Probing the Black Hole Engine with Measurements of the Relativistic X-ray Reflection Component

Javier A. García; Matteo Bachetti; David R. Ballantyne; Laura Brenneman; Murray Brightman; Riley M. Connors; Thomas Dauser; Andrew Fabian; Felix Fuerst; Poshak Gandhi; Nikita Kamraj; Erin Kara; Kristin Madsen; Jon M. Miller; Michael Nowak; Michael L. Parker; Christopher Reynolds; James Steiner; Daniel Stern; Corbin Taylor; John Tomsick; Dominic Walton; Jörn Wilms; Abderahmen Zoghbi

arXiv · 1903.07130

Probing the Black Hole Engine with Measurements of the Relativistic X-ray Reflection Component

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Abstract

Over the last decades X-ray spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful tool for the estimation of black hole spin and several other key parameters in dozens of AGN and black hole X-ray binaries. In this White Paper, we discuss the observational and theoretical challenges expected in the exploration, discovery, and study of astrophysical black holes in the next decade. We focus on the case of accreting black holes and their electromagnetic signatures, with particular emphasis on the measurement of the relativistic reflection component in their X-ray spectra.

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Javier A. García, Matteo Bachetti, David R. Ballantyne, Laura Brenneman, Murray Brightman, Riley M. Connors, Thomas Dauser, Andrew Fabian, Felix Fuerst, Poshak Gandhi, Nikita Kamraj, Erin Kara, Kristin Madsen, Jon M. Miller, Michael Nowak, Michael L. Parker, Christopher Reynolds, James Steiner, Daniel Stern, Corbin Taylor, John Tomsick, Dominic Walton, Jörn Wilms, Abderahmen Zoghbi. 2019-03-17. Probing the Black Hole Engine with Measurements of the Relativistic X-ray Reflection Component. https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.07130

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