What is the role of accretion discs in proving the existence of black holes?

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Accretion discs serve as a critical observational tool in confirming the existence of black holes. Their behavior, particularly in high-energy environments such as those found in quasars, provides compelling evidence for the presence of these cosmic phenomena. The dynamics of matter spiraling into a black hole, as observed in accretion discs, reveal significant insights into black hole physics. Resources such as arXiv and Astronomy Notes offer foundational information on this topic.

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I'm doing a project on accretion disks, and I was wondering if anyone could suggest something interesting relating to their observation that I could talk about. One thing I remember reading was that accretion discs are one of the most compelling means of proving the existence of black holes. Is this true, and if so, why? Thanks.
 
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StatusX said:
I'm doing a project on accretion disks, and I was wondering if anyone could suggest something interesting relating to their observation that I could talk about.

There are a lot of things one could talk about, particularly as concerns quasars. Could you be a bit more specific?


One thing I remember reading was that accretion discs are one of the most compelling means of proving the existence of black holes.

You may be thinking about this:

http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0107387"
 
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