Related papers: The Novel Obscured State of Stellar-mass Black Hol…
(abridged) Two XMM-Newton observations of the black-hole binary GRS1915+105 were triggered in 2004, during a long "plateau" state of the source. (...) While the light curves show just small amplitude variations (a few percent) at timescales…
Relativistic reflection features in the X-ray spectra of black hole binaries and AGNs originate from illumination of the inner part of the accretion disk by a hot corona. In the presence of high quality data and with the correct…
We report on a 120 ks Chandra/HETG spectrum of the black hole GRS 1915+105. The observation was made during an extended and bright soft state in June, 2015. An extremely rich disk wind absorption spectrum is detected, similar to that…
In accretion-based models for Sgr A* the X-ray, infrared, and millimeter emission arise in a hot, geometrically thick accretion flow close to the black hole. The spectrum and size of the source depend on the black hole mass accretion rate…
The spectrum of the hard X-ray background records the history of accretion processes integrated over the cosmic time. Several observational and theoretical evidences indicate that a significant fraction of the energy density is obscured by…
We discuss the emergent spectra from accreting black holes, considering in particular the case where the accretion is characterized by relativistic bulk motion. We suggest that such accretion is likely to occur in a wide variety of black…
Obscured or narrow-line active galaxies offer an unobstructed view of the quasar environment in the presence of a luminous and vigorously accreting black hole. We exploit the large new sample of optically selected luminous narrow-line…
We present results from the Suzaku observation of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 performed during the 2005 October multiwavelength campaign. The data include both stable state (class \chi) and limit-cycle oscillation (class \theta). Correct…
Most accreting black holes emit a substantial fraction of their luminosity in hard X-rays/soft $\gamma$-rays of up to $\sim{\rm few}\times100$ keV. The observations suggest that the radiating gas is very hot, $T>10^9$ K, and optically thin.…
GRS 1915+105 is a widely studied black hole binary, well known because of its extremely fast and complex variability. Flaring periods of high variability alternate with "stable" phases (the plateaux) when the flux is low, the spectra are…
We present a detailed X-ray timing analysis of the highly variable NLS1 galaxy, IRAS 13224-3809. The source was recently monitored for 1.5 Ms with XMM-Newton which, combined with 500 ks archival data, makes this the best studied NLS1 galaxy…
Simultaneous X-ray (BeppoSAX, 0.1-300 keV) and radio (Ryle Telescope, 15 GHz) observations of the superluminal galactic source GRS 1915+105 in high flux state were carried out starting October 1996. Here we present the simultaneous…
There is controversy regarding the nature of the suspected donor star to the microquasar GRS 1915+105, and hence whether GRS 1915+105 is a high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) or a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB). In order to clarify this issue, we…
GRS 1915+105 has been active for more than 26 years since it was discovered in 1992. There are hundreds of RXTE pointed observations on this source, and the quasi-regular flares with a slow rise and a sharp decrease (i.e. the "heartbeat"…
We present an instability, occurring in the inner region of magnetized accretion disks, which seems to be a good candidate to explain the low-frequency QPO observed in many X-ray binaries. We then briefly show how, in the remarkable case of…
We study the observational signatures of the relativistic slim disc of 10 M_sun black hole, in a wide range of mass accretion rate, mdot, dimensionless spin parameter, a_ast, and viewing angle, i. In general, the innermost temperature, T_in…
Stars with an initial mass more than ~25 Msun are thought to ultimately become black holes. Then stellar-mass black holes should be ubiquitous but fewer than 20 have been found in our Galaxy to date, all of which have been found through…
We report on the results of spectral fits made to a NuSTAR observation of the black hole GRS 1915+105 in a "plateau" state. This state is of special interest because it is similar to the "low/hard" state seen in other black holes,…
The X-ray spectrum of GRS 1915+105 is known to have a ``broad iron spectral feature'' in the spectral hard state. Similar spectral features are often observed in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and other black-hole binaries (BHBs), and…
We present HST/ACS ultraviolet photometry of three quiescent black hole X-ray transients: X-ray Nova Muscae 1991 (GU Mus), GRO J0422+32 (V518 Per), and X-ray Nova Vel 1993 (MM Vel), and one neutron star system, Aql X-1. These are the first…