DAO: A New and Public Non-Relativistic Reflection Model

We present a new non-relativistic reflection model, DAO, designed to calculate reflection spectra in the rest frame of accretion disks in X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. The model couples the XSTAR code, which treats atomic processes, with the Feautrier method for solving the radiative transfer equation. A key feature of DAO is the incorporation of a high-temperature corrected cross section and an exact redistribution function to accurately treat Compton scattering. Furthermore, the model accommodates arbitrary illuminating spectra, enabling applications across diverse physical conditions. We investigate the spectral dependence on key physical parameters and benchmark the results against the widely used reflionx and xillver codes.

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📚 Documentation

For detailed installation instructions, usage guides, and theoretical background, please visit our official documentation:

👉 DAO Documentation

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone [https://github.com/ABHModels/DAO.git](https://github.com/ABHModels/DAO.git)
cd DAO

2.Prepare the Build Directory

mkdir mods

3.Configure HEASoft Paths

Open the Makefile and locate the HEADS variable. You must update this path to point to your local HEASoft installation directory.

Example:

HEADS = /path/to/heasoft/heasoft-6.31.1/x86_64-pclinux-gnu-libc2.17

4.Complie the Model

make

🏃 Running the Model

We provide a Python automation script (modelrun.py) to manage parameter configuration and batch processing.

Important Data Requirements: Before running the model, you must download or prepare:

• Atomic Database: Derived from XSTAR (adtb.fits, coheat.dat).

• Compton Redistribution File: Pre-calculated redistribution functions.

⚠️ Critical Note: The energy grid used in the Compton redistribution file must match the energy grid defined in your simulation parameters. You can download the atomdata base and redistribution function (500 energy bins) from Zenodo.

For a step-by-step tutorial on running your first simulation, please refer to the Quick Start Guide in our documentation.