Related papers: The Low-Spin Black Hole in LMC X-3
Estimations of black hole spin in the three Galactic microquasars GRS 1915+105, GRO J1655-40, and XTE J1550-564 have been carried out based on spectral and timing X-ray measurements and various theoretical concepts. Among others, a…
We succeed to find compact analytical expressions which allow to easily extract the black hole spin from observations of its shadow, without need to construct or model the entire curve of the shadow. The deformation of Kerr black hole…
1E 1740.7-2942 is one of the strongest hard X-ray emitters in the Galactic Centre region, believed to be a black hole in a high-mass X-ray binary system. Although extensively studied in X-rays, many aspects about the underlying nature of…
We present a dynamical model of the high mass X-ray binary LMC X-1 based on high-resolution optical spectroscopy and extensive optical and near-infrared photometry. From our new optical data we find an orbital period of P=3.90917 +/-…
The launch of NuSTAR and the increasing number of binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected through gravitational wave (GW) observations have exponentially advanced our understanding of black holes. Despite the simplicity owed to being fully…
Fast variability studies of accreting black holes in the Galaxy offer us a unique opportunity to measure the spins of black holes and test the strong-field behavior of general relativity. In this review, I summarize the arguments often used…
The spin of a black hole retains the memory of how the black hole grew, and can be a potent source of energy for powering relativistic jets. To understand the diagnostic power and astrophysical significance of black hole spin, however, we…
Explaining variability observed in the accretion flows of black hole X-ray binary systems remains challenging, especially concerning timescales less than, or comparable to, the viscous timescale but much larger than the inner orbital period…
The relativistic precession model (RPM) can be used to obtain a precise measurement of the mass and spin of a black hole when the appropriate set of quasi periodic oscillations is detected in the power-density spectrum of an accreting black…
Far-ultraviolet spectra of LMC X-3 were taken covering photometric phases 0.47 to 0.74 in the 1.7-day orbital period of the black-hole binary (phase zero being superior conjunction of the X-ray source). The continuum is faint and flat, but…
We study the spin dynamics of individual black holes in a binary system. In particular we focus on the polar precession of spins and the possibility of a complete flip of spins with respect to the orbital plane. We perform a full numerical…
We compute the probability distribution for the spin of a black hole following a series of minor mergers with isotropically distributed, non-spinning, inspiraling compact objects. By solving the Fokker-Planck equation governing this…
Insight-HXMT is the first Chinese X-ray astronomical mission. With a 1-250 keV bandpass, an energy resolution of 150 eV at 6 keV, and without being subject to pile-up distortions, it is suitable to study bright X-ray sources like Galactic…
Compact binary coalescences are the most promising sources of gravitational waves (GWs) for ground based detectors. Binary systems containing one or two spinning black holes are particularly interesting due to spin-orbit (and eventual…
We report on observations of the two persistent black hole candidates LMC X-3 and LMCX-1 performed with \BS in October 1997. The flux of LMC X-1 was possibly measured up to 60 keV, but there is a possible confusion with PSR 0540-69. Fits…
We consider applications of the curvature radius of a Kerr black hole shadow and propose three new approaches to simultaneously determine the black hole spin and inclination angle of the observer. The first one uses only two symmetric…
The black hole candidate EXO 1846-031 underwent an outburst in 2019, after at least 25 years in quiescence. We observed the system using \textit{NuSTAR} on August 3rd, 2019. The 3--79 keV spectrum shows strong relativistic reflection…
We critically examine issues associated with determining the fundamental properties of the black hole and the surrounding accretion disk in an X-ray binary based on modeling the disk X-ray continuum of the source. We base our work mainly on…
Accurately inferring black hole spin is crucial for understanding black hole dynamics and their astrophysical environments. In this work, we outline a geometric method for spin estimation by using the interferometric shape of the first…
GRS 1716-249 is a stellar-mass black hole in a low-mass X-ray binary that underwent a gaint outburst in 2016/17. In this paper we use simultaneous observations of Insight-HXMT and NuSTAR to determine its basic parameters. The observations…