Related papers: Black holes: accretion processes in X-ray binaries
Black holes depend only on mass and spin, while what we see from the accretion flow in steady state depends also on mass accretion rate and (weakly) inclination. Hence we should be able to scale the accretion flow properties from the…
Accretion disks around black holes radiate a significant fraction of the rest mass of the accreting material in the form of thermal radiation from within a few gravitational radii of the black hole ($ r \lesssim 20 G M / c^{2}$). In…
Recent work revealed the existence of a galaxy "millimetre fundamental plane of black hole accretion", a tight correlation between nuclear $1$mm luminosity, intrinsic $2$ - $10$keV X-ray luminosity and supermassive black hole mass,…
Accretion disks around stellar-mass black holes offer unique opportunities to study the fundamental physics of standard thin disks, super-Eddington disks, and structure that may be connected to flux variability. These local analogues of…
We review the current state of understanding how accretion onto a black hole proceeds and what are they key elements needed to form relativistic jets. Since the theoretical progress is severely halted by the lack of deep understanding of…
Multiwavelength observations of Galactic black hole transients have opened a new path to understanding the physics of the innermost parts of the accretion flows. While the processes giving rise to their X-ray continuum have been studied…
The geometry of black hole spacetimes can be probed with exquisite precision in the gravitational-wave window, and possibly also in the optical regime. We study the accretion of bright spots -- objects which emit strongly in the optical or…
At luminosities below a few percent of Eddington, accreting black holes switch to a hard spectral state which is very different from the soft blackbody-like spectral state that is found at higher luminosities. The hard state is…
Accreting sources such as AGN, X-ray binaries or gamma-ray bursts are known to be strong, high energy emitters. The hard emission is though to originate from plasmas of thermal and/or non-thermal high energy particles. Not only does this…
We study the evolution of disk accretion during the merger of supermassive black hole binaries in galactic nuclei. In hierarchical galaxy formation models, the most common binaries are likely to arise from minor galactic mergers, and have…
We discuss the observational consequences of black hole spin in X-ray binaries within the framework of the standard thin accretion disk model. When compared to theoretical flux distribution from the surface of a thin disk surrounding a Kerr…
Astrophysical accretion is arguably the most prevalent physical process in the Universe; it occurs during the birth and death of individual stars and plays a pivotal role in the evolution of entire galaxies. Accretion onto a black hole, in…
Our understanding of space and time is probed to its depths by black holes. These objects, which appear as a natural consequence of general relativity, provide a powerful analytical tool able to examine macroscopic and microscopic…
Stellar-mass black holes offer what is perhaps the best scenario to test theories of gravity in the strong-field regime. In particular, f(R) theories, which have been widely discuss in a cosmological context, can be constrained through…
Supermassive black holes are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies. Accretion of gas and black hole mergers play a fundamental role in determining the two parameters defining a black hole: mass and spin. I briefly review here…
Significant progress has been made in the last few years on understanding how supermassive black holes form and grow. In this paper, we begin by reviewing the spectral signatures of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) ranging from radio to hard…
Although during the last decade new observations and new theoretical results have brought better understanding of the physics of accretion onto compact objects, many old and several new questions and problems await answers and solutions. I…
The accretion efficiency for individual black holes is very difficult to determine accurately. There are many factors that can influence each step of the calculation, such as the dust and host galaxy contribution to the observed luminosity,…
We describe quantum correction to the accreting hot plasma onto black holes. This quantum correction is related with the Hawking radiation, which heats the accreting plasma. The hot accreting gas is heated additionally by the quantum…
Standard accretion disk theory is formulated which is based on the local heat balance. The energy produced by a turbulent viscous heating is supposed to be emitted to the sides of the disc. Sources of turbulence in the accretion disc are…