Related papers: High ionisation absorption in low mass X-ray binar…
We report on recent progress in our theoretical understanding of X-ray binaries, which has largely been driven by new observations, and illustrate the interplay between theory and observations considering as examples intermediate-mass X-ray…
I discuss the energetics of synchrotron-emitting outflows, increasingly found to be present in many different classes of X-ray binary systems. It is shown that the outflow is likely to be comparable in power to the integrated X-ray…
X-ray observations of the Galactic X-ray binaries (XRB) revealed numerous highly ionized metal absorption lines. However, it is unclear whether such lines are produced by the hot interstellar medium (ISM) or the circumstellar medium (CSM)…
Accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries show outflows -- and sometimes jets -- in the general manner of accreting black holes. However, the quantitative link between the accretion flow (traced by X-rays) and outflows and/or jets…
When an AGN is obscured, the warm reflecting gas nearby can be seen by a combination of bremsstrahlung, intrinsic line emission, and reflection of the nuclear continuum, both by electron scattering and by resonance line scattering.…
In neutron star and black hole X-ray binaries the transitions between the two spectral states, hard and soft, signals the change between accretion via a hot advection-dominated flow(ADAF) and disk accretion. In a few cases the hard/soft…
We investigate the accretion geometry in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in the hard spectral state. It is commonly accepted that, for low mass transfer rates, an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) is present in 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…
In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of…
Jets are ubiquitous in accreting black holes. Often ignored, they may be a major contributor to the emitted spectral energy distribution for sub-Eddington black holes. For example, recent observations of radio-to-X-ray correlations and…
X-ray reflection signatures are observed around multiple classes of accreting compact objects. Modelling these features yield important constraints on the physics of accretion disks, motivating the development of X-ray reflection models…
Observations suggest that accretion discs in many X-ray binaries are likely flared. An outer edge of the disc intercepts radiation from the central X-ray source. Part of that radiation is absorbed and reemitted in the optical/UV spectral…
New X-ray polarisation results are challenging our understanding of the accretion flow geometry in black hole binary systems. Even spectra dominated by a standard disc can give unexpected results, such as the high inclination black hole…
Recent discoveries have confirmed the existence of a large population of X-ray sources fuelled by accretion from the stellar wind of an OB supergiant. Such systems are powerful laboratories to study many aspects of astrophysics. Over the…
We search the literature for reports on the spectral properties of neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries when they have accretion luminosities between 1E34 and 1E36 ergs/s. We found that in this luminosity range the photon index (obtained…
Low-mass pre-main sequence (PMS) stars are strong X-ray sources, because they possess hot corona like their older main-sequence counterparts. Unique to young stars, however, are X-rays from accretion and outflows, and both processes are of…
High-mass gamma-ray binaries consist of a presumptive pulsar in orbit with a massive star. The intense outflows from the star can absorb radio emission from the pulsar, making the detection of pulsation difficult. In this work, we present…
We have carried out a near-infrared imaging survey of luminous young stellar outflow candidates using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. Observations were obtained in the broad band K (2.2 mu) and through narrow band filters at the…
I review observations of the X-ray spectra of Galactic Black Hole Candidates, and theoretical ideas as to how these can be produced. X-ray reflection should enable different source geometries to be distinguished, but the ionisation…
The presence of blueshifted absorption lines in the X-ray spectra of Black Hole Low Mass X-ray Binaries is the telltale of massive outflows called winds. These signatures are found almost exclusively in soft states of high-inclined systems,…