Gravity Seminars

The existence of black holes is among the most fascinating predictions of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Black holes are thought to be ubiquitous throughout the Universe. Their immense gravitational pull enables them to accrete surrounding matter, forming an accretion disk and creating what are known as black hole-disk (BH-disk) systems. These systems provide ideal laboratories for testing theories of gravity in the regime of strong spacetime curvature, where deviations from Einstein's General Relativity are most likely to manifest.

In this talk, I will discuss how BH-disk systems can be employed to test theories of gravity using reflection spectra from the disk, a method known as X-ray reflection spectroscopy. I will also address the systematic uncertainties inherent in the reflection models commonly used to study the properties of these systems.