Related papers: IR Contamination in Galactic X-Ray Novae
In this chapter, I present the main X-ray observational characteristics of black-hole binaries and low magnetic field neutron-star binaries, concentrating on what can be considered similarities or differences, with particular emphasis on…
Stellar-mass black holes have been detected by radial-velocity observations in star/black hole binaries. These allow only the determination of the mass function. Tracking the astrometric orbits of the visible components of the star/black…
Because of their inherently high flux allowing the detection of clear signals, black hole X-ray binaries are interesting candidates for polarization studies, even if no polarization signals have been observed from them before. Such…
Stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars represent extremes in gravity, density, and magnetic fields. They therefore serve as key objects in the study of multiple frontiers of physics. In addition, their origin (mainly in core-collapse…
Measurements of neutron star masses and radii are instrumental for determining the equation of state of their interiors, understanding the dividing line between neutron stars and black holes, and for obtaining accurate statistics of source…
The dynamical evolution of binaries of intermediate-massive black holes (IMBHs, massive black holes with a mass ranging between $10^2$ and $10^4 M_{\odot}$) in stellar clusters has recently received an increasing amount of attention. This…
Double neutrons are especially important because they give most accurate informations on the masses of neutron stars. Observations on double neutron stars show that all masses of the neutron stars are below 1.5$\msun$. Furthermore, two…
It has been suggested that there are $\sim 10^5$ black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) binaries in our Galaxy. However, despite the effort of intensive radio search for decades, none of these binaries has been found to date. These binaries are…
The recent observation of high-energy neutrinos from the Galactic plane implies an abundant population of hadronic cosmic-ray sources in the Milky Way. We explore the role of the coronae of accreting stellar-mass black holes as such…
GRS 1915+105 has the largest mass function of any Galactic black hole system, although the error is relatively large. Here we present spectroscopic analysis of medium-resolution IR VLT archival data of GRS 1915+105 in the K-band. We find an…
Pulsar timing measurements can be used to detect gravitational radiation from massive black hole binaries. The ~106d quasi-periodic flux variations in Sagittarius A* at radio wavelengths reported by Zhao, Bower, & Goss (2001) may be due to…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are off-nuclear X-ray sources in nearby galaxies with X-ray luminosities $\geq$ 10$^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The measurement of the black hole (BH) masses of ULXs is a long-standing problem. Here we estimate…
The compact X-ray source in the eclipsing X-ray binary IC 10 X-1 has reigned for years as ostensibly the most massive stellar-mass black hole, with a mass estimated to be about twice that of its closest rival. However, striking results…
The most compelling evidences for the existence of stellar-mass black holes have been obtained through observations of X-ray binary systems. The application of classical methods and the development of new techniques have allowed us to…
We examine the distribution of masses of black holes in transient low mass X-ray binary systems. A Bayesian analysis suggests that it is probable that six of the seven systems with measured mass functions have black hole masses clustered…
The localization of stellar-mass binary black hole mergers using gravitational waves is critical in understanding the properties of the binaries' host galaxies, observing possible electromagnetic emission from the mergers, or using them as…
X-ray polarization is a powerful tool to investigate the geometry of accreting material around black holes, allowing independent measurements of the black hole spin and orientation of the innermost parts of the accretion disk. We perform…
We discuss black hole spin measurements employing the relativistic iron line profiles in the X-ray domain. We investigate the iron line band for two representative sources -- MCG -6-30-15 (active galaxy) and GX 339-4 (X-ray binary). We…
Measurements of the angular momentum (spin) of astrophysical black holes are extremely important, as they provide information on the black hole formation and evolution. We present simulated observations of a X-ray binary system with the…
The majority of known Galactic black holes reside in low-mass X-ray binaries. They are rare and fascinating objects, providing unique information on strong gravity, accretion disc physics, and stellar and binary evolution. There is no doubt…