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Register a new userX-ray iron line reverberation from black hole accretion disks
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The relativistically broad X-ray iron line seen in many AGN spectra is thought to originate from the central regions of the putative black hole accretion disk. Both the line profile and strength will vary in response to rapid variability of the primary X-ray continuum source. The temporal response of the line contains information on the accretion disk structure, the X-ray source geometry, and the spin of the black hole. Since the X-ray source will have a size comparable to the fluorescing region of the accretion disk, the general reverberation problem is not invertible. However, progress can be made since, empirically, AGN light curves are seen to undergo dramatic short timescale variability which presumably corresponds to the creation of a single new active region within the distributed X-ray source. The iron line response to these individual events can be described using linear transfer theory. We consider the line response to the activation/flaring of a new X-ray emitting region. Most of our detailed calculations are performed for the case of an X-ray source on the symmetry axis and at some height above the disk plane around a Kerr black hole. We also present preliminary calculations for off-axis flares. We suggest ways in which future, high-throughput X-ray observatories such as XMM and the Constellation X-ray Mission may use these reverberation signatures to probe both the mass and spin of AGN black holes, as well as the X-ray source geometry.
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One of the principal scientific objectives of the upcoming Constellation-X mission is to attempt to map the inner regions of accretion disks around black holes in Seyfert galaxies by reverberation mapping of the Fe K fluorescence line. This area of the disk is likely radiation pressure dominated and subject to various dynamical instabilities. Here, we show that density inhomogeneities in the disk atmosphere resulting from the photon bubble instability (PBI) can cause rapid changes in the X-ray reflection features, even when the illuminating flux is constant. Using a simulation of the development of the PBI, we find that, for the disk parameters chosen, the Fe K and O VIII Lyalpha lines vary on timescales as short as a few hundredths of an orbital time. In response to the changes in accretion disk structure, the Fe K equivalent width (EW) shows variations as large as ~100 eV. The magnitude and direction (positive or negative) of the changes depends on the ionization state of the atmosphere. The largest changes are found when the disk is moderately ionized. The O VIII EW varies by tens of eV, as well as exhibiting plenty of rapid, low-amplitude changes. This effect provides a natural explanation for some observed instances of short timescale Fe K variability which was uncorrelated with the continuum (e.g., Mrk 841). New predictions for Fe K reverberation mapping should be made which include the effects of this accretion disk driven line variability and a variable ionization state. Reflection spectra averaged over the evolution of the instability are well fit by constant density models in the 2-10 keV region.
We calculate the iron line profiles from accretion discs with spiral velocity structures around Schwarzschild black holes. We find that quasi-periodic bumps appear in the the profiles, thereby providing a test for spiral wave patterns. This study is motivated by recent work showing that spiral density waves can result from MHD instabilities even in non-self-gravitating discs, and by improved spectral resolution of forthcoming X-ray missions.
Several active galactic nuclei and microquasars are observed to eject plasmoids that move at relativistic speeds. We envisage the plasmoids as pre-existing current carrying magnetic flux ropes that were initially anchored in the accretion disk-corona. The plasmoids are ejected outwards via a mechanism called the toroidal instability (TI). The TI, which was originally explored in the context of laboratory tokamak plasmas, has been very successful in explaining coronal mass ejections from the Sun. Our model predictions for plasmoid trajectories compare favorably with a representative set of multi-epoch observations of radio emitting knots from the radio galaxy 3C120, which were preceded by dips in Xray intensity.
The broad iron K$alpha$ emission line, commonly seen in the X-ray spectrum of Seyfert nuclei, is thought to originate when the inner accretion disk is illuminated by an active disk-corona. We show that relative motion between the disk and the X-ray emitting material can have an important influence on the observed equivalent width (EW) of this line via special relativistic aberration and Doppler effects. We suggest this may be relevant to understanding why the observed EW often exceeds the prediction of the standard X-ray reflection model. Several observational tests are suggested that could disentangle these special relativistic effects from iron abundance effects.
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