Related papers: The Eclipsing Black Hole X-ray Binary M33 X-7: Und…

We perform binary population synthesis calculations to investigate the incidence of low-mass X-ray binaries and their birth rate in the Galaxy. We use a binary evolution algorithm that models all the relevant processes including tidal…

A new, transient ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) was recently discovered by Chandra in M31 with a luminosity at ~ 5 x 10^39 erg/s. Here we analyse a series of five subsequent XMM-Newton observations. The steady decline in X-ray luminosity…

We present new X-ray and UV observations of the Wolf-Rayet + black hole binary system NGC 300 X-1 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. When combined with archival X-ray observations,…

The discovery via gravitational waves of binary black hole systems with total masses greater than $60M_\odot$ has raised interesting questions for stellar evolution theory. Among the most promising formation channels for these systems is…

A large fraction of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (BHLMXBs) are in short period orbits, which require strong orbital angular momentum loss during the previous evolutionary stage. Ivanova (2006) put forward the possibility that some of…

We have observed the persistent but optically unidentified X-ray source X1908+075 with the PCA and HEXTE instruments on RXTE. The binary nature of this source was established by Wen, Remillard, & Bradt (2000) who found a 4.4-day orbital…

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…

Binary black holes are the primary endpoint of massive stellar evolution. Their properties provide a unique opportunity to constrain binary evolution, which is still poorly understood. In this paper, we predict the inventory of binary black…

Eclipsing binaries with M-type components are still rare objects. Strong observational biases have made that today only a few eclipsing binaries with component masses below 0.6 Msun and well-determined fundamental properties are known.…

X-ray binaries are excellent laboratories to study collapsed objects. On the one hand, transient X-ray binaries contain the best examples of stellar-mass black holes while persistent X-ray binaries mostly harbour accreting neutron stars.…

We review the properties and behavior X-ray binaries that contain an accreting black hole. The larger majority of such systems are X-ray transients, and many of them were observed in daily pointings with RXTE throughout the course of their…

Massive stars lose a significant fraction of their mass through stellar winds at various stages of their lives, including on the main sequence, during the red supergiant phase, and as evolved helium-rich Wolf--Rayet stars. In stellar…

The recently discovered binary LB-1 has been reported to contain a $\sim$\,$70\,M_{\odot}$ black hole (BH). The evidence for the unprecedentedly high mass of the unseen companion comes from reported radial velocity (RV) variability of the…

We review the formation scenarios for binary black holes, and show that their coalescence rate depends very strongly on the outcome of the second mass transfer. However, the observations of IC10 X-1, an binary with a massive black hole…

We combine Hubble Space Telescope images of a sample of 20 Seyfert galaxies at z=0.36 with spectroscopic information from the Keck Telescope to determine the black hole mass - spheroid luminosity relation (M-L), the Fundamental Plane (FP)…

Eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars (the so-called black widows and redbacks) can provide important information about accretion history, pulsar irradiation of their companion stars and the evolutionary link between accreting X-ray pulsars…

Spin measurement of the 6.5 billion solar mass black hole in M87 from the Event Horizon Telescope image is the latest in a series that span a wide range in values, but that tend to share the feature of co-rotation between the accretion flow…

We analyze a large set of new and archival photometric and spectroscopic observations of LMC X-3 to arrive at a self-consistent dynamical model for the system. Using echelle spectra obtained with the MIKE instrument on the 6.5m Magellan…

There is much evidence to suggest that stellar wind capture, rather than Roche lobe overflow, serves as the accretion mechanism onto the compact secondary object in the massive X-ray binary LS 5039. The lack of significant emission combined…

We construct evolutionary tracks for massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) embedded in a surrounding distribution of stars. The dynamics of the binary is evolved by taking into account the erosion of the central stellar cusp bound to the…