2004/12/20 by A. C. Fabian · 15 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Active galactic nucleus #Amplitude #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Black hole (networking) #Cosmology #Galaxy #Geometry #Gravitation #Line (geometry) #Mechanics and Biomechanics Studies #Optics #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Reflection (computer programming) #Strong gravity #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10509-005-1203-x
published in Astrophysics and Space Science 300(1-3), 97-105 (Springer Science+Business Media) · 10 pages, 15 figures, to appear in From X-ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Hole Accretion on All Mass Scales, ed. T. J. Maccarone, R. P. Fender, and L. C. Ho (Dordrecht: Kluwer), breaks now corrected
arxiv created 2004/12/20 · openalex publication_date 2005/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Several AGN and black hole X-ray binaries show a clear very broad iron line which is strong evidence that the black holes are rapidly spinning. Detailed analysis of these objects shows that the emission line is not significantly affected by absorption and that the source variability is principally due to variation in amplitude of a power-law. Underlying this is a much less variable, relativistically-smeared, reflection-dominated, component which carries the imprint of strong gravity at a few gravitational radii. The strong gravitational light bending in these regions then explains the power-law variability as due to changes in height of the primary X-ray source above the disc. The reflection component, in particular its variability and the profile of the iron line, enables us to study the innermost regions around an accreting, spinning, black hole.