AAS 201st Meeting, January, 2003
Session 15. Black Holes Observed and Modeled
Poster, Monday, January 6, 2003, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall AB

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[15.05] Relativistic Effects Around Black Holes: Smearing of Absorption Edges

X.L. Zhang, Y.X. Feng, S.N. Zhang, Y. Yao (UAH/NSSTC)

Broad iron absorption structures have been observed in the X-ray spectra of both AGNs and black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs). A correctly modeled absorption structure can reveal the physical condition of the source, help to determine the continuum spectra and thus help to estimate other spectral features more accurately. The absorption structures are usually thought to be caused by the reflection of X-rays by the accretion disks around the central black holes, and the broadening can be attributed to the ionization states of the disk and relativistic effects. Both AGNs and BHXBs harbor black holes, and in some systems the accretion disks can extend to very close to the black holes. Like the broadening effect on emission lines, the relativistic broadening on absorption edges can be very significant for these systems, especially when the central black hole is rotating rapidly. In general, a faster spin black hole and a higher inclination angle will distort the structure more seriously. In this work we will study in detail how the spin of the central black hole and the inclination angle of the disk will affect the properties of the absorption edges, the central energy, the profile and the strength etc.. The model will be compared to Chandra/XMM observations.


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