant?
• Electromagnetic signatures of strong-field gravity from accreting black holes
• Selected Chapters on Active Galactic Nuclei as Relativistic Systems