Related papers: A limit for the mass transfer rate in soft X-ray t…
The outburst cycles of black hole X-ray transients are now generally understood as caused by a thermal instability in the accretion disk, the same mechanism as in dwarf novae outbursts. During quiescence the accretion occurs via a cool disk…
Using the black hole transient X-ray source A0620-00 as an example we study the physical interplay of three theoretical constituents for modelling these transient sources: (1) the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) onto the central…
We discuss two mechanisms that could result in an enhancement of the mass transfer rate during outbursts of dwarf novae and soft X-ray transients: the hot outer disc rim itself could heat the L1 point and scattered radiation by optically…
The outbursts of black hole X-ray transients can be understood as caused by a limit cycle instability in the accretion disk, similar to dwarf nova outbursts. For adequately low mass overflow rates from the companion star long outburst…
The theory of coronal evaporation predicts the formation of an inner hole in the cool thin accretion disk for mass accretion rates below a certain value (~ 1/50 of the Eddington mass accretion rate) and the sudden disappearance of this hole…
We suggest a new scenario to explain the outburst light curves of black hole soft X-ray transients together with the secondary maximum and the bump seen on their decay phases. Our explanations are based on the disk instability models…
In the canonical understanding of transient X-ray sources the accretion during quiescence occurs via a geometrically thin disk in the outer part and via an advection-dominated hot coronal flow/ADAF in the inner part. The inner part…
We show that the Keplerian thin disk in quiescent Soft X-ray Transients cannot extend down to the last stable orbit around the central black hole. We analyse the properties of the Narayan, McClintock & Yi (1996) model of quiescent Soft…
The most plausible mechanism for triggering the outburst of black hole candidate X-ray transients is the ionization thermal instability. The disk instability models can give the observed mass flow in quiescence, but not the X-ray spectrum.…
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…
We consider transient behavior in low-mass X-ray binaries. In short-period neutron-star systems (orbital period less than ~ 1d) irradiation of the accretion disk by the central source suppresses this except at very low mass transfer rates.…
The observations and theory of the exciting new class of galactic black hole X-ray transients is reviewed. Seven of these systems have measured mass functions or mass estimates in excess of stable neutron stars, making them excellent black…
I briefly review the theory of soft X-ray transient systems. Irradiation of the accretion disc faces by the central X-ray source determines both the occurrence and the nature of the outbursts, in particular forcing these to be long viscous…
We present models of the soft X-ray transients, A0620-00, V404 Cyg, and X-ray Nova Mus 1991, in quiescence. In each source, we postulate that there is an outer region, extending outward from about 3000 Schwarzschild radii, where the…
State transitions in black hole X-ray binaries are likely caused by gas evaporation from a thin accretion disk into a hot corona. We present a height-integrated version of this process which is suitable for analytical and numerical studies.…
We have accumulated multiwavelength (X-ray, optical, radio) lightcurves for the eight black hole X-ray binaries which have been observed to enter a supposed `soft X-ray transient' outburst, but remained in the low/hard state throughout the…
We have analyzed {\it Rossi} X-ray timing explorer (RXTE) pointed observations of the outbursts of black hole and neutron star soft X-ray transients in which an initial low/hard state or `island' state, followed by a transition to a softer…
Low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) with neutron stars show quite different features which depend on the rate of mass transfer from the donor star. With a high transfer rate the Z sources are in a persistent soft spectral state, with a moderate…
We have investigated the outburst properties of low-mass X-ray binary transients (LMXBTs) based on a comprehensive study of the outbursts observed in the past few decades. The outburst rates were estimated based on the X-ray monitoring data…
The outbursts of low mass X-ray binaries are prolonged relative to those of dwarf nova cataclysmic variables as a consequence of X-ray irradiation of the disc. We show that the time-scale of the decay light curve and its luminosity at a…