X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle

The reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle changes over the disk and, in general, is different from the v...

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Main Authors: Yimin Huang, Honghui Liu, Temurbek Mirzaev, Ningyue Fan, Cosimo Bambi, Zuobin Zhang, Thomas Dauser, Javier A. García, Adam Ingram, Jiachen Jiang, Guglielmo Mastroserio, Shafqat Riaz, Swarnim Shashank
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Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf111
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author Yimin Huang
Honghui Liu
Temurbek Mirzaev
Ningyue Fan
Cosimo Bambi
Zuobin Zhang
Thomas Dauser
Javier A. García
Adam Ingram
Jiachen Jiang
Guglielmo Mastroserio
Shafqat Riaz
Swarnim Shashank
author_facet Yimin Huang
Honghui Liu
Temurbek Mirzaev
Ningyue Fan
Cosimo Bambi
Zuobin Zhang
Thomas Dauser
Javier A. García
Adam Ingram
Jiachen Jiang
Guglielmo Mastroserio
Shafqat Riaz
Swarnim Shashank
author_sort Yimin Huang
collection DOAJ
description The reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle changes over the disk and, in general, is different from the value of the inclination angle of the disk because of the light bending in the strong gravitational field of the black hole. Current reflection models make some approximations, as calculating a reflection spectrum taking the correct emission angle at every point of the disk into account would be too time-consuming and make the model too slow to analyze observations. In a recent paper, we showed that these approximations are unsuitable to fit high-quality black hole spectra expected from the next generation of X-ray missions. Here, we present a reflection model with improved calculations of the emission angle that solves this problem.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1538-4357
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publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-9cf1d12a4b834d29bf207e9d1da1a98b2025-08-20T04:00:54ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989216810.3847/1538-4357/adf111X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission AngleYimin Huang0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3299-9185Honghui Liu1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2845-1009Temurbek Mirzaev2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9337-4612Ningyue Fan3https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2549-1161Cosimo Bambi4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3180-9502Zuobin Zhang5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0847-1299Thomas Dauser6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4583-9048Javier A. García7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3828-2448Adam Ingram8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5311-9078Jiachen Jiang9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9639-4352Guglielmo Mastroserio10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4216-7936Shafqat Riaz11Swarnim Shashank12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3402-7212Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China ; bambi@fudan.edu.cnInstitut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen , D-72076 Tübingen, Germany ; honghui.liu@uni-tuebingen.deCenter for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China ; bambi@fudan.edu.cnCenter for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China ; bambi@fudan.edu.cnCenter for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China ; bambi@fudan.edu.cn; School of Natural Sciences and Humanities, New Uzbekistan University , Tashkent 100007, UzbekistanAstrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3RH, UKDr. Karl Remeis-Observatory and Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics , D-96049 Bamberg, GermanyNASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USASchool of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKDepartment of Physics, University of Warwick , Coventry CV4 7AL, UKDipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano , I-20133 Milano, Italy; Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia , Palazzo del Broletto, I-27100 Pavia, ItalyInstitut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen , D-72076 Tübingen, Germany ; honghui.liu@uni-tuebingen.deCenter for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University , Shanghai 200438, People’s Republic of China ; bambi@fudan.edu.cnThe reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle changes over the disk and, in general, is different from the value of the inclination angle of the disk because of the light bending in the strong gravitational field of the black hole. Current reflection models make some approximations, as calculating a reflection spectrum taking the correct emission angle at every point of the disk into account would be too time-consuming and make the model too slow to analyze observations. In a recent paper, we showed that these approximations are unsuitable to fit high-quality black hole spectra expected from the next generation of X-ray missions. Here, we present a reflection model with improved calculations of the emission angle that solves this problem.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf111X-ray astronomyX-ray sourcesAstrophysical black holesRelativistic disks
spellingShingle Yimin Huang
Honghui Liu
Temurbek Mirzaev
Ningyue Fan
Cosimo Bambi
Zuobin Zhang
Thomas Dauser
Javier A. García
Adam Ingram
Jiachen Jiang
Guglielmo Mastroserio
Shafqat Riaz
Swarnim Shashank
X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
The Astrophysical Journal
X-ray astronomy
X-ray sources
Astrophysical black holes
Relativistic disks
title X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
title_full X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
title_fullStr X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
title_full_unstemmed X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
title_short X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy with Improved Calculations of the Emission Angle
title_sort x ray reflection spectroscopy with improved calculations of the emission angle
topic X-ray astronomy
X-ray sources
Astrophysical black holes
Relativistic disks
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf111
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