Related papers: Computer modelling of accretion processes in binar…
These notes resulted from a series of lectures at the IAC winter school. They are designed to help students, especially those just starting in subject, to get hold of the fundamental tools used to study accretion powered sources. As such,…
The UV-X continuum, the X-ray spectral features, and the variability in these bands provide powerful tools for studying the innermost regions of AGNs from which we gain an insight into the accretion process. In this chapter the discussion…
An approximate analytic one-dimensional model is constructed, for the accretion disk boundary layer surrounding a neutron star whose low magnetic field does not affect the process of accretion. A high luminosity model is considered, with…
we study the long-term evolution of the accretion disk around the neutron star in Be/X-ray binaries. We confirm the earlier result by Hayasaki & Okazaki (2004) that the disk evolves via a two-stage process, which consists of the initial…
We discuss the importance of accretion in calculating disk models for young stellar objects. In particular, we show that a disk inner rim, irradiated by both the star and the accretion shocks at the stellar surface, can naturally explain…
We discuss the expected X-ray spectral and variability properties of black hole accretion discs at high luminosity, under the hypothesis that radiation pressure dominated discs are subject to violent clumping instabilities and, as a result,…
Type I X-ray bursts and superbursts on neutron stars release sudden and intense radiation fields into their surroundings. Here, we consider the possible effects of these powerful explosions on the structure of the accretion disk. The goal…
We present calculations of non-LTE, relativistic accretion disk models applicable to the high/soft state of black hole X-ray binaries. We include the effects of thermal Comptonization and bound-free and free-free opacities of all abundant…
Neutron stars in X-ray binary systems are fascinating objects that display a wide range of timing and spectral phenomena in the X-rays. Not only parameters of the neutron stars, like magnetic field strength and spin period evolve in their…
(abridged) We review how the recent increase in X-ray and radio data from black hole and neutron star binaries can be merged together with theoretical advances to give a coherent picture of the physics of the accretion flow in strong…
Accretion disc outbursts are re-occurring events observed in various astrophysical systems, including X-ray binaries and cataclysmic variables. These outbursts are characterized by a sudden increase in luminosity due to various…
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…
Accretion disks, swirling structures of matter spiraling into black holes, play a pivotal role in our understanding of binary star systems and their intricate evolutionary processes. While current models often simplify these complex…
In the last decade multi-wavelength observations have demonstrated the importance of jets in the energy output of accreting black hole binaries. The observed correlations between the presence of a jet and the state of the accretion flow…
Dipping neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (NS LMXBs) are systems that exhibit periodic drops in their X-ray light curves. These are believed to be caused by material at the impact point of the gas stream onto the accretion disk, the…
We present spectral calculations of non-LTE accretion disk models appropriate for high luminosity stellar mass black hole X-ray binary systems. We first use a dissipation profile based on scaling the results of shearing box simulations of…
Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (black-holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs) in close binary systems, provide strong test beds for constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The…
A phenomenological model of X-ray variability of accreting black holes is considered, where the variable emission is attributed to multiple active regions/perturbations moving radially towards the central black hole. The hard X-rays are…
Using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RossiXTE), astronomers have discovered that disk-accreting neutron stars with weak magnetic fields produce three distinct types of high-frequency X-ray oscillations. These oscillations are powered by…
We investigate thick accretion structures around Kerr black holes in a swirling background. This stationary and axisymmetric spacetime is composed of a rotating black hole, which is immersed in a rotating background. The swirling background…