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J. M. Miller (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A. C. Fabian (University of Cambridge Inst. of Astronomy), C. S. Reynolds (University of Maryland), M. Nowak (MIT), R. Wijnands (University of St. Andrew's), J. Homan, T. Belloni (Oss. di Brera, Merate), M. van der Klis (University of Amsterdam), W. H. G. Lewin (MIT)
Our observations of Galactic black holes with Chandra and XMM-Newton have recently revealed broad, skewed Fe K-alpha emission lines similar to those seen in some AGN. If such lines are produced near the inner edge of the accretion disk, they can serve as an excellent spin diagnostic. Our analysis of the XMM-Newton spectrum of XTE J1650-500 reveals a strong, skewed Fe K-alpha emission line that requires near-maximal spin; with RXTE, we have discovered a 250 Hz QPO in this source which may also be produced near to the black hole. Although many Galactic black holes have been studied extensively, it is extremely rare that spectroscopic and timing studies both reveal features plausibly associated with the inner accretion disk. We will present the results of our XMM-Newton, Chandra, and RXTE observations of XTE J1650-500, as well as the results of our Chandra observations of Cygnus X-1 and preliminary results from our observations of GX 339-4 with XMM-Newton. We will discuss these results within the context of the relativistic Fe K lines reported by our group and others, and comment on the prospects for revealing evidence of spin in future observations. (JMM acknowledges support from the NSF through the Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship program.)
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jmmiller@head-cfa.harvard.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.