Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Mapping the inner flow around accreting black holes

Objective

Understanding the behaviour of matter in the close environments of astrophysical black holes (BH) is one of the biggest challenges of modern astrophysics. This project aims to address the fundamental problem of determining the geometry of the inflowing matter around accreting BHs. The geometrical distribution of the accreted gas is a hotly disputed and still unsolved issue. Its relevance is tightly linked to the possibility of testing the effects of General Relativity in the vicinity of BHs. Moreover, it is strictly related to other fundamental problems, in particular regarding the nature and location of the X-ray source, the mechanism responsible for the launch of the jet and the determination of the BH spin.
We propose to use a novel approach known as “X-ray reverberation”. This is based on the use of innovative cross-spectral-timing techniques to study the temporal response of the accreting gas to flux variations of the central X-ray source, thus allowing distances among the different emitting regions to be constrained. This project will use the best quality data, including those provided by the ASTROSAT satellite and the NICER payload. We aim to: map the evolving geometry of the accretion flow as a function of accretion state in Galactic BH X-ray binaries; study the coupling between the accretion flow and the jet; develop theoretical spectral-timing models to explain the data; investigate how these behaviours extend to the supermassive BHs in active galactic nuclei.
The candidate is an experienced researcher (ER) in the field of observational X-ray astronomy, and has pioneered the application of the X-ray reverberation method to several accreting BH systems. By exploiting the long-term and renowned expertise in theoretical modelling of accretion processes around BHs of the High Energy Astrophysics group at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of the Polish Academy of Science, this research will allow the ER to emerge with new and competitive skills.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

CENTRUM ASTRONOMICZNE IM. MIKOLAJA KOPERNIKA POLSKIEJ AKADEMII NAUK
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 134 462,40
Address
Bartycka, 18
00-716 Warszawa
Poland

See on map

Region
Makroregion województwo mazowieckie Warszawski stołeczny Miasto Warszawa
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 134 462,40
My booklet 0 0