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Changing-Look AGN (CLAGN) Mkn 590 recently underwent a sudden \lq re-ignition\rq, marked by substantial increases in optical/UV and X-ray continuum flux since last year. \textit{Swift}-XRT observations revealed the re-emergence of a soft X-ray excess (SXE) as the source transitioned from a low-flux state in July 2023 to a significantly higher flux state in October 2024. This evolution was in response to an order-of-magnitude increase in extreme-UV (EUV) continuum emission, detected by \textit{Swift}-UVOT. Follow-up optical spectra from the Las Cumbres Observatory confirmed the presence of dynamically broadened Balmer lines, He II emission, and the emergence of the Fe II complex. As the Eddington fraction increased by 10\% over the last 15 months, we found clear evidence of formation of a warm corona, strongly linked to the cold accretion disc underneath. A global amplification of ionizing radiation after approximately 11 years is consistent with propagating heating fronts in inflated accretion discs. Based on our multi-wavelength study on recent data, we propose that Mkn 590 is currently becoming a Seyfert-1, similar to 1990s., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; Submitted to MNRAS Letters

Rapidly rotating neutron stars are similar to highly flattened ellipsoids. Observed spectra of flattened stars must exhibit effects of non spherical shape and the gravitational darkening. We examined in detail the influence of both effects on the observed central energies and profiles of lines of highly ionized iron, FeXXV and FeXXVI. We note that the gravitational darkening effect do not change the central energy of lines. What is important, spectra of neutron stars that rotate with different frequencies and are seen at various inclinations angles differ significantly. The appearance and the depth of lines strongly depends on the parameters like the inclination angle of the star or the frequency of the star rotation. In this paper we clearly show that the gravitational darkening effect should be included in realistic model of the atmospheres of the neutron stars., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures

Rebirth of X-ray polarimetric instruments will have a significant impact on our knowledge of compact accreting sources. The properties of inner-accreting regions of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or X-ray binary systems (XRBs), such as black-hole spin, their disc inclination and orientation, shape and size of their corona, can be polarimetrically studied, parallelly to the well-known X-ray spectroscopic and timing techniques. In this work, we provide a new spectropolarimetric numerical estimate of X-rays in the lamp-post coronal model for a distant observer, including a polarized reflected radiation from the accretion disc. The local disc reflection was simulated using the codes TITAN and STOKES and includes variable disc ionization as well as Monte Carlo treatment of Compton multiple scatterings. We introduce a relativistic code KYNSTOKES based on our well-tested KY package that accounts for all relativistic effects on radiation near a black hole, apart from the returning radiation, and adds a possibility of polarized coronal emission. We study the spectrum, polarization degree and polarization angle at spatial infinity for various global system parameters and we demonstrate the difference at infinity, if analytical local reflection computations are used. We newly predict that in the hard X-rays the reflected component can be 25% polarized and the total emission can be 9% polarized in the most favourable, yet realistic configurations of radio-quiet AGNs. Thus, the relativistic disc reflection remains important for the interpretation of X-ray polarimetric observations., Comment: 25 pages, 23 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Figures 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16 corrected

Context. Warm corona is a possible explanation for Soft X-ray Excess in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). This paper contains self consistent modeling of both: accretion disk with optically thick corona, where the gas is heated by magneto-rotational instability dynamo (MRI), and cooled by radiation which undergoes free-free absorption and Compton scattering. Aims. We determine the parameters of warm corona in AGN using disk-corona structure model that takes into account magnetic and radiation pressure. We aim to show the role of thermal instability (TI) as a constraint for warm, optically thick X-ray corona in AGN. Methods. With the use of relaxation code, the vertical solution of the disk driven by MRI together with radiative transfer in hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium is calculated, which allows us to point out how TI affects the corona for wide range of global parameters. Results. We show that magnetic heating is strong enough to heat upper layers of the accretion disk atmosphere, which form the warm corona covering the disk. Magnetic pressure does not remove TI caused by radiative processes operating in X-ray emitting plasma. TI disappears only in case of accretion rates higher than 0.2 of Eddington, and high magnetic field parameter $\alpha_{\rm B}$ > 0.1. Conclusions. TI plays the major role in the formation of the warm corona above magnetically driven accretion disk in AGN. The warm, Compton cooled corona, responsible for soft X-ray excess, resulted from our model has typical temperature in the range of 0.01 - 2 keV and optical depth even up to 50, which agrees with recent observations.

Since many years we know that dust in the form of the dusty-molecular torus is responsible for the obscuration in active galactic nuclei (AGN) at large viewing angles and thus for the classification of AGN. Recently, we gained some observational and theoretical insight into geometry of the region and the role of the dust in the dynamics of the outflow and failed winds. We will briefly touch on all these aspects, including our dust-based model (FRADO - Failed Radiatively Accelerated Dusty Outflow) of the formation of the Balmer lines in AGN., Comment: Partially based on talk at 31st Symposium on the Physics of Ionized Gases in Belgrade, accepted for European Physical Journal D Topical Issue: "Physics of Ionized Gases and Spectroscopy of Isolated Complex Systems: Fundamentals and Applications"

We study the origin of the anomalous deep absorption in a spectrum of the SDSS J110511.15+530806.5 distant quasar (z=1.929) obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in Data Release 7 of the optical catalog. We aim to estimate the velocity of absorbing material, and we show that this material considerably affects our measurements of the black hole (BH) mass in massive quasars with the use of common virial mass estimators. The spectral shape of the quasar was modeled assuming that the accretion disk emission is influenced by a hot corona, warm skin, and absorbing material located close to the nucleus. The whole analysis was undertaken with XSPEC models and tools. The overall spectral shape was represented with the AGNSED model, while the deep absorption is well described by two Gaussians. The observed spectrum and the fitting procedure allowed us to estimate the BH mass in the quasar as $3.52 \pm 0.01 \times 10^9 M_{\odot}$, the nonzero BH spin is $a_* = 0.32 \pm 0.04$, and the accretion rate is $\dot m=0.274 \pm 0.001$. The velocities of the detected absorbers lie in the range of 6330-108135 km/s. When we consider that absorption is caused by the CIV ion, one absorber is folding toward the nucleus with a velocity of 73887 km/s. We derived a BI index of about 20300 km/s and a mass outflow rate up to 38.5 % of the source accretion rate. The high absorption observed in SDSS J110511.15+530806.5 is evidence of fast winds that place the source in the group of objects on the border with UFO (ultra-fast outflows), strong broad absorption line (BAL), and fast failed radiatively accelerated dusty outflow (FRADO). This absorption affects the BH mass measurement by two orders of magnitude as compared to virial mass estimation., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A). 10 pages, 7 figures

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged)., Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editing

Numerical general relativistic radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accretion disks around a stellar mass black hole with a luminosity above 0.5 of the Eddington value reveal their stratified, elevated vertical structure. We refer to these thermally stable numerical solutions as puffy disks. Above a dense and geometrically thin core of dimensionless thickness $h/r \sim 0.1$, crudely resembling a classic thin accretion disk, a puffed-up, geometrically thick layer of lower density and $h/r \sim 1.0$ is formed. We discuss the observational properties of puffy disks, in particular the geometrical obscuration of the inner disk by the elevated puffy region at higher observing inclinations, and collimation of the radiation along the accretion disk spin axis, which may explain the apparent super-Eddington luminosity of some X-ray objects. We also present synthetic spectra of puffy disks, and show that they are qualitatively similar to those of a Comptonized thin disk. We demonstrate that the existing xspec spectral fitting models provide good fits to synthetic observations of puffy disks, but cannot correctly recover the input black hole spin. The puffy region remains optically thick to scattering; in its spectral properties the puffy disk roughly resembles that of a warm corona sandwiching the disk core. We suggest that puffy disks may correspond to X-ray binary systems of luminosities above 0.3 of the Eddington luminosity in the intermediate spectral states.

X-ray polarimetric missions planned for this decade will significantly enhance our knowledge of compact accreting sources. Observations of the X-ray polarization signal from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or X-ray binary systems (XRBs) will bring new means to study inner accretion flow in these objects that, together with currently used spectroscopic and timing techniques, will help us to determine better their properties, such as their inclination, orientation, shape, and size of their corona as well as the black hole spin. In this work, we present a yet missing piece in the global polarization models of black hole accretion discs. We compute the reflected X-ray emission from the disc in a local co-moving frame using (1) the radiative transfer code TITAN to obtain the ionization structure of the disc and (2) the Monte Carlo code STOKES that incorporates the physics of absorption, re-emission, and Compton scattering to produce a complete spectropolarimetric output. We present the final Stokes parameters I, Q, and U for a set of photon-indices of the incident primary power-law radiation, the disc ionization parameters, incident and emission angles, for three independent polarization states of the incident coronal X-ray photons with a sufficient resolution in energy to allow for sharp discussion of spectral and polarization properties. We show that the spectral component matches well literature predictions. The polarization degree and angle are in agreement with analytical approximations previously appearing in reflection models and we demonstrate that the polarized reflected X-ray emission can be, locally, quite large in the 2-12 keV band., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, published in MNRAS. Version 2, corrected for a small error in Section 3.2 (in the last sentence of the 6th paragraph)

We report the first detection of a Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line and soft X-ray lag in the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 7456 ULX-1. The XMM-Newton spectra show the presence of the 6.4 keV Fe line at 2.6$\sigma$ confidence and an upper limit on the FWHM of 32900 km s$^{-1}$. Assuming that the line arises by reflection from a Keplerian disk, it must originate beyond $85 r_{\rm g}$ from the compact object. As a result of Fourier timing analysis we found that the soft X-ray photons lag behind the hard X-ray photons with a $\sim$1300 s delay. The covariance spectra indicate that the hard spectral component is responsible for the correlated variability and the soft X-ray lag. This is the second ULX in which a Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line is found, the fifth with a soft X-ray lag, and the first with both features detected., Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We performed timing and spectral analysis of multi-epoch Suzaku, XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) Circinus ULX5, to put constraints on the mass of the central object and the accretion mode operating in this source. We aim to answer whether the source contains a stellar mass black hole with a super-Eddington accretion flow or an intermediate mass black hole accreting matter in a sub-Eddington mode. Moreover, we search for major observed changes in spectra and timing occur, and determine if they are associated with major structural changes in the disk, similar to those in black hole X-ray binaries. We performed timing and spectral analysis to study the relation between luminosity and inner disk temperature. We constructed the hardness ratio versus intensity diagram to reveal spectral state transitions in Circinus ULX5. Our spectral analysis revealed at least three distinctive spectral states of Circinus ULX5, in analogy to state transitions in Galactic black hole X-ray binaries. Disk-dominated spectra are found in high flux states and the power-law dominated spectra are found in lower flux states. The source was also observed in an intermediate state, where the flux was low, but spectrum is dominated by a disk component. Over eighteen years of collected data, ULX5 appeared two times in the high, three times in the low, and two times in the intermediate state. The fastest observed transition was $\sim$7 months. Our analysis suggests that the central object in Circinus ULX5 is a stellar mass BH ($<10\ \rm M_{\odot}$), or possibly a NS even though we do not detect pulsations in the lightcurves. Fractional variability amplitudes are consistent with state transitions in Circinus ULX5 wherein higher variability from the power law-like Comptonized emission gets suppressed in the thermal disk-dominated state., Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Aims. We analyzed multi-epoch X-ray data of the Ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5055 X-1, with luminosity up to $2.32\times10^{40}\ \rm erg\ s^{-1}$, in order to constrain the physical parameters of the source. Methods. We performed timing and spectral analysis of Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. We used spectral models which assume the emission is from an accreting black hole system. We fit the data with a multicolor disk (MCD) combined with a powerlaw (PL) or a thermal Comptonization (NTHCOMP) component, and compared those fits with a slim disk model. Results. The lightcurves of the source do not show significant variability. From the hardness ratios (3-10 keV/0.3-3 keV flux) we infer that the source is not spectrally variable. We found that the photon index is tightly, positively correlated with the unabsorbed 0.3-10 keV flux and the hydrogen column density. Furthermore, the temperature emissivity profile indicates a deviation from the standard sub-Eddington thin disk model. The source shows an inverse correlation between luminosity and inner disk temperature in all fitted models. Conclusions. Our analysis favors the source to be in an ultraluminous soft state. The positive correlations between the photon index and the flux, and between the photon index and the hydrogen column density may suggest the source is accreting at high Eddington ratios and might indicate the presence of a wind. The inverse luminosity relation with the inner disk temperature for all spectral models may indicate that the emission is geometrically beamed by an optically thick outflow., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

A large fraction of accreting black hole and neutron stars systems present clear evidence of the reprocessing of X-rays in the atmosphere of an optically-thick accretion disk. The main hallmarks of X-ray reflection include fluorescent K-shell emission lines from iron ($\sim 6.4-6.9$ keV), the absorption iron K-edge ($\sim 7-9$ keV), and a broad featureless component known as the Compton hump ($\sim 20-40$ keV). This Compton hump is produced as the result of the scattering of high-energy photons ($E \gtrsim 10$ keV) of the relatively colder electrons ($T_e \sim 10^5-10^7$ K) in the accretion disk, in combination with photoelectric absorption from iron. The treatment of this process in most current models of ionized X-ray reflection has been done using an approximated Gaussian redistribution kernel. This approach works sufficiently well up to $\sim100$ keV, but it becomes largely inaccurate at higher energies and at relativistic temperatures ($T_e\sim10^9$ K). We present new calculations of X-ray reflection using a modified version of our code XILLVER, including an accurate solution for Compton scattering of the reflected unpolarized photons in the disk atmosphere. This solution takes into account quantum electrodynamic and relativistic effects allowing the correct treatment of high photon energies and electron temperatures. We show new reflection spectra computed with this model, and discuss the improvements achieved in the reproducing the correct shape of the Compton hump, the discrepancies with previous calculations, and the expected impact of these new models in the interpretation of observational data., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for the publication in ApJ

The first image of the black hole (BH) M 87* obtained by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has the shape of a crescent extending from the E to WSW position angles, while the observed direction of the large-scale jet is WNW. Images based on numerical simulations of BH accretion flows suggest that on average the projected BH spin axis should be oriented SSW. We explore highly simplified toy models for geometric distribution and kinematics of emitting regions in the Kerr metric, perform ray tracing to calculate the corresponding images, and simulate their observation by the EHT to calculate the corresponding visibilities and closure phases. We strictly assume that (1) the BH spin vector is fixed to the jet axis, (2) the emitting regions are stationary and symmetric with respect to the BH spin, and that (3) the emissivities are isotropic in the local rest frames. Emission from the crescent sector between SSE and WSW can be readily explained in terms of an equatorial ring with either circular or plunging geodesic flows, regardless of the value of BH spin. In the case of plane-symmetric polar caps with plunging geodesic flows, the dominant image of the cap located behind the BH is sensitive to the angular momentum of the emitter. Within the constraints of our model, we have not found a viable explanation for the observed brightness of the ESE sector. Most likely, the ESE "hotspot" has been produced by a non-stationary localised perturbation in the inner accretion flow. Alternatively, it could result from locally anisotropic synchrotron emissivities. Multi-epoch and polarimetric results from the EHT will be essential to verify the theoretically expected alignment of the BH spin with the large-scale jet., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, matching the publication title

We propose the development of X-ray interferometry (XRI), to reveal the universe at high energies with ultra-high spatial resolution. With baselines which can be accommodated on a single spacecraft, XRI can reach 100 $\mu$as resolution at 10 \AA (1.2 keV) and 20 $\mu$as at 2 \AA (6 keV), enabling imaging and imaging-spectroscopy of (for example) X-ray coronae of nearby accreting supermassive black holes (SMBH) and the SMBH `shadow'; SMBH accretion flows and outflows; X-ray binary winds and orbits; stellar coronae within ~100 pc and many exoplanets which transit across them. For sufficiently luminous sources XRI will resolve sub-pc scales across the entire observable universe, revealing accreting binary SMBHs and enabling trigonometric measurements of the Hubble constant with X-ray light echoes from quasars or explosive transients. A multi-spacecraft `constellation' interferometer would resolve well below 1 $\mu$as, enabling SMBH event horizons to be resolved in many active galaxies and the detailed study of the effects of strong field gravity on the dynamics and emission from accreting gas close to the black hole., Comment: White Paper submitted in response to ESA's Voyage 2050 call

The highly energetic outflows from Active Galactic Nuclei detected in X-rays are one of the most powerful mechanisms by which the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) interacts with the host galaxy. The last two decades of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy with XMM and Chandra have improved our understanding of the nature of these outflowing ionized absorbers and we are now poised to take the next giant leap with higher spectral resolution and higher throughput observatories to understand the physics and impact of these outflows on the host galaxy gas. The future studies on X-ray outflows not only have the potential to unravel some of the currently outstanding puzzles in astronomy, such as the physical basis behind the MBH$-\sigma$ relation, the cooling flow problem in intra-cluster medium (ICM), and the evolution of the quasar luminosity function across cosmic timescales, but also provide rare insights into the dynamics and nature of matter in the immediate vicinity of the SMBH. Higher spectral resolution ($\le 0.5$ eV at $1$ keV) observations will be required to identify individual absorption lines and study the asymmetries and shifts in the line profiles revealing important information about outflow structures and their impact. Higher effective area ($\ge 1000 \rm \,cm^{2}$) will be required to study the outflows in distant quasars, particularly at the quasar peak era (redshift $1\le z\le 3$) when the AGN population was the brightest. Thus, it is imperative that we develop next generation X-ray telescopes with high spectral resolution and high throughput for unveiling the properties and impact of highly energetic X-ray outflows. A simultaneous high resolution UV + X-ray mission will encompass the crucial AGN ionizing continuum, and also characterize the simultaneous detections of UV and X-ray outflows, which map different spatial scales along the line of sight., Comment: A Science White Paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey

This paper is devoted to self-consistent modeling of the magnetically supported accretion disk with optically thick warm corona based on first principles. In our model, we consider the gas heating by magneto-rotational instability (MRI) dynamo. Our goal is to show that the proper calculation of the gas heating by magnetic dynamo can build up the warm, optically thick corona above the accretion disk around black hole of stellar mass. Using vertical model of the disk supported and heated by the magnetic field together with radiative transfer in hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium we developed relaxation numerical scheme which allows us to compute the transition form the disk to corona in a self consistent way. We demonstrate here that the warm (up to 5 keV), optically thick (up to 10 Thompson optical depths), Compton cooled corona can form due to the magnetic heating. Such warm corona is stronger for higher accretion rate and larger magnetic field strength. The radial extent of the warm corona is limited by the occurrence of the local thermal instability, which purely depends on radiative processes. The obtained coronal parameters are in agreement with those constrained from X-ray observations. The warm magnetically supported corona is tends to appear in the inner disk regions. It may be responsible for Soft X-ray excess seen in accreting sources. For lower accretion rates and weaker magnetic field parameters, thermal instability prevents warm corona to exist, giving rise to eventual clumpiness or ionized outflow., Comment: accepted for publication in A&A on 4 Sep 2019

In this White Paper we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission for studies related to Observatory Science targets. These include flaring stars, supernova remnants, accreting white dwarfs, low and high mass X-ray binaries, radio quiet and radio loud active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, and gamma-ray bursts. eXTP will be excellently suited to study one common aspect of these objects: their often transient nature. Developed by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science, the eXTP mission is expected to be launched in the mid 2020s., Comment: Accepted for publication on Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. (2019)

The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer of the ESA Athena X-ray observatory. Over a field of view of 5' equivalent diameter, it will deliver X-ray spectra from 0.2 to 12 keV with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV up to 7 keV on ~5 arcsecond pixels. The X-IFU is based on a large format array of super-conducting molybdenum-gold Transition Edge Sensors cooled at about 90 mK, each coupled with an absorber made of gold and bismuth with a pitch of 249 microns. A cryogenic anti-coincidence detector located underneath the prime TES array enables the non X-ray background to be reduced. A bath temperature of about 50 mK is obtained by a series of mechanical coolers combining 15K Pulse Tubes, 4K and 2K Joule-Thomson coolers which pre-cool a sub Kelvin cooler made of a 3He sorption cooler coupled with an Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator. Frequency domain multiplexing enables to read out 40 pixels in one single channel. A photon interacting with an absorber leads to a current pulse, amplified by the readout electronics and whose shape is reconstructed on board to recover its energy with high accuracy. The defocusing capability offered by the Athena movable mirror assembly enables the X-IFU to observe the brightest X-ray sources of the sky (up to Crab-like intensities) by spreading the telescope point spread function over hundreds of pixels. Thus the X-IFU delivers low pile-up, high throughput (>50%), and typically 10 eV spectral resolution at 1 Crab intensities, i.e. a factor of 10 or more better than Silicon based X-ray detectors. In this paper, the current X-IFU baseline is presented, together with an assessment of its anticipated performance in terms of spectral resolution, background, and count rate capability. The X-IFU baseline configuration will be subject to a preliminary requirement review that is scheduled at the end of 2018., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, Austin 2018

In this paper we fit the NuSTAR and XMM-Newton data of three sources: NGC7793~P13, NGC5907~ULX1, and Circinus~ULX5. Our single model contains emission form non-spherical system: neutron star plus accretion disk directed towards observer. We obtained the very good fit with the reduced $\chi^2$ per degree of freedom equal 1.08 for P13, 1.01 for ULX1, and 1.14 for ULX5.The normalization of our model constrains the distance to the source. The resulting distances are $D=3.41^{+0.11}_{-0.10}$, $6.55_{-0.81}^{+0.69}$ and $2.60^{+0.05}_{-0.03}$~Mpc for P13, ULX1 and ULX5 respectively. The distances to P13 and ULX5 are in perfect agreement with previous distance measurements to their host galaxies. Our results confirm that P13, ULX1 and ULX5 may contain central hot neutron star. When the outgoing emission is computed by integration over the emitting surface and successfully fitted to the data, then the resulting model normalization is the direct distance indicator., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters

The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) on board the Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (Athena) will provide spatially resolved high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy from 0.2 to 12 keV, with 5 arc second pixels over a field of view of 5 arc minute equivalent diameter and a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV up to 7 keV. In this paper, we first review the core scientific objectives of Athena, driving the main performance parameters of the X-IFU, namely the spectral resolution, the field of view, the effective area, the count rate capabilities, the instrumental background. We also illustrate the breakthrough potential of the X-IFU for some observatory science goals. Then we briefly describe the X-IFU design as defined at the time of the mission consolidation review concluded in May 2016, and report on its predicted performance. Finally, we discuss some options to improve the instrument performance while not increasing its complexity and resource demands (e.g. count rate capability, spectral resolution). The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with further ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and two international partners from the United States and Japan., Comment: 41 pages, 18 Figures

The Wide Field Imager (WFI) is one of two instruments for the Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (Athena). In this paper we summarise three of the many key science objectives for the WFI - the formation and growth of supermassive black holes, non-gravitational heating in clusters of galaxies, and spin measurements of stellar mass black holes - and describe their translation into the science requirements and ultimately instrument requirements. The WFI will be designed to provide excellent point source sensitivity and grasp for performing wide area surveys, surface brightness sensitivity, survey power, and absolute temperature and density calibration for in-depth studies of the outskirts of nearby clusters of galaxies and very good high-count rate capability, throughput, and low pile-up, paired with very good spectral resolution, for detailed explorations of bright Galactic compact objects., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, Edinburgh (26 June - 1 July, 2016)

The continuum-fitting method is one of the two most advanced methods of determining the black hole spin in accreting X-ray binary systems. There are, however, still some unresolved issues with the underlying disk models. One of them manifests as an apparent decrease in spin for increasing source luminosity. Here, we perform a few simple tests to establish whether outflows from the disk close to the inner radius can address this problem. We employ four different parametric models to describe the wind and compare these to the apparent decrease in spin with luminosity measured in the sources LMC~X-3 and GRS~1915+105. Wind models in which parameters do not explicitly depend on the accretion rate cannot reproduce the spin measurements. Models with mass accretion rate dependent outflows, however, have spectra that emulate the observed ones. The assumption of a wind thus effectively removes the artifact of spin decrease. This solution is not unique; the same conclusion can be obtained with a truncated inner disk model. To distinguish among valid models, high resolution X-ray data and a realistic description of the Comptonization in the wind will be needed., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted by ApJ

We show that the continuum X-ray spectrum of 4U 1630-472 with iron absorption lines can be satisfactorily modeled by the spectrum from an accretion disk atmosphere. We performed full radiative transfer calculations using our code ATM21 to model the emission from an accretion disk surface that is seen at different viewing angles. Computed models are then fitted to the high-resolution X-ray spectra of 4U 1630-472 obtained by {\it Suzaku} satellite. Absorption lines of highly ionized iron originating in a hot accretion-disk atmospheres are important part of the observed line profile, and can be an alternative or complementary explanation to the wind model usually favored for this type of sources. Next, assuming that absorption lines originate from the wind illuminated by X-ray central source in LMXBs, we can put constrains on the wind location only if we know the volume density number of the absorbing material. There are a few derivations of the distance to the wind in X-ray binaries. We show here, that the density number and the wind location agree with the density of an upper disk atmosphere at optical depth of two-thirds, at the same distance from the black hole. This comparison is done assuming optically thick, geometrically thin standard accretion disk model. Nevertheless, it shows that the wind physical conditions are the same as in thermalized disk gas, and we only have to figure out how the wind is blowing?, Comment: Proceedings of Suzaku-Maxi 2014, Expanding the Frontiers of the X-ray Universe. Editors: Manabu Ishida, Robert Petre and Kazuhisa Mitsuda, pp.95-98, 2 figures

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017 but not selected. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus and two additional GPDs filled with pressurized Ar-DME facing the sun. The Minimum Detectable Polarization is 14 % at 1 mCrab in 10E5 s (2-10 keV) and 0.6 % for an X10 class flare. The Half Energy Width, measured at PANTER X-ray test facility (MPE, Germany) with JET-X optics is 24 arcsec. XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil)., Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Paper published in Experimental Astronomy http://link.springer.com/journal/10686

White dwarfs, neutron stars and stellar mass black holes are key laboratories to study matter in most extreme conditions of gravity and magnetic field. The unprecedented effective area of Athena+ will allow us to advance our understanding of emission mechanisms and accretion physics over a wide range of mass accretion rates, starting from lower and sub-luminous quiescent X-ray binaries up to super-Eddington ultra-luminous sources. Athena+ will measure stellar black hole spins in a much higher number of binaries than achievable now, opening the possibility to study how spin varies with black hole history. The high throughput and energy resolution of the X-IFU will be instrumental in establishing how disc wind properties depend on accretion state, in determining wind launching mechanism and in quantifying the impact of the wind induced mass loss on binary evolution and environment. Triggers and high quality optical and radio data originating from large wide field contemporaneous instruments will provide essential complementary information on jet launching mechanisms and on the physics of rotation powered pulsars, for instance. In addition, Athena+ will furnish multiple, independent measurements of the neutron star mass/radius relation in a wide range of environments and conditions so as to constrain the debated equation of state., Comment: Supporting paper for the science theme "The Hot and Energetic Universe" to be implemented by the Athena+ X-ray observatory (http://www.the-athena-x-ray-observatory.eu). 9 pages, 4 figures

Most of the action in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) occurs within a few tens of gravitational radii from the supermassive black hole, where matter in the accretion disk may lose up to almost half of its energy with a copious production of X-rays, emitted via Comptonization of the disk photons by hot electrons in a corona and partly reflected by the accretion disk. Thanks to its large effective area and excellent energy resolution, Athena+ contributions in the understanding of the physics of accretion in AGN will be fundamental - and unique - in many respects. It will allow us to map the disk-corona system - which is crucial to understand the mechanism of energy extraction and the relation of the corona with winds and jets - by studying the time lags between reflected and primary photons. These lags have been recently discovered by XMM-Newton, but only Athena+ will have the sensitivity required to fully exploit this technique. Athena+ will also be able e.g. to determine robustly the spin of the black hole in nearby sources (and to extend these measurements beyond the local Universe), to establish the nature of the soft X-ray components, and to map the circumnuclear matter within the AGN inner parsec with unprecedented details., Comment: Supporting paper for the science theme "The Hot and Energetic Universe" to be implemented by the Athena+ X-ray observatory (http://www.the-athena-x-ray-observatory.eu). 9 pages, 8 figures

This White Paper, submitted to the recent ESA call for science themes to define its future large missions, advocates the need for a transformational leap in our understanding of two key questions in astrophysics: 1) How does ordinary matter assemble into the large scale structures that we see today? 2) How do black holes grow and shape the Universe? Hot gas in clusters, groups and the intergalactic medium dominates the baryonic content of the local Universe. To understand the astrophysical processes responsible for the formation and assembly of these large structures, it is necessary to measure their physical properties and evolution. This requires spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy with a factor 10 increase in both telescope throughput and spatial resolving power compared to currently planned facilities. Feedback from supermassive black holes is an essential ingredient in this process and in most galaxy evolution models, but it is not well understood. X-ray observations can uniquely reveal the mechanisms launching winds close to black holes and determine the coupling of the energy and matter flows on larger scales. Due to the effects of feedback, a complete understanding of galaxy evolution requires knowledge of the obscured growth of supermassive black holes through cosmic time, out to the redshifts where the first galaxies form. X-ray emission is the most reliable way to reveal accreting black holes, but deep survey speed must improve by a factor ~100 over current facilities to perform a full census into the early Universe. The Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (Athena+) mission provides the necessary performance (e.g. angular resolution, spectral resolution, survey grasp) to address these questions and revolutionize our understanding of the Hot and Energetic Universe. These capabilities will also provide a powerful observatory to be used in all areas of astrophysics., Comment: Submitted in response to the call for White Papers for the definition of the L2 and L3 missions in the ESA Science program. More information: http://www.the-athena-x-ray-observatory.eu/. 19 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables

We report on a scheme for incorporating vertical radiative energy transport into a fully relativistic, Kerr-metric model of optically thick, advective, transonic alpha disks. Our code couples the radial and vertical equations of the accretion disk. The flux was computed in the diffusion approximation, and convection is included in the mixing-length approximation. We present the detailed structure of this "two-dimensional" slim-disk model for alpha=0.01. We then calculated the emergent spectra integrated over the disk surface. The values of surface density, radial velocity, and the photospheric height for these models differ by 20%-30% from those obtained in the polytropic, height-averaged slim disk model considered previously. However, the emission profiles and the resulting spectra are quite similar for both types of models. The effective optical depth of the slim disk becomes lower than unity for high values of the alpha parameter and for high accretion rates., Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures (2 new), A&A in press

The "radiation inner edge" of an accretion disk is defined as the inner boundary of the region from which most of the luminosity emerges. Similarly, the "reflection edge" is the smallest radius capable of producing a significant X-ray reflection of the fluorescent iron line. For black hole accretion disks with very sub-Eddington luminosities these and all other "inner edges" locate at ISCO. Thus, in this case, one may rightly consider ISCO as the unique inner edge of the black hole accretion disk. However, even for moderate luminosities, there is no such unique inner edge as differently defined edges locate at different places. Several of them are significantly closer to the black hole than ISCO. The differences grow with the increasing luminosity. For nearly Eddington luminosities, they are so huge that the notion of the inner edge losses all practical significance., Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, submitted to A&A

We present a method that allows us to estimate the distance from the continuum source located in the center of AGN to the highly ionized gas called warm absorber. We compute a set of constant total pressure photoionization models compatible with the warm absorber conditions, where a metal-rich gas is irradiated by a continuum in the form of a double power-law. The first power-law is hard up to 100 keV and represents a radiation from an X-ray source, while the second power-law extends downwards from several eVs and illustrates a radiation from an accretion disk. When the ionized continuum is dominated by the soft component, the warm absorber is heated by free-free absorption, instead of Comptonization, and the transmitted spectra show different absorption line characteristics for different values of the hydrogen number density at the cloud illuminated surface. This fact results in the possibility of deriving the number density at the cloud illuminated side from observations and hence the distance to the warm absorber., Comment: 6 pages, 5 postscript figures, accepted to A&A

We present a full set of model atmosphere equations for the accretion disk around a supermassive black hole irradiated by hard X-ray lamp of power-law spectral distribution. Model equations allow for multiple Compton scattering of radiation on free electrons, and for large relative photon-electron energy exchange at the time of scattering. We present spectra in specific intensities integrated over the disk surface. Theoretical outgoing intensity spectra show soft X-ray excess below 1 keV, and distinct K_alpha and K_beta fluorescent lines of iron. We demonstrate the existence of the Compton Shoulder and claim that it can contribute to the asymmetry and equivalent widths of some observed Fe K_alpha lines in AGN. Our models exhibit the effect of limb-brightening in reflected X-rays., Comment: 10 pages, 8 Postscript figures, accepted to MNRAS