The Relativistic Fe Emission Line in XTE J1650-500 with BeppoSAX: Evidence for Black Hole Spin and Light Bending Effects?

Abstract

We report spectral results from three BeppoSAX observations of the black hole candidate XTE J1650-500 during its 2001/2002 outburst. We find strong evidence for the presence of a broad and strongly relativistic Fe emission line. The line profile indicates an accretion disc extending down to two gravitational radii (or less) suggesting the presence of a rapidly rotating central Kerr black hole. Thanks to the broadband spectral coverage of BeppoSAX, we could analyze the 1.5-200 keV spectra of the three observations and report the presence of a strong reflection component from the accretion disc, which is totally consistent with the observed broad Fe emission line. The shape of the reflection component appears to be affected by the same special and general relativistic effects that produce the broad Fe line. We study the variation of the different spectral components from the first to the third observation and we find that they are well reproduced by a recently proposed light bending model.Comment: Minor changes in text and in Figures/Tables. Section 3.1.2 added. Accepted by MNRA