Related papers: Patchy Accretion Disks in Ultraluminous X-ray Sour…
We propose a geometrically thick, super-Eddington accretion disk model, where an optically thick wind is not necessary, to understand ultraluminous supersoft sources (ULSs). For high mass accretion rates $\dot M \ga 30\dot M_{\rm Edd}$ and…
We use XMM-Newton and Swift data to study spectral variability in the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), Holmberg IX X-1. The source luminosity varies by a factor 3-4, giving rise to corresponding spectral changes which are significant, but…
We outline a framework for understanding the X-ray spectra of high mass accretion rate stellar black holes based on X-ray data from RXTE and ASCA. Three spectral regimes can be separated out by the behaviour of the observed disk luminosity…
Radiation emitted from an accretion disk around a massive black hole is a widely discussed model for the UV/soft X-ray excess emission observed in the spectra of many AGN. A self-consistent calculation of the structure and the emerging…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) were identified as a separate class of objects in 2000 based on data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. These are unique objects: their X-ray luminosities exceed the Eddington limit for a typical…
We present the results of the first broadband X-ray analysis of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 5055 ULX X-1, combining simultaneous data from XMM$-$Newton and NuSTAR missions, with a combined exposure time of $\sim$100 ks across the…
To investigate the physics of mass accretion onto weakly-magnetized neutron stars, 95 archival RXTE datasets of an atoll source 4U 1608-522, acquired over 1996-2004 in so-called upper-banana state, were analyzed. The object meantime…
XMM-Newton observations of seven QSOs are presented and the EPIC spectra analysed. Five of the AGN show evidence for Fe K-alpha emission, with three being slightly better fitted by lines of finite width; at the 99 per cent level they are…
Spectral properties of super-Eddington accretion flows are investigated by means of a parallel line-of-sight calculation. The subjacent model, taken from two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations by Ohsuga et al. (2005), consists…
The origin of Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in external galaxies whose X-ray luminosities exceed those of the brightest black holes in our Galaxy by hundreds and thousands of times is mysterious. The most popular models for the ULXs…
(Abridged) Soft and hard X-ray excesses, compared to the continuum power-law shape between ~2-10 keV, are common features observed in the spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and are associated with the accretion disc-corona system…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are bright extragalactic sources with X-ray luminosities above 10^39 erg/s powered by accretion onto compact objects. According to the first studies performed with XMM-Newton ULXs seemed to be excellent…
We use two-dimensional, general relativistic, viscous, radiation hydrodynamic simulations to study the impact of a Type I X-ray burst on a hot and geometrically thick accretion disk surrounding an unmagnetized, non-rotating neutron star.…
The ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source ESO 243-49 HLX-1 currently provides the strongest evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. We conduct an ongoing monitoring campaign with the Swift X-ray Telescope and found that…
Spectral studies of a luminous X-ray source, NGC 253 X21, are presented based on archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data. The Chandra observation on 1999 December 16 detected the source at a bolometric luminosity of 0.3 x 10^39 erg/s (assuming…
Aims: In light of recent discoveries of pulsating ULXs and recently introduced models, that propose neutron stars (NSs) as the central engines of ULXs, we revisit the (XMM-Newton and NuSTAR) spectra of eighteen well known ULXs, in search of…
The lack of unambiguous detections of atomic features in the X-ray spectra of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) has proven a hindrance in diagnosing the nature of the accretion flow. The possible association of spectral residuals at soft…
We present a sample of eight extended X-ray sources detected in the wide-field (~2.3 deg^2), bright (2-10 ksec) XMM-Newton/2dF survey, reaching a flux limit of ~2 X 10^{-14} erg/s/cm^2. Of these, seven are identified as secure X-ray…
We present the results of four three-dimensional radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accretion disks around a $10^8$ solar mass black hole, which produce the far ultraviolet spectrum peak and demonstrate a robust physical mechanism…
X-ray observations of the binary pulsar GX 1+4 made using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite between February 1996 and May 1997 were analysed to quantify source spectral variation with luminosity. Mean Proportional Counter…