Related papers: Black holes: accretion processes in X-ray binaries

I consider how physical processes scale over eight orders of magnitude in black hole mass, from stellar masses in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXRB) to supermassive active galactic nuclei (AGN). Accretion rates…

It has been found that a class of optically-thin two-temperature advection-dominated accretion solutions explains many observations of low-luminosity accreting black holes. Here it is shown that these models give a satisfactory description…

Accreting binaries containing a black hole are stellar systems composed of a normal star and a black hole. Because of the strong gravitational pull of the black hole, matter is removed from the companion star and falls into the compact ob…

The defining characteristic of a black hole is that it possesses an event horizon through which matter and energy can fall in but from which nothing escapes. Soft X-ray transients (SXTs), a class of X-ray binaries, appear to confirm this…

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…

Thanks to extensive observations with X-ray missions and facilities working in other wavelengths, as well as rapidly--advancing numerical simulations of accretion flows, our knowledge of astrophysical black holes has been remarkably…

X-rays trace accretion onto compact objects in binaries with low mass companions at rates ranging up to near Eddington. Accretion at high rates onto neutron stars goes through cycles with time-scales of days to months. At lower average…

In this chapter, we give an overview of our current understanding of the physics of accreting massive black hole binaries (MBHBs), with a special focus on the latest developments in numerical simulations and General-Relativistic…

Recent X-ray observations have detected a class of very faint X-ray transients in the Galaxy which probably reveal a previously unrecognised type of accretion on to neutron stars or black holes. We show that these systems cannot have…

The fluctuating brightness of cosmic X-ray sources, particularly accreting black holes and neutron star systems, has enabled enormous progress in understanding the physics of turbulent accretion flows, the behaviour of matter on the…

Black hole accretion and jet production are areas of intensive study in astrophysics. Recent work has found a relation between radio luminosity, X-ray luminosity, and black hole mass. With the assumption that radio and X-ray luminosity are…

We describe the most general nature of accretion and wind flows around a compact object and emphasize on the properties which are special to black hole accretion. The angular momentum distribution in the most general solution is far from…

This chapter provides a general overview of the theory and observations of black holes in the Universe and on their interpretation. We briefly review the black hole classes, accretion disk models, spectral state classification, the AGN…

Currently available information on fast variability of the X-ray emission from accreting collapsed objects constitutes a complex phenomenology which is difficult to interpret. We review the current observational standpoint for black-hole…

The stationary, spherically symmetric accretion of dark energy onto a Schwarzschild black hole is considered in terms of relativistic hydrodynamics. The approximation of an ideal fluid is used to model the dark energy. General expressions…

Observations of Galactic black hole sources are traditionally done in the classical X-ray range (2 -- 10 keV) due to sensitivity constraints. Most of the accretion power, however, is radiated above 10 keV and the study of these sources in…

A framework for the interpretation of the spectral states of black hole X-ray transients based on the diversity of accretion disk models is introduced. Depending on the mass accretion rate, it is proposed that the accretion disk is…

Understanding the dynamics behind black hole state transitions and the changes they reflect in outbursts has become long-standing problem. The X-ray reflection spectrum describes the interaction between the hard X-ray source (the power-law…

The lack of our knowledge on how angular momentum is transported in accretion disks around black holes has prevented us from fully understanding their high energy emissions. We briefly highlight some theoretical models, emphasizing the…

This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how accretion…