Using black hole x-ray binaries as laboratories for probing accretion disk theory in strong gravity
We present calculations of non-LTE, relativistic, thin accretion disk models applicable to the thermal state of black hole X-ray binaries. We include the effects of thermal Comptonization and bound-free and free-free opacities of all abundant ion species. Taking into account the relativistic propagation of photons from the local disk surface to an observer at infinity, we present spectra calculated for a variety of accretion rates, black hole spins, inclinations, and stress prescriptions. We explore the effects of varying the dissipation profile and including magnetic pressure support on the vertical structure and spectra of the disk. We find that the effective photosphere usually lies at a small fraction of the total column depth, producing spectra that are remarkably independent of the stress prescription and vertical structure assumptions. However, a significant hardening of the spectrum can occur if magnetic pressure support is considered, a torque on the inner edge of the disk is included, a sufficiently large fraction of the dissipations occurs above the effective photosphere, or the disk annuli become effectively optically thin
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 2006
University of California, Santa Barbara, [Santa Barbara, Calif.], 2006