Disk Emission from Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Spinning Black Holes
Abstract
We present the results of a new series of global, three-dimensional, relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of thin accretion disks around spinning black holes. The disks have aspect ratios of H/R∼ 0.05 and spin parameters of a/M=0,0.5,0.9, and 0.99. Using the ray-tracing code Pandurata, we generate broadband thermal spectra and polarization signatures from the MHD simulations. We find that the simulated spectra can be well fit with a simple, universal emissivity profile that better reproduces the behavior of the emission from the inner disk, compared to traditional analyses carried out using a Novikov-Thorne thin disk model. Finally, we show how spectropolarization observations can be used to convincingly break the spin-inclination degeneracy well known to the continuum-fitting method of measuring black hole spin.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 2016
- DOI:
- 10.3847/0004-637X/819/1/48
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1512.00729
- Bibcode:
- 2016ApJ...819...48S
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- black hole physics;
- X-rays: binaries;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- submitted to ApJ