New Insights into X-ray Polarisation from Accreting Supermassive Black Holes

Recent research by Jakub Podgorný has provided new insights into the polarisation properties of X-ray emissions from accreting supermassive black holes. The study, titled 'Polarisation properties of X-ray emission from accreting supermassive black holes,' explores various numerical models that predict X-ray polarisation from these sources. These models have immediate applications in interpreting discoveries made by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, which began operations in December 2021.

The research covers a range of topics, from radiative transfer effects in the atmospheres of accretion discs to general-relativistic signatures of X-rays traveling in vacuum near central black holes. It also examines reprocessing events in distant, circumnuclear components. The study is notable for its focus on the reflection of X-rays from partially ionized matter, providing a unifying element across different scales of physical and computational complexity.

These findings are significant as they enhance our understanding of the environments near accreting black holes, both supermassive and stellar-mass. This improved understanding could lead to more accurate interpretations of X-ray data from these cosmic phenomena, thereby advancing the field of high-energy astrophysics.