Related papers: Black Hole Binaries and Microquasars
Relativistic reflection features are commonly observed in the X-ray spectra of accreting black holes. In the presence of high quality data and with the correct astrophysical model, X-ray reflection spectroscopy can be quite a powerful tool…
The spin distribution of massive black holes (MBHs) contains rich information on their assembly history. However, only limited information can be extracted from currently available spin measurements of MBHs owing to the small sample size…
Geometrically thick accretion flows may be present in black hole X-ray binaries observed in the low/hard state and in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. Unlike in geometrically thin disks, the angular momentum axis in these sources is…
We conduct a survey of numerical simulations to probe the structure and appearance of non-radiative black hole accretion flows like the supermassive black hole at the Galactic centre. We find a generic set of solutions, and make specific…
Disc spectra from highly luminous black hole binaries are observed to be rather simple, despite theoretical predictions to the contrary. We collate the disc-dominated spectra from multiple observations of 10 separate sources, and show that…
A common assumption used in the study of accretion disks is that the magnetic energy density and the kinetic energy density should be in equipartition. This assumption relies on the faster growth rate of the magnetic field strength against…
Distinguishing the photon output of an accreting supermassive black hole binary system from that of a single supermassive black hole accreting at the same rate is intrinsically difficult because the majority of the light emerges from near…
Relativistic outflows are a common phenomenon in accreting black holes. Despite the enormous differences in scale, accreting stellar-mass black holes (X-ray binaries, collapsars) and super-massive black holes produce jets with analogous…
I discuss some of what is known and unknown about the behavior of black hole binary systems in the quiescent accretion state. Quiescence is important for several reasons: 1) the dominance of the companion star in the optical and IR…
This work is intended to provide an introduction to multiwavelength observations of low-mass X-ray binaries and the techniques used to analyze and interpret their data. The focus will primarily be on ultraviolet, optical, and infrared…
The orbital motion of inspiralling and coalescing black hole binaries can be investigated using a variety of approximation schemes and numerical methods within general relativity: post-Newtonian expansions, black hole perturbation theory,…
In this paper we discuss the recent advances in the quantitative comparison of accretion, and the accretion:jet coupling, in accreting black holes in both X-ray binaries (where M ~ 10Msun) and Active Galactic Nuclei (10^5Msun < M <…
Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a space VLBI mission concept, which can probe the black hole spacetime and the plasma properties including the magnetic fields of the accretion flows and relativistic jets. We propose science cases anticipated…
A framework for the interpretation of the spectral states of black hole X-ray transients based on the diversity of accretion disk models is introduced. Depending on the mass accretion rate, it is proposed that the accretion disk is…
We present various instability mechanisms in the accreting black hole systems which might indicate at the connection between the accretion disk and jet. The jets observed in microquasars can have a persistent or blobby morphology.…
So far essentially all black hole masses in X-ray binaries have been obtained by observing the companion star's velocity and light curves as functions of the orbital phase. However a major uncertainty is the estimate of the orbital…
The three dynamically confirmed wind-fed black hole high-mass X-ray binaries (BH-HMXBs) are suggested to all contain a highly spinning black hole (BH). However, based on the theories of efficient angular momentum transport inside the stars,…
Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (black-holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs) in close binary systems, provide strong test beds for constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The…
We explore the evolution in power of black holes of all masses, and their associated jets, within the scheme of an accretion rate-dependent state transition. Below a critical value of the accretion rate all systems are assumed to undergo a…
We perform magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accreting, equal-mass binary black holes in full general relativity focusing on the effect of spin and minidisks on the accretion rate and Poynting luminosity variability. We report on the…