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X-ray spectra from mhd simulations of accreting black holes
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Schnittman, Jeremy D. Krolik, Julian H. Noble, Scott C. |
| Copyright Year | 2012 |
| Description | We present the results of a new global radiation transport code coupled to a general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic simulation of an accreting, nonrotating black hole. For the first time, we are able to explain from first principles in a self-consistent way the X-ray spectra observed from stellar-mass black holes, including a thermal peak, Compton reflection hump, power-law tail, and broad iron line. Varying only the mass accretion rate, we are able to reproduce the low/hard, steep power-law, and thermal-dominant states seen in most galactic black hole sources. The temperature in the corona is T(sub e) ~ 10 keV in a boundary layer near the disk and rises smoothly to T(sub e) greater than or approximately 100 keV in low-density regions far above the disk. Even as the disk's reflection edge varies from the horizon out to approximately equal to 6M as the accretion rate decreases, we find that the shape of the Fe Ka line is remarkably constant. This is because photons emitted from the plunging region are strongly beamed into the horizon and never reach the observer. We have also carried out a basic timing analysis of the spectra and find that the fractional variability increases with photon energy and viewer inclination angle, consistent with the coronal hot spot model for X-ray fluctuations. |
| File Size | 12561716 |
| Page Count | 52 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20120015645 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t2b90842m |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2012-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Astronomy Gas Density Magnetohydrodynamics Simulation Broadband Emission Spectra Luminosity Photons X Ray Spectra Optical Thickness Accretion Disks Black Holes Astronomy Radiation Transport Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
