The objective of this project is to create advanced and realistic models of X-ray radiation within Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and apply these models to actual observational data. Current leading models in this field exhibit various limitations, either to their implemented physics or their geometrical configuration. The majority of these models utilize fixed geometries, although a few exceptions permit minor adjustments.
The primary aim is to use the ray-tracing platform RefleX (Paltani & Ricci, 2017) which features the major physical processes occurring in AGN at the X-ray band, while also offering users the flexibility to construct their geometry models.
Notably, our approach is to integrate all key components, such as the accretion disk, broad-line region (BLR), dusty torus, and polar conical medium, into a coherent and realistic AGN model. This approach ensures internal consistency as photons originating from the corona can interact with the surrounding materials before being collected.
Upon developing these models, a crucial step will involve validating them against real observational data. Our intention is to use observations from various sources, including Swift, XMM, Chandra, and NuSTAR, focusing on AGN within the BASS 105-month catalog.
By doing so, we will confirm the accuracy of our models and subsequently look into the characteristics of the environment of supermassive black holes.
Type of project: PhD thesis
Status: Ongoing
Researchers: Georgios Dimopoulos, Claudio Ricci
Funding source: Becas ANID