We present results from a homogeneous analysis of the broadband 0.3 − 10 keV CCD resolution as well as of soft X-ray high-resolution grating spectra of a hard X-ray flux-limited sample of 26 Seyfert galaxies observed with XMM-Newton. Our goal is to characterise warm absorbers (WAs) along the line-of-sight to the active nucleus. We significantly detect WAs in 65% of the sample sources. Our results are consistent with WAs being present in at least half of the Seyfert galaxies in the nearby Universe, in agreement with previous estimates . We find a gap in the distribution of the ionisation parameter in the range 0.5 < log ξ < 1.5 which we interpret as a thermally unstable region for WA clouds. This may indicate that the warm absorber flow is probably constituted by a clumpy distribution of discrete clouds rather than a continuous medium. The distribution of the WA column densities for the sources with broad Fe Kα lines are similar to those sources which do not have broadened emission lines. Therefore the detected broad Fe Kα emission lines are bonafide and not artifacts of ionised absorption in the soft X-rays. The WA parameters show no correlation among themselves, with the exception of the ionisation parameter versus column density. The shallow slope of the log ξ versus log v out linear regression (0.12 ± 0.03) is inconsistent with the scaling laws predicted by radiation or magneto-hydrodynamic-driven winds. Our results suggest also that WA and Ultra Fast Outflows (UFOs) do not represent extreme manifestation of the same astrophysical system.

We analyze 11 Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array and Swift observations of the black hole X-ray binary GX339-4in the hard state, 6 of which were taken during the end of the 2015 outburst and 5 during a failed outburst in 2013. These observations cover luminosities from 0.5% to 5% of the Eddington luminosity. Implementing the most recent version of the reflection model relxillCp, we perform simultaneous spectral fits on both data sets to track the evolution of the properties in the accretion disk, including the inner edge radius, the ionization, and the temperature of the thermal emission. We also constrain the photon index and electron temperature of the primary source (the "corona"). We observe a maximum truncation radius of 37R g in the preferred fit for the 2013 data set, and a marginal correlation between the level of truncation and luminosity. We also explore a self-consistent model under the framework of coronal Comptonization, and find consistent results regarding the disk truncation in the 2015 data, providing a more physical preferred fit for the 2013 observations.

We studied X-ray reverberation lags in the BHXRB GX 339-4 at the end of the 2014-2015 outburst. We analysed data from a XMM-Newton campaign covering the end of the transition from the soft to the hard state, and the decrease of luminosity in the hard state. During all the observations we detected, at high frequencies, significant disc variability, responding to variations of the power law emission with an average time delay of ∼ 0.009 ± 0.002 s. These new detections of disc thermal reverberation add to those previously obtained and suggest the lag to be always present in hard and hard-intermediate states. Our study reveals a net decrease of lag amplitude as a function of luminosity. We ascribe this trend to variations of the inner flow geometry. A possible scenario implies a decrease of the inner disc truncation radius as the luminosity increases at the beginning of the outburst, followed by an increase of the inner disc truncation radius as the luminosity decreases at the end of the outburst. Finally, we found hints of FeK reverberation (∼ 3σ significance) during the best quality observation of the XMM monitoring. The lag at the FeK energy has similar amplitude as that of the thermally reprocessed component, as expected if the same irradiated region of the disc is responsible for producing both the thermalized and reflected component. This finding suggests FeK reverberation in BHXRBs to be at the reach of current detectors provided observations of sufficiently long exposure are available.

Context. High resolution X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) show blueshifted absorption lines suggesting the presence of outflowing winds. Furthermore, observations show that the disk winds are equatorial and they occur in the Softer (disk dominated) states of the outburst and are less prominent or absent in the Harder (power-law dominated) states. Aims. We want to test whether the self-similar magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) accretion-ejection models can explain the observational results for accretion disk winds in BHBs. In our models, the density at the base of the outflow from the accretion disk is not a free parameter. This mass loading is determined by solving the full set of dynamical MHD equations without neglecting any physical term. Thus, the physical properties of the outflow depend on and are controlled by the global structure of the disk. Methods. We studied different MHD solutions characterized by different values of the disk aspect ratio (ε) and the ejection efficiency (p). We also generate two kinds of MHD solutions depending on the absence (cold solution) or presence (warm solution) of heating at the disk surface. Such heating could be either from dissipation of energy due to MHD turbulence in the disk or from illumination of the disk surface. Warm solutions can have large (>0.1) values of p, which would imply larger wind mass loading at the base of the outflow. We use each of these MHD solutions to predict the physical parameters (distance, density, velocity, magnetic field, etc.) of an outflow. Motivated by observational results, we have put limits on the ionization parameter (ξ), column density, and timescales. Further constraints were derived for the allowed values of ξ from thermodynamic instability considerations, particularly for the Hard SED. These physical constraints were imposed on each of these outflows to select regions within it, which are consistent with the observed winds. Results. The cold MHD solutions are found to be inadequate and cannot account for winds because of their low ejection efficiency. On the contrary, warm solutions can have sufficiently high values of p( 0.1), which are required to explain the observed physical quantities in the wind. From our thermodynamic equilibrium curve analysis for the outflowing gas, we find that in the Hard state a range of ξ is unstable. This constraint makes it impossible to have any wind at all in the Hard state. Conclusions. Using the MHD outflow models we are able to explain the observed trends, i.e. that the winds are equatorial and that they are observable in the Soft states (and not expected in the Hard state) of the BHB outbursts.