Related papers: The International X-ray Observatory - RFI#2
The tight relationship between the masses of black holes and galaxy spheroids in nearby galaxies implies a causal connection between the growth of these two components. Optically luminous quasars host the most prodigious accreting black…
Galaxies grow their supermassive black holes in concert with their stars, although the relationship between these major galactic components is poorly understood. Observations of the cosmic growth of stars and black holes in galaxies suffer…
This chapter discusses the implications of X-ray binaries on our knowledge of Type Ibc and Type II supernovae. X-ray binaries contain accreting neutron stars and stellar--mass black holes which are the end points of massive star evolution.…
X-ray reverberation echoes are assumed to be produced in the strongly distorted spacetime around accreting supermassive black holes. This signal allows us to spatially map the geometry of the inner accretion flow - a region which cannot yet…
The spectrum of the hard X-ray background records the history of accretion processes integrated over the cosmic time. Several observational and theoretical evidences indicate that a significant fraction of the energy density is obscured by…
Stellar and black hole feedback heat and disperse surrounding cold gas clouds, launching gas flows off circumnuclear and galactic disks and producing a dynamic interstellar medium. On large scales bordering the cosmic web, feedback drives…
The evolving Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) will revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of massive black holes along cosmic history by probing massive black hole binaries in the $10^3-10^7$ solar mass…
The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) is designed to i) use the birth of stellar mass black holes, as revealed by cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), as probes of the very first stars and galaxies to exist in the Universe. Both…
The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer (AMEGO-X) is designed to identify and characterize gamma rays from extreme explosions and accelerators. The main science themes include: supermassive black holes and their connections…
[Abridged] [...] We study the mass and spin evolution of massive black holes within a semianalytical galaxy-formation model that follows the evolution of dark-matter halos along merger trees, as well as that of the baryonic components (hot…
We use QSO emission-line widths to examine the black hole mass - sigma relationship as a function of redshift and to extend the relationship to larger masses. Supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei are closely related to the bulge of…
Since 2015 the gravitational-wave observations of LIGO and Virgo have transformed our understanding of compact-object binaries. In the years to come, ground-based gravitational-wave observatories such as LIGO, Virgo, and their successors…
A galaxy halo may contain a large number of intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) with masses in the range of 10^{2-6} solar mass. We propose to directly detect these IMBHs by observing multiply imaged QSO-galaxy or galaxy-galaxy strong…
We present a baseline science operations plan for the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX), a space mission concept aiming to confirm the existence of the predicted sharp ``photon ring" resulting from strongly lensed photon trajectories around black…
It has been suggested that the X-shaped morphology observed in some radio sources can reflect either a recent merger of two supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or the presence of a second active black hole in the galactic nucleus. These…
Detectability of isolated black holes (IBHs) without a companion star but emitting X-rays by accretion from dense interstellar medium (ISM) or molecular cloud gas is investigated. We calculate orbits of IBHs in the Galaxy to derive a…
We review the recent multifrequency studies of galactic black hole binaries, aiming at revealing the underlying emission processes and physical properties in these systems. The optical and infrared observations are important for determining…
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a…
A fundamental goal of modern-day astrophysics is to understand the connection between supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth and galaxy evolution. Merging galaxies offer one of the most dramatic channels for galaxy evolution known, capable…
The nature and origin of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) remain an open matter of debate within the scientific community. While various theoretical scenarios have been proposed, each with specific observational signatures, the lack of…