Speaker: Andrew Fabian (Cambridge)
Title: Exploring the inner few gravitational radii around black holes
Abstract: The hard X-ray emitting corona irradiates the accretion disc in luminous black holes systems such as stellar mass black holes and active galactic nuclei. This produces a characteristic reflection spectrum which is now well observed in many objects. Variations in the coronal output reverberate off the disc causing time lags between the direct coronal emission and the reflection. I shall discuss these processes and show examples from recent observations, including what may be the first detection of the plunge region.
Location: Physics Meeting Room, Level 2.