Related papers: Compact Objects and Accretion Disks
This work is intended to provide an introduction to multiwavelength observations of low-mass X-ray binaries and the techniques used to analyze and interpret their data. The focus will primarily be on ultraviolet, optical, and infrared…
We study the benefits of polarimetry observations of microlensing events to detect and characterize circumstellar disks around the microlensed stars located at the Galactic bulge. These disks which are unresolvable from their host stars…
Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious radiation…
Compact object binaries (a black hole or a neutron star orbiting a non-degenerate stellar companion) are key to our understanding of late massive star evolution, in addition to being some of the best probes of extreme gravity and accretion…
A critical review is presented of the current status of our understanding of the the spectral output of thermally-radiating accretion disks around black holes, with special attention to those around supermassive black holes in active…
We describe a new numerical algorithm for ray tracing in the external spacetimes of spinning compact objects characterized by arbitrary quadrupole moments. Such spacetimes describe non-Kerr vacuum solutions that can be used to test the…
Black hole spectroscopy is an important pillar when studying gravitational waves from black holes and enables tests of general relativity. Most of the gravitational-wave signals observed over the last decade originate from binary black hole…
Polarimetry provides key physical information on the properties of interacting binary systems, sometimes difficult to obtain by any other type of observation. Indeed, radiation processes such as scattering by free electrons in the hot…
Neutron stars and black holes are the astrophysical systems with the strongest gravitational fields in the universe. In this article, I review the prospect of probing with observations of such compact objects some of the most intriguing…
Microquasars are compact objects (stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars) that mimic, on a smaller scale, many of the phenomena seen in quasars. Their discovery provided new insights into the physics of relativistic jets observed…
These lectures provide an overview of the theory of accretion disks with application to bright sources containing black holes. I focus on the fundamental physics of these flows, stressing modern developments and outstanding questions…
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy sources. Examples of interesting source classes are binary black hole systems, rotation and accretion powered neutron stars, Microquasars, Active Galactic…
This chapter briefly discusses the fundamental properties of black holes in general relativity, the discovery of astrophysical black holes and their main astronomical observations, how X-ray and $\gamma$-ray facilities can study these…
Accretion onto black holes often proceeds via an accretion disc or a temporary disc-like pattern. Variability features, observed in the light curves of such objects, and theoretical models of accretion flows suggest that accretion discs are…
We study polarization from scattering of light on a cloud in radial motion along the symmetry axis of an accretion disk. Radiation drag from the disk and gravitational attraction of the central black hole are taken into account, as well as…
With current terrestrial gravitational wave detectors working at initial design sensitivities, and upgrades and space missions planned, it is likely that in the next five to ten years gravitational radiation will be detected directly from a…
The black hole paradigm, while remarkably successful, raises fundamental questions-both classical and quantum-about the nature of spacetime, horizons, and singularities. Black hole mimickers, horizonless ultra-compact objects, have emerged…
Time-resolved optical and infrared polarimetric observations of black hole and neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries are presented. Data were acquired with the VLT, UKIRT and HIPPO on the SAAO 1.9-m. We find that for some sources in…
The idea of extra spatial dimensions arises from attempts to unify gravity with other fundamental interactions, develop a consistent theory of quantum gravity, and address open problems in particle physics and cosmology. Considerable…
The polarization state of starlight reflected by a planetary atmosphere uniquely reveals coverage, particle size, and composition of aerosols as well as changing cloud patterns. It is not possible to obtain a comparable level of detailed…