Related papers: Problems in the astrophysics of accretion onto com…
An observational review is provided of the properties of accretion disks around young stars. It concerns the primordial disks of intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects in embedded and optically revealed phases. The properties…
Precessing accretion discs have long been suggested as explanations for the long periods observed in a variety of X-ray binaries, most notably Her X-1/HZ Her. We show that an instability of the disc's response to the radiation reaction…
The appearance and time variability of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (hereafter AMXPs, e.g. Wijnands & van der Klis 1998) depends strongly on the accretion rate, the effective viscosity and the effective magnetic diffusivity of the…
In the framework of the dwarf nova thermal-viscous disc instability model, we investigate the combined effects on the predicted dwarf nova lightcurves of irradiating the accretion disc and the secondary star and of evaporating the inner…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients are obviously related to persistent Supergiant X-ray Binaries. Any convincing explanation for their behaviour must consistently take into account all types of X-ray sources powered by wind accretion. Here we…
The understanding of the accretion process on to compact objects in binary systems is an important part of modern astrophysics. Theoretical work, primarily that of Ghosh & Lamb (1979), has made clear predictions for the behaviour of such…
We calculate upper bounds on the inner radii of geometrically thin accretion disks in galactic black-hole systems by relating their rapid variability properties to those of neutron stars. We infer that the inner disk radii do not exhibit…
The black hole mass and accretion rate in Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in external galaxies, whose X-ray luminosities exceed those of the brightest black holes in our Galaxy by hundreds and thousands of times$^{1,2}$, is an unsolved…
A brief overview is given of the observations of accretion disks in X-ray binaries, discussing their geometry, their effect on the rotation period of the accreting object, their optical and X-ray spectra, time variability, and radio…
The outpouring of radiation during an X-ray burst can affect the properties of accretion discs around neutron stars: the corona can cool and collapse, the inner regions can be bled away due to enhanced accretion, and the additional heating…
Accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries show outflows -- and sometimes jets -- in the general manner of accreting black holes. However, the quantitative link between the accretion flow (traced by X-rays) and outflows and/or jets…
A significant number of X-ray binaries are now known to exhibit long-term ``superorbital'' periodicities on timescales of $\sim$ 10 - 100 days. Several physical mechanisms have been proposed that give rise to such periodicities, in…
While jets appear as a fundamental result of accretion processes onto compact objects in X-ray binaries, there is as yet no standard model for their underlying physics. The origin of the observed disk-jet coupling also remains largely…
Strongly magnetized accretion discs around black holes have attractive features that may explain enigmatic aspects of X-ray binary behaviour. The structure and evolution of these discs are governed by a dynamo-like mechanism, which channels…
Despite the prevalence of jets in accreting systems and their impact on the surrounding medium, the fundamental physics of how they are launched and collimated is not fully understood. Radio observations of local compact objects, including…
When the matter from a companion star is accreted towards the central compact accretor, i.e. a black hole (BH) or a neutron star (NS), an accretion disc and a jet outflow will form, providing bight X-ray and radio emission, which is known…
Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, we numerically simulate steady state accretion discs for Cataclysmic Variable Dwarf Novae systems that have a secondary-to-primary mass ratio (0.35 \le q \le 0.55). After these accretion discs have…
When applied to Be/X-ray binaries, the viscous decretion disc model for Be stars naturally predicts the truncation of the circumstellar disc. The distance at which the circumstellar disc is truncated depends mainly on the orbital parameters…
We briefly review recent developments in black hole accretion disk theory, placing new emphasis on the vital role played by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stresses in transporting angular momentum. The apparent universality of accretion-related…
This is an introduction to accretion disk theory, with emphasis on aspects relevant for X-ray Binaries and Cataclysmic Variables. The text corrects some mistakes in an earlier version, which appeared in 'Lives of Neutron Stars', A. Alpar,…