4–8 Aug 2025
The University of Hong Kong
Asia/Hong_Kong timezone

Measuring Accretion Disk Inclination and Mass Inflow Rates via Broadband SED Fitting

7 Aug 2025, 11:00
20m
The University of Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong

Speaker

Mr Rong Du

Description

We present a unified study of inner accretion disk geometry and mass accretion rates in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using multiwavelength nuclear spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. First, by applying a self‑consistent X‑ray reflection model to joint XMM‑Newton and NuSTAR observations, we determine the inner disk inclination, $\theta_{\rm disk}$, with high precision—supported by extensive mock‐spectrum tests and the disk–BLR alignment demonstrated in our previous work. Then, using the retrieved inclination, we fit a three‑zone accretion model—comprising an inner slim disk, an outer truncated thin disk, and a hot corona—to derive the mass accretion rate. Together, these approaches establish broadband SED fitting as a robust diagnostic of disk inclination and accretion physics in AGNs, with important implications for black hole growth and feedback in both sub‑ and super‑Eddington regimes.

Author

Co-authors

Jinyi Shangguan (Peking University) Luis Ho (Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University) Ruancun Li (Peking University)

Presentation materials