Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

In recent years, X-ray reverberation mapping has opened a new way to investigate the inner accretion flow around black holes. XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the rapid variability in Active Galactic Nuclei have shown that the soft excess, broad iron K line and Compton hump lag behind the continuum emission, suggesting light travel distances of a few gravitational radii.