Relativistic accretion flows onto supermassive black holes : shock formation and iron fluorescent emission lines in active galactic nuclei
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Date
2005
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Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science
Abstract
One of the exciting discoveries from the recent X-ray spectroscopic studies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is the so called βrelativistically-broadened iron fluorescent emission lineγ often detected in the hard X-ray spectra. It is generally believed to originate from the inner part of the accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole (BH) at the center. Although we have begun to obtain some physical insight regarding such emission lines supported by theoretical models (e.g., disk-corona model), exactly how and where the observed fluorescence may take place is still disputable. Here, an X-ray data with XMM-Newton Observatory of a typical narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 4051, is analyzed based on a partial covering model to consistently explain the observed time-resolved temporal/spectral variations. This model implies that the intrinsic emission varies significantly in the presence of the covering cloud. We often detect a hard X-ray continuum originating from a hot region close to the central engines of AGNs. As a promising X-ray source candidate, relativistic hydrodynamic (HD) shocks are investigated systematically and then extended to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shocks, given the widely accepted suggestion that the presence of the magnetic fields could play an important role in the accreting flows. I show that both HD and MHD shocks can form in the vicinity of the BH, perhaps responsible for creating such a hightemperature region where hard X-rays are produced. Particularly in the MHD shocked plasma, the hydro/magneto-dominated states are found. Considering the effect of such magnetic fields in the accretion disk, I calculate nonstandard iron fluorescent line profiles in the presence of spiral density waves and find multiple sharp sub-peak structures in extremely skewed line profiles, which will be detectable with upcoming X-ray satellites such as Astro-E2 XRS for testing the model. This dissertation is the result of my own work and also includes some work done in collaboration. Parts of this dissertation have been either already published in or submitted to the Astrophysical Journal and presented at conferences, while some are still in progress.