arXiv subjects

Shafqat Riaz

Publications and source records attributed to Shafqat Riaz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Assessing the Power-Law Emissivity Assumption in X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy: A Simulation-Based Evaluation of Different Coronal Geometries

The emissivity profile assumed in X-ray reflection spectroscopy significantly impacts black hole spin measurements. Using simulated NuSTAR spectra generated for lamppost and disk-like coronae with the relxill model suite, we evaluate systematic biases introduced when fitting with power-law or broken power-law emissivity profiles. We find that a simple power-law can accurately recover spins for low-height lamppost coronae with long exposures and low inclination angle, while broken power-laws introduce degeneracies when the simple power-law already performs adequately. However, for extended or high-height coronae, especially at high inclinations, both models produce large systematic biases unresolved by longer exposure times. Our results demonstrate that power-law approximations are reliable for compact coronae, highlighting the need for geometry-specific models in complex cases.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Modeling X-ray reflection spectra from returning radiation: application to 4U 1630$-$47

Returning radiation is thought to play a key role in disk illumination of black hole X-ray binaries in the high-soft state, yet it has not been fully incorporated into XSPEC reflection models. We present a new table model for reflection spectroscopy that, for the first time, self-consistently accounts for the returning radiation. To isolate this effect, we adopt the standard disk-corona configuration but disable the corona, allowing the reflection spectrum to be produced solely by self-irradiation of the disk. Applying our model to the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630$-$47, we report a rapidly spinning black hole ($a_* \sim 0.99$), a disk inclination of $i \sim 53^\circ$, a mass accretion rate of $\dot{M}_{\rm BH} \sim 15\% \, {\rm \dot{M}_{Edd}}$, and an electron density of $n_{\rm e} \sim 10^{21} \,\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$ to reproduce the observed reflection features. The model also yields a source distance of $D\sim 8.2 \, {\rm kpc}$, slightly below the commonly adopted value of $10 \, {\rm kpc}$ in the literature. Compared to the widely used relxillNS, our model naturally produces a harder high-energy reflection spectrum, fitting the data without invoking a Comptonized component.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

X-ray reflection spectroscopy with improved calculations of the emission angle

The reflection spectrum produced by a cold medium illuminated by X-ray photons is not isotropic and its shape depends on the emission angle. In the reflection spectrum of an accretion disk of a black hole, the value of the emission angle changes over the disk and, in general, is different from the value of the inclination angle of the disk because of the light bending in the strong gravitational field of the black hole. Current reflection models make some approximations, as calculating a reflection spectrum taking the correct emission angle at every point of the disk into account would be too time-consuming and make the model too slow to analyze observations. In a recent paper, we showed that these approximations are unsuitable to fit high-quality black hole spectra expected from the next generation of X-ray missions. Here, we present a reflection model with improved calculations of the emission angle that solves this problem.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Testing Regular Black Holes with X-ray data of GX 339-4

Regular black holes are singularity-free black hole spacetimes proposed to solve the problem of the presence of spacetime singularities that plagues the black holes of general relativity and most theories of gravity. In this work, we consider the regular black holes recently proposed by Mazza, Franzin & Liberati and we extend previous studies to get a more stringent observational constraint on the regularization parameter $l$. We study simultaneous observations of NuSTAR and Swift of the Galactic black hole in GX 339-4 during its outburst in 2015. The quality of the NuSTAR data is exceptionally good and the spectrum of the source presents both a strong thermal component and prominent relativistically blurred reflection features. This permits us to measure the regularization parameter $l$ from the simultaneous analysis of the thermal spectrum and the reflection features. From our analysis, we find the constraint $l/M < 0.44$ (90% CL), which is stronger than previous constraints inferred with X-ray and gravitational wave data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries with returning radiation

In the disk-corona model, the X-ray spectrum of a stellar-mass black hole in an X-ray binary is characterized by three components: a thermal component from a thin and cold accretion disk, a Comptonized component from a hot corona, and a reflection component produced by illumination of the cold disk by the hot corona. In this paper, we assume a lamppost corona and we improve previous calculations of the X-ray spectrum of black hole X-ray binaries. The reflection spectrum is produced by the direct radiation from the corona as well as by the returning radiation of the thermal and reflection components and is calculated considering the actual spectrum illuminating the disk. If we turn the corona off, the reflection spectrum is completely generated by the returning radiation of the thermal component, as it may happen for some sources in soft spectral states. After choosing the radial density profile of the accretion disk, the ionization parameter is calculated self-consistently at any radial coordinate of the disk from the illuminating X-ray flux and the local electron density. We show the predictions of our model in different regimes and we discuss its current limitations as well as the next steps to improve it.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Testing General Relativity with Black Hole X-Ray Data and ABHModels

The past 10 years have seen tremendous progress in our capability of testing General Relativity in the strong field regime with black hole observations. 10 years ago, the theory of General Relativity was almost completely unexplored in the strong field regime. Today, we have gravitational wave data of the coalescence of stellar-mass black holes, radio images of the supermassive black holes SgrA$^*$ and M87$^*$, and high-quality X-ray data of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries and supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. In this manuscript, we will review current efforts to test General Relativity with black hole X-ray data and we will provide a detailed description of the public codes available on ABHModels.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

Towards more accurate synthetic reflection spectra: improving the calculations of returning radiation

We present a new model to calculate reflection spectra of thin accretion disks in Kerr spacetimes. Our model includes the effect of returning radiation, which is the radiation that is emitted by the disk and returns to the disk because of the strong light bending near a black hole. The major improvement with respect to the existing models is that it calculates the reflection spectrum at every point on the disk by using the actual spectrum of the incident radiation. Assuming a lamppost coronal geometry, we simulate simultaneous observations of NICER and NuSTAR of bright Galactic black holes and we fit the simulated data with the latest version of RELXILL (modified to read the table of REFLIONX, which is the non-relativistic reflection model used in our calculations). We find that RELXILL with returning radiation cannot fit well the simulated data when the black hole spin parameter is very high and the coronal height and disk's ionization parameter are low, and some parameters can be significantly overestimated or underestimated. We can find better fits and recover the correct input parameters as the value of the black hole spin parameter decreases and the value of the coronal height increases.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

About the ability of agnostic X-ray tests of the Kerr Hypothesis to discover new physics

In the past decade, we have seen an unprecedented progress in our ability of testing general relativity in the strong field regime with black hole observations. Most studies have focused on the so-called tests of the Kerr hypothesis: they have tried to verify whether the spacetime geometry around black holes is described by the Kerr solution as expected in general relativity. One can follow either a theory-specific analysis or an agnostic approach. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. In this work, we study the ability of agnostic X-ray tests of the Kerr hypothesis to discover new physics. We simulate X-ray observations of bright Galactic black holes of specific theories of gravity and we analyze the simulated data with a reflection model employing the correct theory of gravity and another reflection model for agnostic tests of the Kerr hypothesis. Our results suggest that agnostic X-ray tests are valid tools to discover new physics, but their constraining power may be lower than a theory-specific analysis.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Testing the $δ$-Kerr metric with black hole X-ray data

The spacetime around astrophysical black holes is thought to be described by the Kerr solution. However, even within general relativity, there is not yet a proof that the final product of the complete collapse of an uncharged body can only be a Kerr black hole. We can thus speculate on the possibility that the spacetime around astrophysical black holes may be described by other solutions of the Einstein Equations and we can test such a hypothesis with observations. In this work, we consider the $δ$-Kerr metric, which is an exact solution of the field equations in vacuum and can be obtained from a non-linear superposition of the Kerr metric with a static axially symmetric solution, often referred to as the $δ$-metric. The parameter $δ=1+q$ quantifies the departure of the source from the Kerr metric and for $q=0$ we recover the Kerr solution. From the analysis of the reflection features in the X-ray spectrum of the Galactic black hole in EXO 1846-031, we find $-0.1 < q < 0.7$ (90% CL), which is consistent with the hypothesis that the spacetime around the compact object in EXO 1846-031 is a Kerr black hole but does not entirely rule out the $δ$-Kerr metric.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Impact of the returning radiation in current tests of the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy

The past 10 years have seen remarkable progress in our capability of analyzing reflection features in the X-ray spectra of accreting black holes. Today X-ray reflection spectroscopy is a mature technique and a powerful tool for studying the accretion process around black holes, measuring black hole spins, and testing Einstein's theory of General Relativity in the strong field regime. However, current reflection models still rely on a number of simplifications and caution is necessary when we derive very precise measurements. In this paper, we study the impact of the returning radiation on our capability of measuring the properties of black holes using X-ray reflection spectroscopy, and in particular on our capability of testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis. While the returning radiation alters the reflection spectrum of the disk, from the analysis of our simulations we find that models without returning radiation can normally recover well the correct black hole spin parameters and can test the Kerr metric. Our study thus confirms that current tests of the Kerr hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy can be robust.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Testing regular black holes with X-ray and GW data

The presence of spacetime singularities in physically relevant solutions of the Einstein Equations is normally interpreted as a symptom of the breakdown of classical general relativity at very high densities/curvatures. However, despite significant efforts in the past decades, we do not have yet any robust theoretical framework to solve the problem of spacetime singularities. In this context, the past few years have seen an increasing interest in the study of phenomenological scenarios to describe singularity-free black holes, gravitational collapses, and cosmological models. In the present work, we consider the recent proposal by Mazza, Franzin & Liberati for a rotating regular black hole and we measure their regularization parameter $l$ from the available X-ray and gravitational wave black hole data. For $l = 0$, we recover the singular Kerr solution of general relativity, while for $l \neq 0$ we can have a regular black hole or a regular wormhole. Our analysis shows that the available data are consistent with a vanishing regularization parameter $l$ and we can constrain its value. From a NuSTAR spectrum of the Galactic black hole in EXO 1846-031, we find $l/M < 0.49$ (90% CL). From the gravitational wave event GW190707A, we find $l/M < 0.72$ (90% CL).

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Testing relativistic reflection models with GRMHD simulations of accreting black holes

X-ray reflection spectroscopy is currently one of the leading techniques for studying the inner part of accretion disks around black holes, measuring black hole spins, and even testing fundamental physics in strong gravitational fields. However, the accuracy of these measurements depends on the reflection models employed for the spectral analysis, which are sometimes questioned. In this work, we use a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) code to generate a thin accretion disk in Kerr spacetime and ray-tracing techniques to calculate its relativistically broadened reflection spectrum. We simulate NuSTAR observations and we test the capability of current reflection models based on Novikov-Thorne disks to recover the correct input parameters. Our study shows that we can measure the correct input parameters in the case of high inclination angle sources, while we find some minor discrepancy when the inclination angle of the disk is low.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Unveiling the contribution of Pop III stars in primeval galaxies at redshift $\geq 6$

Detection of the first stars has remained elusive so-far but their presence may soon be unveiled by upcoming JWST observations. Previous studies have not investigated the entire possible range of halo masses and redshifts which may help in their detection. Motivated by the prospects of detecting galaxies up to $z\sim 20$ in JWST early data release, we quantify the contribution of Pop III stars to high-redshift galaxies from $6 \leq z \leq 30$ by employing the semi-analytical model A-SLOTH, which self-consistently models the formation of Pop III and Pop II stars along with their feedback. Our results suggest that the contribution of Pop III stars is the highest in low-mass halos of $\rm 10^7-10^9~M_{\odot}$. While high-mass halos $\rm \geq 10^{10}~M_{\odot}$ contain less than 1\% Pop III stars, they host galaxies with stellar masses of $\rm 10^9~M_{\odot}$ as early as $z \sim 30$. Interestingly, the apparent magnitude of Pop~III populations gets brighter towards higher redshift due to the higher stellar masses, but Pop~III-dominated galaxies are too faint to be directly detected with JWST. Our results predict JWST can detect galaxies up to $z\sim 30$, which may help in constraining the IMF of Pop III stars and will guide observers to discern the contribution of Pop~III stars to high-redshift galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Probing bumblebee gravity with black hole X-ray data

Bumblebee gravity is one of the simplest gravity theories with spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking. Since we know a rotating black hole solution in bumblebee gravity, we can potentially test this model with the available astrophysical observations of black holes. In this work, we construct a reflection model in bumblebee gravity and we use our model to analyze the reflection features of a NuSTAR spectrum of the Galactic black hole EXO 1846-031 in order to constrain the Lorentz-violating parameter $\ell$. We find that the analysis of the reflection features in the spectrum of EXO 1846-031 cannot constrain the parameter $\ell$ because of a very strong degeneracy between the estimates of $\ell$ and of the black hole spin parameter $a_*$. Such a degeneracy may be broken by combining other observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Reflection spectra of accretion disks illuminated by disk-like coronae

Relativistic reflection features in the X-ray spectra of black hole binaries and AGNs are thought to be produced through illumination of a cold accretion disk by a hot corona. In this work, we assume that the corona has the shape of an infinitesimally thin disk with its central axis the same as the rotational axis of the black hole. The corona can either be static or corotate with the accretion disk. We calculate the disk's emissivity profiles and iron line shapes for a set of coronal radii and heights. We incorporate these emissivity profiles into RELXILL_NK and we simulate some observations of a black hole binary with NuSTAR to study the impact of a disk-like coronal geometry on the measurement of the properties of the system and, in particular, on the possibility of testing the Kerr nature of the source. We find that, in general, the astrophysical properties of the accretion disk are recovered well even if we fit the data with a model employing a broken power-law or a lamppost emissivity profile, while it is more challenging to constrain the geometric properties of the black hole spacetime.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Testing the Weak Equivalence Principle near black holes

Today we have quite stringent constraints on possible violations of the Weak Equivalence Principle from the comparison of the acceleration of test-bodies of different composition in Earth's gravitational field. In the present paper, we propose a test of the Weak Equivalence Principle in the strong gravitational field of black holes. We construct a relativistic reflection model in which either the massive particles of the gas of the accretion disk or the photons emitted by the disk may not follow the geodesics of the spacetime. We employ our model to analyze the reflection features of a NuSTAR spectrum of the black hole binary EXO 1846-031 and we constrain two parameters that quantify a possible violation of the Weak Equivalence Principle by massive particles and X-ray photons, respectively.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Impact of the returning radiation on the analysis of the reflection spectra of black holes

A fraction of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of a geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk of a black hole returns to the disk because of the strong light bending in the vicinity of the compact object (returning radiation). While such radiation clearly affects the observed spectrum of the source, it is often neglected in theoretical models. In the present paper, we study the impact of the returning radiation on relativistic reflection spectra. Assuming neutral material in the disk, we estimate the systematic uncertainties on the measurement of the properties of the system when we fit the data with a theoretical model that neglects the returning radiation. Our NICER simulations show that the inclination angle of the disk and the black hole spin parameter tend to be overestimated for low viewing angles, while no clear bias is observed for high viewing angles. The iron abundance of the disk is never overestimated. In the most extreme cases (in particular, for maximally rotating black holes) the returning radiation flattens the radial emissivity beyond a few gravitational radii. In such cases, it also produces residuals that cannot be compensated by adjusting the parameters of models neglecting the returning radiation. This may be an important issue for interpretation of data from future X-ray missions (e.g. Athena). When we simulate some observations with NuSTAR and we fit data above 10 keV, we find that some conclusions valid for the NICER simulations are not true any longer (e.g., we can get a high iron abundance).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Modeling bias in supermassive black hole spin measurements

X-ray reflection spectroscopy (or iron line method) is a powerful tool to probe the strong gravity region of black holes, and currently is the only technique for measuring the spin of the supermassive ones. While all the available relativistic reflection models assume thin accretion disks, we know that several sources accrete near or above the Eddington limit and therefore must have thick accretion disks. In this work, we employ the Polish donut model for the description of thick disks. We thus estimate the systematic error on the spin measurement when a source with a thick accretion disk is fitted with a thin disk model. Our results clearly show that spin measurements can be significantly affected by the morphology of the accretion disk. Current spin measurements of sources with high mass accretion rate are therefore not reliable.

astro-ph.HE↗