Related papers: X-ray polarization from accretion disk winds
The radiation from accreting X-ray pulsars was expected to be highly polarized, with some estimates for the polarization degree of up to 80%. However, phase-resolved and energy-resolved polarimetry of X-ray pulsars is required in order to…
X-ray binaries hosting a compact object have been among the main targets of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) since its launch, due to their high brightness in the 2-8 keV energy band. The spectropolarimetric analysis performed…
X-ray polarimetry is a new tool capable of probing the geometry of accretion onto weakly magnetized neutron stars. Here we present the first X-ray spectropolarimetric results from coordinated observations of the atoll source 4U 1735-44,…
The advent of the new generation of X-ray telescopes yielded a significant step forward in our understanding of ionised absorption generated in the accretion discs of X-ray binaries. It has become evident that these relatively weak and…
Measurements of the angular momentum (spin) of astrophysical black holes are extremely important, as they provide information on the black hole formation and evolution. We present simulated observations of a X-ray binary system with the…
Photons preferentially Compton scatter perpendicular to the plane of polarisation. This property can be exploited to design instruments to measure the linear polarisation of hard X-rays ($\sim$10 - 100 keV). Photons may undergo two…
The origin of the high-energy emission in astrophysical jets from black holes is a highly debated issue. This is particularly true for jets from supermassive black holes that are among the most powerful particle accelerators in the…
Accreting X-ray pulsars (XRPs) are presumably ideal targets for polarization measurements, as their high magnetic field strength is expected to polarize the emission up to a polarization degree of ~80%. However, such expectations are being…
We review the state of the art for measuring the X-ray polarization of neutron stars. We discuss how valuable precision measurements of the degree and position angle of polarization as a function of energy and, where relevant, of pulse…
Accretion onto black holes often leads to the launch of outflows that significantly influence their surrounding environments. The two primary forms of these outflows are X-ray disk winds-hot, ionized gases ejected from the accretion…
X-ray appearance of normal galaxies is mainly determined by X-ray binaries powered by accretion onto a neutron star or a stellar mass black hole. Their populations scale with the star-formation rate and stellar mass of the host galaxy and…
Super-Eddington accretion onto compact objects is expected to produce optically thick outflows with a funnel-shaped cavity that may collimate the emission. At inclinations higher than the grazing angle of the funnel, the central source is…
Radio and X-ray emission from compact sources with accretion disks (active galactic nuclei, pulsars and X-ray binaries) is considered. It is shown that both radio and X-ray emission from these sources can be interpreted as emission of a hot…
A solid theoretical understanding of how inflowing, accreting plasma around black holes and other compact objects gives rise to outflowing winds and jets is still lacking, despite decades of observations. The fact that similar processes and…
Accreting X-ray pulsars, located in X-ray binaries, are neutron stars with magnetic fields as strong as $B\sim10^{12\text{--}13}$ G. This review offers a concise overview of the accretion and radiation processes of X-ray pulsars and…
We present the first first X-ray polarization measurements of a white dwarf, the intermediate polar EX Hya. We measured significant polarization only in the 2 -- 3 keV energy band with a polarization degree of 8 percent at a $3\sigma$…
Galactic black hole (BH) X-ray binaries are known to exhibit episodic outbursts, during which accretion and spectral mode distinctively transition between low/hard and high/soft state. X-ray observations during high/soft state occasionally…
This white paper highlights compact object and fundamental physics science opportunities afforded by high-throughput broadband (0.1-60 keV) X-ray polarization observations. X-ray polarimetry gives new observables with geometric information…
Large scale, strong magnetic fields are often evoked in black hole accretion flows, for jet launching in the low/hard state and to circumvent the thermal instability in the high/soft state. Here we show how these ideas are strongly…
In the magnetar model, the quiescent non-thermal soft X-ray emission from Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft-Gamma Repeaters is thought to arise from resonant comptonization of thermal photons by charges moving in a twisted magnetosphere.…