Accretion and emission processes in AGN

Abstract

The UV-X continuum, the X-ray spectral features, and the variability in these bands provide powerful tools for studying the innermost regions of AGNs from which we gain an insight into the accretion process. In this chapter the discussion focusses on luminous AGN, i.e. Seyfert galaxies and quasars. The standard accretion disk model (a stationary geometrically thin disk) is described, and vertically averaged solutions for the radial structure are given. The emission of the standard disk is discussed using different approximations, and it is compared to the observations. This leads to the conclusion that more complex models are required, such as the irradiated disk and the disk-corona models. The advantage of this last model is that it explains the overall UV-X spectral distribution. In the framework of these disk models, the profile, intensity, and variability properties of the X-ray iron line can be explained by reprocessing at the surface of the cold disk very close to the black hole (the "relativistic disk model"). An alternative possibility is discussed, where the UV-X continuum is produced by a quasi-spherical distribution of dense clouds surrounded by (or embedded in) a hot medium. In such a model the iron line profile could be due to Comptonization instead of relativistic effects.