Name of the Speaker(s):Paul J. Wiita
Institution: Dept. Physics and Astronomy Georgia State University
Atlanta GA 30303-3083
Title of the communication: Polarization Variability from Accretion Disks
Preliminary abstract (12 lines max.):
Instabilities operating in the inner parts of accretion disks around black holes in both AGN and X-ray binaries will cause rapid fluctuations in luminosity. Some of these components will be polarized, and we investigate the energy-dependent polariza- tion variability from such disk systems. In the X-ray band, even electron scattering can produce strong changes in both the fraction of polarized radiation and the polarization angle. These can provide a unique signature of black holes.