Light curve asymmetry of a relativistic accretion disk

Abstract

The emergent radiation from accretion disks has been observed in several objects. For instance, the double-peak spectra of Balmer lines emitting at the outer disk have been found in cataclysmic variables1,2. The continuum radiation from quasars was fitted with the spectra of standard accretion disk models3. Furthermore, the X-ray spectra from low-mass binary X-ray sources were interpreted using the two-component model where the soft, ∼1 keV, component originates from the inner accretion disk while the hard, ∼2 keV, component comes from the boundary layer formed between the accretion disk and the surface of the neutron star4. These observational facts have confirmed and verified accretion disks in various astrophysical objects. To investigate accretion disks further, I propose a strategy to search for and detect the peculiar properties of the emergent radiation from the inner region of a relativistic accretion disk around a compact object, that is, the asymmetric feature of light curves during the eclipse of the disk.