Related papers: High-energy flares from jet-clump interactions
I review some of the basic observational details of jets from X-ray binaries, or `microquasars'. It is shown that in both (Z and Atoll) NS and BHC systems radio emission, and therefore jet formation, is correlated with the presence of hard…
X-ray binaries are composed of a normal star in orbit around a neutron star or stellar-mass black hole. Radio and X-ray observations have led to the presumption that some X-ray binaries called microquasars behave as scaled down active…
Clumping in hot star winds can significantly affect estimates of mass-loss rates, the inferred evolution of the star and the environmental impact of the wind. A hydrodynamical simulation of a colliding winds binary (CWB) with clumpy winds…
Recently, microquasar jets have aroused the interest of many researchers focusing on the astrophysical plasma outflows and various jet ejections. In this work, we concentrate on the investigation of electromagnetic radiation and particle…
Several binary systems have been detected at High Energy (HE, E > 100 MeV) and/or Very High Energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays. Some of them are X-ray binaries in which accretion feeds relativistic radio jets and powers the non-thermal…
The innermost parts of powerful jets in active galactic nuclei are surrounded by dense, high-velocity clouds from the broad-line region, which may penetrate into the jet and lead to the formation of a strong shock. Such jet-cloud…
The inner parsec of our Galaxy contains tens of Wolf-Rayet stars whose powerful outflows are constantly interacting while filling the region with hot, diffuse plasma. Theoretical models have shown that, in some cases, the collision of…
Stars and their winds can contribute to the non-thermal (NT) emission in extragalactic jets. Given the complexity of jet-star interactions, the properties of the resulting emission are strongly linked to those of the emitting flows. We…
Binary systems containing a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar present strong interaction between the stellar and the pulsar winds. The properties of this interaction, which largely determine the non-thermal radiation in these systems,…
Observational evidence exists that winds of massive stars are clumped. Many massive star systems are known as non-thermal particle production sites, as indicated by their synchrotron emission in the radio band. As a consequence they are…
Radio and X-ray observations of the relativistic jets of microquasars show evidence for the acceleration of particles to very high energies. Signatures of non-thermal processes occurring closer in to the compact object can also be found. In…
I present an overview of past, present and future research on microquasars and jets, showing that microquasars, i.e. galactic jet sources, are among the best laboratories for high energy phenomena. After remindind the analogy with quasars,…
The study of relativistic particle acceleration is a major topic of high-energy astrophysics. It is well known that massive black holes in active galaxies can release a substantial fraction of their accretion power into energetic particles,…
The environment of high-mass X-ray binaries can be characterized either by the SNR that forms these systems, or by the wind from the companion massive star. These regions should be tenuous but very hot, and surrounded by a dense and cold…
We study the bending of jets in binary stellar systems. A compact companion accretes mass from the slow wind of the mass-losing primary star, forms an accretion disk, and blows two opposite jets. These fast jets are bent by the slow wind.…
The powerful wind-wind collision in massive star binaries creates a region of high temperature plasma and accelerates particles to relativistic energies. I briefly summarize the hydrodynamics of the wind-wind interaction and the…
Binaries hosting a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar are powerful non-thermal emitters due to the interaction of the pulsar and the stellar wind. The winds of massive stars are thought to be inhomogeneous, which could have an impact…
Jets are found in a variety of astrophysical sources, from young stellar objects to active galactic nuclei. In all the cases the jet propagates with a supersonic velocity through the external medium, which can be inhomogeneous, and…
Supernova remnants are believed to be the main sites where Galactic cosmic rays originate. This scenario, however, fails to explain some of the features observed in the cosmic-ray spectrum. Microquasars have been proposed as additional…
Microquasars provide new insights into: 1) the physics of relativistic jets from black holes, 2) the connection between accretion and ejection, and 3) the physical mechanisms in the formation of stellar-mass black holes. Furthermore, the…