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.