Related papers: Black hole accretion discs: reality confronts theo…
We present calculations of non-LTE, relativistic accretion disk models applicable to the high/soft state of black hole X-ray binaries. We include the effects of thermal Comptonization and bound-free and free-free opacities of all abundant…
A common assumption used in the study of accretion disks is that the magnetic energy density and the kinetic energy density should be in equipartition. This assumption relies on the faster growth rate of the magnetic field strength against…
Recently, the issue of the role of the Eddington limit in accretion discs became a matter of debate. While the classical (spherical) Eddington limit is certainly an over-simplification, it is not really clear how to treat it in a flattened…
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…
Accretion in black hole X-ray binaries is commonly believed to be supplied by the Roche lobe overflow or the stellar wind. The former is thought to form a geometrically thin disc while the diffuse wind could form a geometrically thick hot…
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.…
Some ultraluminous X-ray sources in nearby galaxies show soft components resembling thermal disc emission. Calculations based on blackbody emission then indicate that the accreting black holes at the centres of these discs have masses of…
Models of black hole accretion disks are reviewed, with an emphasis on the theory of hard X-ray production. The following models are considered: i) standard, ii) super-critical, iii) two-temperature, and iv) disk+corona. New developments…
We study an accretion disc with a hot continuous corona. We assume that the corona itself accretes and therefore it is powered directly by the release of the gravitational energy and cooled by radiative interaction with the disc. We…
We extend the model of King et al. (2004) for variability in black hole accretion discs, by taking proper account of the thermal properties of the disc. Because the degree of variability in the King et al. (2004) model depends sensitively…
The two established techniques for measuring black hole spin in X-ray binaries often yield conflicting results, which must be resolved before either method may be deemed robust. In practice, black hole spin measurements based on fitting the…
Relativistic reflection features in the X-ray spectra of black hole binaries and AGNs are thought to be produced through illumination of a cold accretion disk by a hot corona. In this work, we assume that the corona has the shape of an…
We show that a standard Shakura-Sunyaev accretion disc around a black hole with an accretion rate lower than the critical Eddington limit does show the instability in the radiation pressure dominated zone. We obtain this result performing…
In this paper I review and discuss the basic concepts of accretion disks, focused especially on the case of accretion disks around black holes. The well known alpha-model is revisited, showing the strengths and weaknesses of the model.…
We provide a unified description of thermal equilibria of black hole accretion disks, including the newly-discovered advection-dominated solutions. We classify the solutions on the basis of optical depth and importance of advection cooling.…
Relativistic reflection features are commonly observed in the X-ray spectra of stellar-mass and supermassive black holes and originate from illumination of the inner part of the accretion disk by a hot corona. All the available relativistic…
The accretion-ejection activities of black holes play a vital role in shaping the Universe. Bright and recurrent black hole X-ray binaries are ideal objects for studying accretion physics across a wide range of accretion rates, providing…
It has been found that a class of optically-thin two-temperature advection-dominated accretion solutions explains many observations of low-luminosity accreting black holes. Here it is shown that these models give a satisfactory description…
We model the overall shape of an accretion disc in a semi-detached binary system in which mass is transfered on to a spinning black hole the spin axis of which is misaligned with the orbital rotation axis. We assume the disc is in a steady…
We study a truncated accretion disk using a well-resolved, semi-global magnetohydrodynamic simulation that is evolved for many dynamical times (6096 inner disk orbits). The spectral properties of hard state black hole binary systems and…