Putting it All Together – Making Predictions
What will your model show you to help you characterize the black hole
accretion?
First you will model the continuum – the spectrum will show some
"continuous" X-ray emission, which is basically a rainbow where all
colors are represented. Then you will examine the spectrum for any
features that are not modeled by the continuous emission. These are
likely to be emission or absorption lines.
If you find a line in the spectrum, you will then model it, and see
if it is redshifted or blueshifted. Using the information from the best
fit model for the line, you may also be able to calculate how fast the
material is moving toward or away from you.
Make a Prediction
What do you expect to see? If you see a line, do you expect it to be
redshifted (which would mean the material is moving away from us and
into the black hole)? Or, do you expect it to be blueshifted (which
would mean its moving toward you, and away from the black hole)? Write
down your prediction along the reason you think you'll see what you predicted.
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