Observational signatures of misaligned double-ring and double-torus configurations around a Schwarzschild black hole

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-coplanar double-ring and double-torus accretion structures around a Schwarzschild black hole produce distinctive observational signatures, including multi-peak spectral profiles and asymmetric flux distributions.

Contribution

It introduces a method to identify non-coplanar multi-component accretion structures through their unique spectral and flux signatures using general-relativistic ray tracing.

Findings

Double structures produce multi-peak spectral profiles.

Misalignment causes asymmetric bolometric-flux distributions.

Signatures serve as diagnostics for complex accretion geometries.

Abstract

We investigate the observational signatures of an idealized double-ring and double-torus system orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole, allowing the two emitting components to have mutually inclined symmetry axes. Using general-relativistic ray tracing, we construct frequency-shift maps, bolometric flux maps on the observer's screen, and the corresponding spectral line profiles of the emitted radiation. The single equatorial torus is used as a reference configuration in order to isolate the effect of the second emitting component and of the mutual misalignment of the two structures. We show that the presence of two non-coplanar emitting structures produces characteristic multi-peak spectral profiles and asymmetric bolometric-flux distributions. These signatures are imprinted both in the line-profile morphology and in the $\alpha$-profiles of the bolometric flux, providing simple diagnostic features of non-coplanar multi-component accretion structures.