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It is widely believed that the spin of black holes in X-ray binaries is mainly natal. A significant spin-up from accretion is not possible. If the secondary has a low mass, the black hole spin cannot change too much even if the black hole…
Three recent papers have been collected here, discussing the possibility and properties of periodic modulation of a signal from accreting black holes surrounded by orbiting clumps of gas.
We review current challenges in understanding the values and origin of the spins of black holes in binaries. Thanks to recent advances in astrophysical instrumentation, the spins can now be measured using both gravitational waves emitted by…
This paper surveys our current knowledge of the hard X-ray emission properties of old accreting neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries. Hard X-ray components extending up to energies of a few hundred keV have been clearly detected in…
We consider the accretion of dark energy by constituent black holes in binary formations during the present epoch of the Universe. In the context of an observationally consistent dark energy model, we evaluate the growth of black holes'…
Black holes are the simplest possible objects, characterised by only mass and spin. We see them via accretion, so there is one more fundamental parameter which is the mass accretion rate. Here I will review how the data from both stellar…
We study the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with a black hole as accreting object. The performed semi-analytic analysis reveals that the formation rate of black holes in low-mass X-ray binaries is about two orders of magnitude smaller…
The recent detections of gravitational waves from binary systems of black holes are in remarkable agreement with the predictions of General Relativity. In this pedagogical mini-review, I will go through the physics of the different phases…
Before the launch of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite, the differences in the rapid X-ray variability between the two main types of neutron star binaries (i.e., the Z and atoll sources) could be explained by invoking…
The galactic black hole binary systems give an observational template showing how the accretion flow changes as a function of increasing mass accretion rate, or L/L_Edd. These data can be synthetised with theoretical models of the accretion…
X-ray spectroscopy of galactic black hole binaries serve as a powerful tool to gain an overall understanding of the system. Not only can the properties of the accretion disk be studied in detail, the fundamental properties of the black hole…
Multiwavelength variability data, combined with spectral-timing analysis techniques, provides information about the causal relationship between different physical components in accreting black holes. Using fast-timing data and long-term…
How a black hole accretes matter and how this process is regulated are fundamental but unsolved questions in astrophysics. In transient black-hole binaries, a lot of mass stored in an accretion disk is suddenly drained to the central black…
Relativistic jets from Active Galactic Nuclei are known since decades, but the study of the connection between accretion and ejection in these systems is hampered by the long time scales associated to these events. The past decade has seen…
Our knowledge of the phenomenology of accretion onto black holes has increased considerably thanks to ten years of observations with the RXTE satellite. However, only recently it has been possible to derive a scheme for the outburst…
Electromagnetic observations have been used over the past decades to understand the nature of black holes and the material around them. Our ability to learn about the fundamental physics relies on our understanding of two key ingredients in…
We study time evolution and gravitational wave emission properties of a black hole orbiting {\it inside} an accretion disk surrounding a massive black hole. We simultaneously solve the structure equations of the accretion disk in presence…
A common question about compact objects in high energy astrophysics is whether it is possible to distinguish black hole from neutron star systems with some other property that is not the mass of the compact object. Up to now a few…
We discuss the emergent spectra from accreting black holes, considering in particular the case where the accretion is characterized by relativistic bulk motion. We suggest that such accretion is likely to occur in a wide variety of black…
Mergers of black-hole binaries are expected to release large amounts of energy in the form of gravitational radiation. However, binary evolution models predict merger rates too low to be of observational interest. In this paper we explore…