Welcome!
This page contains general information on the X-ray reflection code XILLVER (García et al. 2010, 2013). It also serves as repository of the official release of the models, provided as FITS tables that can be loaded into XSPEC or ISIS via the atable model.
Important Note:
If you are interested in fitting the X-ray reflection I strongly recommend the use of our new model RELXILL (García, Dauser et al. 2014, resulting from the merging of the relativistic convolution code RELLINE (Dauser et al. 2010, 2013) with XILLVER. See here for more details on this new model.
For the study of black holes, it is essential to have an accurate disk-reflection model with a proper treatment of the relativistic effects that occur near strong gravitational fields. These models are used to constrain the properties of the disk, including its inner radius, the degree of ionization of the gas, and the elemental abundances. Importantly, reflection models are the key to measuring black hole spin via the Fe-line method. The code XILLVER calculates the solution of the reflected intensity of the radiation field is calculated for each photon energy, position in the slab, and viewing angle.
Reflection is modeled by solving radiation transfer on a plane-parallel, 1-dimensional slab with constant density. Ionization and energy balance are solved by incorporating the latest XSTAR routines (Kallman & Bautista 2001). Compton scattering is included by means of a Gaussian redistribution convolution kernel.
Model Parameters:
| Gamma: | Photon Index of the illuminating power-law spectrum (1.2 < Γ < 3.4) |
| Ionization: | Given by ξ=4π F/n, where F is the flux of the illuminating radiation |
| and n=1015cm-3 is the gas density (1 < log ξ < 104) | |
| Fe Abundance: | With respect to the solar value (0.5 < AFe < 10) |
| Cutoff Energy: | Exponential high-energy cutoff for the power-law (20 < Ec < 300) |
| Inclination: | Viewing angle with respect to the disk's normal (5o < i < 85o) |
A complete library of synthetic spectra has been calculated for modeling the component of emission that is reflected from an illuminated accretion disk. The spectra were computed using an updated version of our code XILLVER that incorporates new routines and a richer atomic data base. We offer in the form of a table model an extensive grid of reflection models that cover a wide range of parameters.These tables cover the physical parameters typically inferred from observations of active galactic nuclei, and also stellar-mass black holes in the hard state. These models are intended for use when the thermal disk flux is faint compared to the incident power-law flux.
Tables of models for XPSEC or ISIS:
| File | Description | Size | Date |
| xillverCp_v3.6.fits | nthComp + high density (up to 1.e22 cc) | 8.4 Gb | Jul 17, 2020 |
| xillverCp_v3.5.fits | nthComp + high density (up to 1.e21 cc) | 7.4 Gb | Jun 22, 2020 |
| xillverCp_v3.4.fits | nthComp + high density (up to 1.e20 cc) | 6.3 Gb | Jun 13, 2020 |
| xillverCp_v3.3.fits | nthComp + high density | 5.3 Gb | Jun 04, 2020 |
| xillverCp_v3.fits | nthComp + high density | 3.2 Gb | May 26, 2020 |
| xillverD-5.fits | High density (Ec=300 keV) | 1.0 Gb | Dec 13, 2018 |
| xillver-a-Ec5.fits | Angle-Resolved + Cutoff (Extended) | 983 Mb | Jun 07, 2017 |
| xillver-comp.fits (xillverCp_v2) | nthComp instead of PL | 1.1 Gb | Feb 14, 2017 |
| xillver-a-Ec.fits | Angle-Resolved + Cutoff | 667 Mb | Nov 08, 2013 |
| xillver-Ec.fits | Angle-averaged + Cutoff | 67 Mb | Oct 20, 2013 |
| xillver-a.fits | Angle-Resolved | 83 Mb | Apr 17, 2013 |
| pl-xillver.fits | Incident Power-law | 8 Mb | Feb 10, 2013 |
| xillver.fits | Angle-averaged Reflection | 8.1 Mb | Dec 18, 2012 |
The XILLVER code is in constant development, and new tables of models will become available. If you wish to be included in our mailing list to receive notifications, or have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me!