Related papers: Compact Objects and Accretion Disks
Current observations of double neutron stars provide us with a wealth of information that we can use to investigate their evolutionary history and the physical conditions of neutron star formation. Understanding this history and formation…
In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of…
We present recent developments on numerical algorithms for computing photon and particle trajectories in the surrounding of compact objects. Strong gravity around neutron stars or black holes causes relativistic effects on the motion of…
I shall briefly review the observational properties of radio-emitting jets from Galactic X-ray binaries in relation with other wavebands: infrared, optical and X-ray. Special attention is paid to recent results obtained with the Spitzer…
The precision era of multi-messenger astronomy, together with modern astrophysical, cosmological, and gravitational wave observations, increasingly points toward the existence of a ``dark" sector that cannot be explained within the…
One of the possible explanations for dark matter is that of compact dark objects of baryonic origin, such as black holes or even planets. Accumulating evidence, including the discovery of merging stellar mass black holes through…
Electromagnetic observations have been used over the past decades to understand the nature of black holes and the material around them. Our ability to learn about the fundamental physics relies on our understanding of two key ingredients in…
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…
X-ray polarimetry is a fine tool to probe the accretion geometry and physical processes operating in the proximity of compact objects, black holes and neutron stars. Recent discoveries made by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer put our…
Precise knowledge of the features of several X-ray sources from compact binary sources to galactic nuclei is gradually unveiling the physical parameters of relativistic neutron stars and black holes therein. Recent developments in theory,…
The optical appearance of a body compact enough to feature an unstable bound orbit, when surrounded by an accretion disk, is expected to be dominated by a luminous ring of radiation enclosing a central brightness depression typically known…
This resource letter is designed to guide students, educators, and researchers through (some of) the literature on black holes. Both the physics and astrophysics of black holes are discussed. Breadth has been emphasized over depth, and…
The population of solitary compact objects in the Galaxy is very diffcult to investigate. In this paper we analyze the possibility of using microlensing searches to detect and to analyze the properties of the solitary black holes and…
General relativity has passed all solar system experiments and neutron star based tests, such as binary pulsar observations, with flying colors. A more exotic arena for testing general relativity is in systems that contain one or more black…
This is a collection of notes to calculate electromagnetic spectra of geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disks around black holes. The presentation is intentionally pedagogical and most calculations are reported step by step.…
The coalescence of close binary systems with two compact objects (neutron stars and black holes) are considered to be promising sources of gravitational waves for the currently built laser interferometers. Here, I review the current…
These lectures aim at providing an introduction to the properties of gravitational waves and in particular to those gravitational waves that are expected as a consequence of perturbations of black holes and neutron stars. Imprinted in the…
Microcalorimeters have demonstrated success in delivering high spectral resolution, and have paved the path to revolutionary new science possibilities in the coming decade of X-ray astronomy. There are several research areas in compact…
Observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) have led to fundamental progress in the study of compact objects, in particular neutron stars and black holes. In this paper we present briefly some highlights from ~5 years of RXTE…
Numerical relativity is the most promising tool for theoretically modeling the inspiral and coalescence of neutron star and black hole binaries, which, in turn, are among the most promising sources of gravitational radiation for future…