Fast Spectral Variability in the X-Ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes

Fast Spectral Variability in the X-Ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes PDF Author: Chris Skipper
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783319095882
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Fast Spectral Variability in the X-Ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes

Fast Spectral Variability in the X-Ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes PDF Author: Chris Skipper
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783319095882
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Fast Spectral Variability in the X-ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes

Fast Spectral Variability in the X-ray Emission of Accreting Black Holes PDF Author: Chris Skipper
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319095870
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This thesis brings together the various techniques of X-ray spectral analysis in order to examine the properties of black holes that vary in mass by several orders of magnitude. In all these systems it is widely accepted that the X-ray emission is produced by Compton up-scattering of lower energy seed photons in a hot corona or accretion flow, and here these processes are examined through a study of the X-ray spectral variability of each source. A new technique is introduced, in which models are fitted to over 2 million X-ray spectra on time-scales as short as 16 ms, and subsequently it is shown that the nature of the correlation between intensity and spectral index is strongly dependent upon the spectral state of the black hole. Finally, the results of an extensive survey of nearby galactic nuclei using the Chandra X-ray telescope are presented in the form of images and spectra, and these results are used along with data from the literature to search for Compton-thick nuclei.

From X-ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Holes on All Mass Scales

From X-ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Holes on All Mass Scales PDF Author: Thomas J. Maccarone
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402040857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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This volume brings together contributions from many of the world's leading authorities on black hole accretion. The papers within represent part of a new movement to make use of the relative advantages of studying stellar mass and supermassive black holes, and to bring together the knowledge gained from the two approaches. The topics discussed include black hole observational and theoretical work-variability, spectroscopy, disk-jet connections, and multi-wavelength campaigns on black holes.

X-ray Spectroscopic and Timing Studies of Galactic Black Hole Binaries

X-ray Spectroscopic and Timing Studies of Galactic Black Hole Binaries PDF Author: Jon Matthew Miller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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In rare cases, optical observations of Galactic binary star systems which are bright in the X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum dynamically constrain the mass of one component to be well above theoretical limits for a neutron star. These systems - and systems with similar X-ray properties - are classified as black hole binaries. In this thesis, I report on observations of black hole binaries made with satellite observatories in the X-ray band. The region closest to the black hole is revealed in X-rays due to the viscous heating of matter that is accreted from the companion star. X-ray observations of these systems may therefore reveal General Relativistic effects. A fundamental and testable prediction of General Relativity is that matter may orbit more closely around black holes with significant angular momentum. I have investigated the possibility of black hole "spin" and the geometry of accretion flows in these systems using X-ray continuum spectroscopy, fast variability studies, and the shape of iron fluorescent emission lines in this band. I present evidence for black hole spin in XTE J1550-564, XTE J1650-500, and XTE J1748-248. Spin is not required by high-resolution spectral analysis of the archetypical Galactic black hole - Cygnus X-1 but a thermal accretion disk plus hot corona geometry is confirmed. Studies of XTE J1118+480 and GRS 1758-258 at low X-ray luminosity reveal that models for radiatively-inefficient accretion do not satisfactorily describe the geometry in these systems.

The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes

The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes PDF Author: Maurizio Falanga
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1493922270
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 483

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Book Description
Provides a comprehensive summary on the physical models and current theory of black hole accretion, growth and mergers, in both the supermassive and stellar-mass cases. This title reviews in-depth research on accretion on all scales, from galactic binaries to intermediate mass and supermassive black holes. Possible future directions of accretion are also discussed. The following main themes are covered: a historical perspective; physical models of accretion onto black holes of all masses; black hole fundamental parameters; and accretion, jets and outflows. An overview and outlook on the topic is also presented. This volume summarizes the status of the study of astrophysical black hole research and is aimed at astrophysicists and graduate students working in this field. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol 183/1-4, 2014.

Hard X-ray Emission from Galactic Black Hole Candidates

Hard X-ray Emission from Galactic Black Hole Candidates PDF Author: Patrick Lee Nolan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Black holes (Astronomy)
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Amplitudes of X-ray Variability in Accreting Black Holes

Amplitudes of X-ray Variability in Accreting Black Holes PDF Author: Lucy Maria Heil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The properties of X-ray variability from accreting black holes reveal much about conditions close to the event horizon. Observing common timing signals in many objects, suggests similarities within their accretion flows. To further this aim this thesis presents a systematic survey of the short term variability properties in 19 observations of 16 Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) taken with XMM-Newton using the power spectra. Significant short term variability is detected in 8 observations, but 4 of those remaining have upper limits on levels of variability below those observed in Galactic Black Hole Binaries (BHBs). Suggested causes for this suppression include large scale optically thick outflows destroying correlated variability from the source, or that the variability concentrated over shorter timescales than those studied here. Tests for a positive linear correlation between the amplitude of variability (rms) and flux within an observation are presented for archival observations of 9 BHBs. Revealing that this relation is ubiquitous in the broad-band noise for all long, bright observations with sufficient variability to measure the rms. Interestingly, comparisons between the properties of the rms-flux relations over the course of many outbursts, reveal that the x-axis offsets become strongly positive as the source moves into the hard intermediate state. The presence of a linear rms-flux correlation is also found in the light curve from a ULX (NGC 5408 X-1) and in some observations of the type C QP0 from the 1998 outburst of XTE 11550-564. In the latter case the rms-flux relation is found to be dependent on the frequency of the QPO, becoming constant or even negative once the QPO moves above ~5 Hz. A possible time lag between soft and hard emission is also identified from the ULX.

High Time-Resolution Astrophysics

High Time-Resolution Astrophysics PDF Author: Tariq Shahbaz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107181097
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
"This is a basic introduction to the physics of compact objects in the context of High Time Resolution Astrophysics (HTRA)"--

Novel Spectral-timing Methods for X-ray Binary Variability Studies

Novel Spectral-timing Methods for X-ray Binary Variability Studies PDF Author: Pablo M. Cassatella
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This work explores the connection between the spectral properties of the X-ray emission produced by black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) and the variability properties of these sources that are embedded in lightcurves. While BHXRBs are mostly studied using 'static observables' such as the average energy spectrum, a variability timescale-resolved study (in terms of Fourier-frequencies) provides a much stronger and more reliable tool for understanding the intricate physics and geometrical properties of accretion flows around stellar-mass black holes. In the present Thesis, we first show how the geometrical properties of the accretion disc can be mapped by combining spectra and frequency-resolved time-lags. A time-scale-dependent reflection model is developed in terms of Fourier-frequencies and compared to observational hard-state data of GX 339-4 obtainedwithXMM-Newton. Secondly, we explore the variability properties of the accretion disc in SWIFT J1753.5-0127 using a combination of novel spectraltiming methods and the soft X-ray coverage of XMM-Newton. Finally, we show the development of a novel technique for fitting correlated signals in the Fourier domain as a function of energy and Fourier-frequency that can prove particularly useful with high signal-to-noise datasets fromfuture X-ray missions.

High Energy Processes in Accreting Black Holes

High Energy Processes in Accreting Black Holes PDF Author: Juri Poutanen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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