Signatures of X-ray reverberation in the power spectra of AGN

0458101 - ASÚ 2017 RIV FR eng J - Journal Article
Papadakis, I.E. - Pecháček, Tomáš - Dovčiak, Michal - Epitropakis, A. - Emmanoulopoulos, D. - Karas, Vladimír
Signatures of X-ray reverberation in the power spectra of AGN.
Astronomy & Astrophysics. Roč. 588, April (2016), A13/1-A13/6. ISSN 0004-6361. E-ISSN 1432-0746
Institutional support: RVO:67985815
Keywords : black Holes * accretion discs
OECD category: Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science)
Impact factor: 5.014, year: 2016

We study the effects of X-ray reprocessing in the power spectra (PSDs) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We compute fully relativistic disc response functions in the case of lamp-post geometry using the full observed reflection spectrum for various X-ray source heights, disc inclination, and spin values of the central black hole. Since the observed PSD is equal to the product of the intrinsic power spectrum with the transfer function (i.e. the Fourier transform of the disc response function), we are able to predict the observed PSDs in the case of X-ray illumination of the inner disc. The observed PSD should show a prominent dip at high frequencies and an oscillatory behaviour with a decreasing amplitude at higher frequencies. The reverberation echo features should be more prominent in energy bands where the reflection component is more pronounced. The frequency of the dip is independent of energy, and it is mainly determined by the black hole mass and the X-ray source height.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0259824