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 variables^1,2. 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.