{
  "abstract": "This study extends the optical/X-ray correlation from black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (XRBs) to active galactic nuclei (AGN), bridging scales from stellar-mass to supermassive black holes (SMBHs). In XRBs, optical emission predominantly originates from the thermal reprocessing of high-energy photons on the surface of the geometrically thin, optically thick accretion disk. The reprocessed optical luminosity follows a power-law relation of the form $L_{V} \\propto L_{X}^β a$, with $β\\sim 0.5$, where $L_X$ is the X-ray luminosity and the orbital separation $a$ serves as a proxy for the disk size. To test the universality of this relationship across all mass scales, we analyzed quasi-simultaneous X-ray and optical flux data from a sample of XRBs and AGN that have estimates of the radius of the optically emitting disk. To bridge the structural differences between these populations, we utilized the characteristic optical/X-ray time lag derived from reverberation mapping as a physical proxy for the reprocessing radius. Our analysis reveals a tight, global correlation across all black hole masses, described by $\\log L_V = 0.48\\log L_X + 0.96\\log a_R + 6.5$ with a scatter of $\\sim 0.20$ dex, where $a_R$ is the reprocessing radius derived from the lag. Incorporating a geometric correction for the disk inclination angle ($\\cos i$) slightly reduces this scatter to $0.18$ dex. These results suggest that X-ray reprocessing is scale-invariant across accretion disks, from stellar-mass black holes to SMBHs. This scaling relation provides new constraints for models of X-ray emission regions in accreting black holes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.17248",
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Changhyun Cho"
    },
    {
      "name": "David M. Russell"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aaryan Sharma"
    },
    {
      "name": "Payaswini Saikia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maria Cristina Baglio"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kevin Alabarta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sandeep K. Rout"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yi-Jung Yang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eleonora Caruso"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mokhine Motsoaledi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Meriana Allah"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ian M. McHardy"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fws9pkzx9g112.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.17248",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fws9pkzx9g112",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17248",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221800872",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.17248",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fws9pkzx9g112.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:31Z",
      "native_id": "2610.17248",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17248"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Scaling Up: A Global Optical/X-ray Correlation For Reprocessing Across Black Hole Masses",
  "title_text": "Scaling Up: A Global Optical/X-ray Correlation For Reprocessing Across Black Hole Masses",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fws9pkzx9g112",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}