Related papers: Problems in the astrophysics of accretion onto com…
We review our current knowledge of thermal and viscous instabilities in accretion discs around compact objects. We begin with classical disc models based on analytic viscosity prescriptions, discussing physical uncertainties and exploring…
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…
Recent discoveries have confirmed the existence of a large population of X-ray sources fuelled by accretion from the stellar wind of an OB supergiant. Such systems are powerful laboratories to study many aspects of astrophysics. Over the…
Compact binaries have long been a paradigm for accretion theory. Much of our present view of how accretion occurs comes directly from the comparison of theory with observations of these sources. Since theory differs little for other objects…
Context. The disc instability model (DIM) successfully explains why many accreting compact binary systems exhibit outbursts, during which their luminosity increases by orders of magnitude. The DIM correctly predicts which systems should be…
Stellar companions of accreting neutron stars in ultra compact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) are hydrogen-deficient. Their helium or C/O accretion discs are strongly X-ray irradiated. Both the chemical composition and irradiation determine the…
Several physical and astrophysical problems related to accretion onto black holes and neutron stars are shortly reviewed. I discuss the observed differences between these two types of compact objects in quiescent Soft X-ray Transients. Then…
I review recent advances in our understanding of accretion disks in transient systems - the dwarf novae and the soft X-ray transients. The primary theme will be the ongoing development of theory in response to the observations. The…
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…
Accretion disks around compact objects are expected to enter an unstable phase at high luminosity. One instability may occur when the radiation pressure generated by accretion modifies the disk viscosity, resulting in the cyclic depletion…
Accretion discs are fundamental to much of astronomy. They can occur around stars both young and old, around compact objects they provide a window into the extremes of physics, and around supermassive black holes in galaxy centres they…
This is an introduction to models of accretion discs around black holes. After a presentation of the non-relativistic equations describing the structure and evolution of geometrically thin accretion discs we discuss their steady-state…
Accretion onto a compact object must occur through a disc when the material has some initial angular momentum. Thin discs and the thicker low radiative efficiency accretion flows are solutions to this problem that have been widely studied…
It is now widely accepted that most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are binary systems whose large (above $10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$) apparent luminosities are explained by super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar-mass compact object. Many…
We investigate the growth of tidal instabilities in accretion discs in a binary star potential, using three dimensional numerical simulations. As expected from analytic work, the disc is prone to an eccentric instability provided that it is…
Context. Ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) typically consist of a white dwarf donor and a neutron star or black hole accretor. The evolution of UCXBs and very low mass ratio binaries in general is poorly understood. Aims. We investigate…
Very faint X-ray binaries appear to be transient in many cases with peak luminosities much fainter than that of usual soft X-ray transients, but their nature still remains elusive. We investigate the possibility that this transient…
Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are compact binaries with white dwarf (WD) primaries. CVs and other accreting WD binaries (AWBs) are useful laboratories for studying accretion flows, gas dynamics, outflows, transient outbursts, and explosive…
Rapid, large amplitude variability at optical to X-ray wavelengths is now seen in an increasing number of Seyfert galaxies and luminous quasars. The variations imply a global change in accretion power, but are too rapid to be communicated…
The study of outer disc radius variations in close binary systems is important for understanding the structure and evolution of accretion discs. These variations are predicted by models of both quasi steady and time-dependent discs, and…