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Polarisation properties of X-ray emission from accreting supermassive black holes
Podgorný, Jakub ; Dovčiak, Michal (advisor) ; Done, Christine (referee) ; Porquet, Delphine (referee)
This dissertation elaborates on X-ray polarization features of astrophysical environ- ments near accreting black holes. Although the work was originally assigned to su- permassive black holes in active galactic nuclei, the results are also largely applicable to stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binary systems. Several numerical models predicting the X-ray polarization from these sources are presented, including their immediate ap- plications in the interpretation of the latest discoveries achieved thanks to the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission that began operating in December 2021. The modeling ranges from radiative transfer effects in atmospheres of accretion discs to general-relativistic signatures of X-rays travelling in vacuum near the central black holes to reprocessing events in distant, circumnuclear components. Various scales in phys- ical and computational complexity are examined. A unifying element of this dissertation is the focus on reflection of X-rays from partially ionized matter. 1
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Polarisation of X-ray emission from accretion discs in active galactic nuclei
Podgorný, Jakub ; Dovčiak, Michal (advisor) ; Marin, Frédéric (referee)
The presented thesis deals with theoretical modeling of the X-ray emission from active galactic nuclei. It studies spectral and polarisation properties of local radiation reflected from the surrounding accretion disc, which is being illuminated by a hot corona above, as well as global observational perspectives at infinity for unobscured radio-quiet sources. Modeling of this kind could then serve for observational fitting of spin of the central supermassive black hole, constraining the accretion disc's or coronal properties, or de- termining observer's inclination towards the systems. A radiative transfer Monte Carlo simulation code STOKES [Goosmann and Gaskell, 2007, Marin et al., 2012, 2015, Marin, 2018] is used for local computations. Its performance is compared to results of other attempts already existing in literature and analytical approximations. The local scheme is discussed mostly in terms of emergent polarisation that has been for the first time simulated for these types of objects with high accuracy. Integration over the accretion disc and superposition with the primary radiation in the so-called lamp-post or extended coronal model, including all general relativistic effects in the vicinity of the central super- massive black hole, is then performed on the basis of already existing routine...
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Polarisation of X-ray emission from accretion discs in active galactic nuclei
Podgorný, Jakub ; Dovčiak, Michal (advisor)
The presented thesis deals with theoretical modeling of the X-ray emission from active galactic nuclei. It studies spectral and polarisation properties of local radiation reflected from the surrounding accretion disc, which is being illuminated by a hot corona above, as well as global observational perspectives at infinity for unobscured radio-quiet sources. Modeling of this kind could then serve for observational fitting of spin of the central supermassive black hole, constraining the accretion disc's or coronal properties, or de- termining observer's inclination towards the systems. A radiative transfer Monte Carlo simulation code STOKES [Goosmann and Gaskell, 2007, Marin et al., 2012, 2015, Marin, 2018] is used for local computations. Its performance is compared to results of other attempts already existing in literature and analytical approximations. The local scheme is discussed mostly in terms of emergent polarisation that has been for the first time simulated for these types of objects with high accuracy. Integration over the accretion disc and superposition with the primary radiation in the so-called lamp-post or extended coronal model, including all general relativistic effects in the vicinity of the central super- massive black hole, is then performed on the basis of already existing routine...
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Polarisation of X-ray emission from accretion discs in active galactic nuclei
Podgorný, Jakub ; Dovčiak, Michal (advisor) ; Marin, Frédéric (referee)
The presented thesis deals with theoretical modeling of the X-ray emission from active galactic nuclei. It studies spectral and polarisation properties of local radiation reflected from the surrounding accretion disc, which is being illuminated by a hot corona above, as well as global observational perspectives at infinity for unobscured radio-quiet sources. Modeling of this kind could then serve for observational fitting of spin of the central supermassive black hole, constraining the accretion disc's or coronal properties, or de- termining observer's inclination towards the systems. A radiative transfer Monte Carlo simulation code STOKES [Goosmann and Gaskell, 2007, Marin et al., 2012, 2015, Marin, 2018] is used for local computations. Its performance is compared to results of other attempts already existing in literature and analytical approximations. The local scheme is discussed mostly in terms of emergent polarisation that has been for the first time simulated for these types of objects with high accuracy. Integration over the accretion disc and superposition with the primary radiation in the so-called lamp-post or extended coronal model, including all general relativistic effects in the vicinity of the central super- massive black hole, is then performed on the basis of already existing routine...
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Possible natural emissions detected by the Mars Express spacecraft
Podgorný, Jakub ; Němec, František (advisor) ; Pitňa, Alexander (referee)
The presented thesis deals with detections of natural emissions by the MAR- SIS instrument on the Mars Express spacecraft. Frequency and time delay data of the radar intensities measured by this instrument ("ionograms") are analysed. We identify specific regions of these ionograms that do not correspond to any intensity increases related to the radar sounding of the Martian ionosphere. Within these intervals we select ionograms with a possible detection of light- ning emissions based on a predefined threshold criterion. These ionograms are then juxtaposed with relevant information on dust storms in the Martian at- mosphere. We further perform a detailed analysis of the dependence of mean ionogram intensities from all ionograms on relevant parameters. After the eli- mination of the principal dependence on the spacecraft altitude, we study long- term effects, such as the dependence on the solar longitude Ls, the solar zenith angle, the magnitude of crustal magnetic fields, and the F10.7 parameter. 1
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