Related papers: Testing Relativistic Accretion Disk Models with GR…

We perform a detailed study of the black hole spin of Cyg X-1, using accurate broad-band X-ray data obtained in the soft spectral state by simultaneous NICER and NuSTAR observations, supplemented at high energies by INTEGRAL data. We use…

The two established techniques for measuring black hole spin in X-ray binaries often yield conflicting results, which must be resolved before either method may be deemed robust. In practice, black hole spin measurements based on fitting the…

Multi-wavelength observations of the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1118+480 have offered abundant spectral and timing information about the source, and have thus provided serious challenges to theoretical models. We propose a coupled…

Self-consistent vertical structure models together with non-LTE radiative transfer should produce spectra from accretion disks around black holes which differ from multitemperature blackbodies at levels which may be observed. High…

In the microquasar V4641 Sgr the spin of the black hole is thought to be misaligned with the binary orbital axis. The accretion disc aligns with the black hole spin by the Lense-Thirring effect near to the black hole and further out becomes…

We present an analysis of the observed broad iron line feature and putative warm absorber in the long 2001 XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert-1.2 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. The new "kerrdisk" model we have designed for simulating line emission…

We compare standard models of accretion disks around black holes that include the appropriate zero-torque inner boundary condition and relativistic effects on the emission and propagation of radiation. The comparison is performed adopting…

The relativistically-broadened reflection spectrum, observed in both AGN and X-ray binaries, has proven to be a powerful probe of the properties of black holes and the environments in which they reside. Being emitted from the inner-most…

XTE J1550-564 is a black hole X-ray binary for which the dynamical characteristics are well established, and the broadband spectral evolution of the source has been well studied. Its orbital inclination is known to be high, at…

We analyzed simultaneous archival XMM-Newton and RXTE observations of the X-ray binary and black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127. In a previous analysis of the same data a soft thermal component was found in the X-ray spectrum, and the…

Analysis was made of the multiple XTE/PCA data on the promised black hole candidate with superluminal jet, GRO J1655-40, acquired during its 1996--1997 outburst. The X-ray spectra can be adequately described by the sum of an optically thick…

Models of black hole accretion disks are reviewed, with an emphasis on the theory of hard X-ray production. The following models are considered: i) standard, ii) super-critical, iii) two-temperature, and iv) disk+corona. New developments…

The development of techniques to measure accurately black hole spins is crucial to study the physics and astrophysics of these objects. X-ray reflection spectroscopy is currently the most popular method to estimate the spins of accreting…

Understanding if and when the accretion disc extends down to the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) is important since it is the fundamental assumption behind measuring black hole spin. Here, we examine the 2013 and 2018 NuSTAR and…

X-ray binaries are known to exhibit different spectral states which are often associated with different black hole accretion modes. The exact geometry and properties of these accretion modes is still uncertain. Recent IXPE measurements of…

The spin of Cygnus X-1 is measured by fitting reflection models to Suzaku data covering the energy band 0.9-400 keV. The inner radius of the accretion disc is found to lie within 2 gravitational radii (r_g=GM/c^2) and a value for the…

The continuum-fitting method is one of the two most advanced methods of determining the black hole spin in accreting X-ray binary systems. There are, however, still some unresolved issues with the underlying disk models. One of them…

Black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) show rich phenomenology in the spectral and timing properties. We collected the spectral data of 20 BHXBs from the literature across different spectral states. The spectral properties are studied in the…

The black-hole X-ray binary transient GRO J1655-40 underwent an outburst beginning in early 2005. We present the results of our multi-wavelength observational campaign to study the early outburst spectral and temporal evolution, which…

So far essentially all black hole masses in X-ray binaries have been obtained by observing the companion star's velocity and light curves as functions of the orbital phase. However a major uncertainty is the estimate of the orbital…