Atomic X-ray Spectroscopy of Accreting Black Holes

Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, each energy band providing access to rather distinct regimes of physical conditions and geometric scale. X-ray emission probes the innermost regions of the accretion disk, where relativistic effects prevail. While this has been known for decades, it also has been acknowledged that inferring physical conditions in the relativistic regime from the behavior of the X-ray continuum is problematic and not satisfactorily constraining. With the discovery in the 1990s of iron X-ray lines bearing signatures of relativistic distortion came the hope that such emission would more firmly constrain models of disk accretion near black holes, as well as provide observational criteria by which to test general relativity in the strong field limit. Here we provide an introduction to this phenomenon. While the presentation is intended to be primarily tutorial in nature, we aim also to acquaint the reader with trends in current research. To achieve these ends, we present the basic applications of general relativity that pertain to X-ray spectroscopic observations of black hole accretion disk systems, focusing on the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions to the Einstein field equations. To this we add treatments of the fundamental concepts associated with the theoretical and modeling aspects of accretion disks, as well as relevant topics from observational and theoretical X-ray spectroscopy.Comment: 63 pages, 21 figures, Einstein Centennial Review Article, Canadian Journal of Physics, in pres

Theory of magnetically powered jets

The magnetic theory for the production of jets by accreting objects is reviewed with emphasis on outstanding problem areas. An effort is made to show the connections behind the occasionally diverging nomenclature in the literature, to contrast the different points of view about basic mechanisms, and to highlight concepts for interpreting the results of numerical simulations. The role of dissipation of magnetic energy in accelerating the flow is discussed, and its importance for explaining high Lorentz factors. The collimation of jets to the observed narrow angles is discussed, including a critical discussion of the role of `hoop stress'. The transition between disk and outflow is one of the least understood parts of the magnetic theory; its role in setting the mass flux in the wind, in possible modulations of the mass flux, and the uncertainties in treating it realistically are discussed. Current views on most of these problems are still strongly influenced by the restriction to 2 dimensions (axisymmetry) in previous analytical and numerical work; 3-D effects likely to be important are suggested. An interesting problem area is the nature and origin of the strong, preferably highly ordered magnetic fields known to work best for jet production. The observational evidence for such fields and their behavior in numerical simulations is discussed. I argue that the presence or absence of such fields may well be the `second parameter' governing not only the presence of jets but also the X-ray spectra and timing behavior of X-ray binaries.Comment: 29 pages. Publication delays offered the opportunity for further corrections, an expansion of sect 4.2, and one more Fig. To appear in Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet Paradigm - From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect. Notes Phys. 794 (2009