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The converging inflow spectrum is an intrinsic signature for a black hole: Monte-Carlo simulations of Comptonization on free-falling electrons

P. Laurent·L. Titarchuk
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Abstract

An accreting black hole is, by definition, characterized by the drain. Namely, the matter falls into a black hole much the same way as water disappears down a drain - matter goes in and nothing comes out. As this can only happen in a black hole, it provides an unique way to see it. The accretion proceeds almost in free fall close to the black hole horizon. In this paper we calculate (by using Monte -Carlo simulations) the specific features of X-ray spectra formed as a result of upscattering of the soft (disk) photons in the converging inflow (CI) within about 3 Schwarzschild radii of the black hole. The full relativistic treatment has been implemented to reproduce these spectra. We show that spectra in the soft state of black hole systems can be described as the sum of a thermal (disk) component and the convolution of some fraction of this component with the CI upscattering spread function. The latter boosted photon component is seen as an extended power-law at energies much higher than the characteristic soft photons energy. We demonstrate the stability of the power spectral index (alpha= 1.8) over a wide range of the plasma temperature 0-10 keV and mass accretion rates (higher than 2 in Eddington units). We also demonstrate that the sharp high energy cutoff occurs at energies of 200-400 keV which are related to the average rest energy of electrons impinging upon the horizon. The spectrum is practically identical to the standard thermal Comptonization spectrum when the CI plasma temperature is getting of order of 50 keV (hard state of BHS). Also, the change of spectral shapes from the soft to the hard X-ray state is clearly to be related with the temperature of the bulk flow. These Monte-Carlo simulated CI spectra are then a inevitable stamp of the BHS.

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P. Laurent, L. Titarchuk. 1998-08-03. The converging inflow spectrum is an intrinsic signature for a black hole: Monte-Carlo simulations of Comptonization on free-falling electrons. https://doi.org/10.1086/306683

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