Related papers: Probing the accretion processes in soft X-ray sele…
Recent observations of two black hole candidates (GX 339-4 and J1753.5-0127) in the low-hard state (L_X/L_Edd ~ 0.003-0.05) suggest the presence of a cool accretion disk very close to the innermost stable orbit of the black hole. This runs…
Using RXTE/ASM archival data, we investigate the behaviour of the spectral hardness ratio as a function of X-ray luminosity in a sample of six transient X-ray pulsars (EXO 2030+375, GX 304-1, 4U 0115+63, V 0332+63, A 0535+26 and MXB…
The aim of this paper is to investigate the transition of a strongly magnetized neutron star into the accretion regime with very low accretion rate. For this purpose we monitored the Be-transient X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57 throughout a full…
The soft excess in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) may arise through a combination of relativistic reflection and the effects of a warm corona at the surface of the accretion disc. Detailed examination of the soft excess can therefore…
We here examine the conditions of the two-phase disk model under which magnetic flares arise above the cold accretion disk due to magnetic buoyancy and produce X-rays via Comptonization of the disk's soft radiation. We find that the disk's…
We have used the excellent sensitivity of XMM-Newton to obtain the first high-quality X-ray spectrum of a Wolf-Rayet (WR) star which is not known to be a member of a binary system. Our target, the nitrogen-type star WR 110 (= HD 165688) was…
We report the discovery of a new, bright (V = 17 mag) AM Her system as the optical counterpart of the soft ROSAT All-Sky-Survey source RX J1846.9+5538 (= 1RXS J184659.4+553834). Optical photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations…
Understanding the nature of the accretion disk, its interplay with the X-ray corona, and assessing black hole spin demographics are some open challenges in astrophysics. In this work, we examine the predictions of the standard $\alpha$-disk…
We present a pilot study of atmospheres of accreting magnetic white dwarfs irradiated by intense fluxes at ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. The model uses a standard LTE stellar atmosphere code which is expanded by introducing an…
This is an introduction to models of accretion discs around black holes. After a presentation of the non-relativistic equations describing the structure and evolution of geometrically thin accretion discs we discuss their steady-state…
We consider the production of 2.22 MeV radiation resulting from the capture of neutrons in the atmosphere of the secondary in an X-ray binary system, where the neutrons are produced in the accretion disk around the compact primary star and…
We report results on the ROSAT-discovered noneclipsing short-period polars RX J0154.0-5947, RX J0600.5-2709, RX J0859.1+0537, RX J0953.1+1458, and RX J1002.2-1925 collected over 30 years. We present accurate linear orbital ephemerides that…
The X-ray emission from most accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in symbiotic binary stars is quite soft. Several symbiotic WDs, however, produce strong X-ray emission at energies greater than ~20 keV. The Swift BAT instrument has detected hard…
Symbiotic stars are binary systems where a white dwarf (WD) accretes material from the wind of an evolved, late-type companion. X-ray-emitting symbiotic systems are classified into $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\delta$, and $\beta/\delta$ types,…
The processes of accretion of the gaseous blobs with different masses and densities onto strongly magnetized white dwarfs in the systems of polars have been modeled. We have proved that shot noise in blue wavelengths represents accretion of…
The study of the hard (E>10 keV) energy spectra of X-ray binary pulsars can give a wealth of information on the physical processes that occur close to the neutron star surface. Extreme matter regimes are probed, and precious information on…
To understand the origin of hard X-ray emissions from black hole X-ray binaries during their low/hard states, we calculate the X-ray spectra of black-hole accretion flow for the following three configurations of hot and cool media: (a) an…
Optical photometry, spectroscopy and XMM-Newton ultraviolet and X-ray observations with full phase coverage are used for an in-depth study of WXLMi, a system formerly termed as a low-accretion rate polar. We find a constant low mass…
The X-ray spectra of many active galactic nuclei (AGN) show a soft X-ray excess below 1-2 keV on top of the extrapolated high- energy power law. The origin of this component is uncertain. It could be a signature of relativistically blurred,…
Strongly magnetized, accreting neutron stars show periodic and aperiodic variability over a wide range of time scales. By obtaining spectral and timing information on these different time scales, we can have a closer look into the physics…