Related papers: Spectral transitions in X-ray Binaries
Accretion disks around stellar-mass black holes (BHs) emit radiation peaking in the soft X-rays when the source is in the thermal state. The emerging photons are polarized and, for symmetry reasons, the polarization integrated over the…
Dark matter overdensities around black holes can alter the dynamical evolution of a companion object orbiting around it, and cause a dephasing of the gravitational waveform. Here, we present a refined calculation of the co-evolution of the…
Accreting black holes radiate in one of several spectral states, switching from one to another for reasons that are as yet not understood. Using the best studied example, Cyg X-1, we identify the geometry and physical conditions…
We present X-ray spectral variability of 24 local active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Palomar sample of nearby galaxies, as observed mainly by Swift. From hardness ratio measurements, we find that 18 AGN with low accretion rates show…
We present a model for the prediction of the optical/infra-red emission from ULXs. In the model, ULXs are binary systems with accretion taking place through Roche lobe overflow. We show that irradiation effects and presence of an accretion…
The observed evolution of the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) in NS X-ray Nova Aql X-1 during the rise phase of a bright FRED-type outburst in 2013 can be understood in the framework of thermal emission from unstationary…
We consider the evolution of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) surrounded by a retrograde accretion disk. Assuming the disk is exactly in the binary plane and transfers energy and angular momentum to the binary via direct gas…
The spectra of radio quiet and NLS1 galaxies show suprising similarity in their shape. They seem to scale only with the accretion rate but not with central black hole mass. We consider two mechanisms modifying the disk spectrum. First, the…
Astronomers have discovered many potential black holes in X-ray binaries and galactic nuclei. These black holes are usually identified by the fact that they are too massive to be neutron stars. Until recently, however, there was no…
Astronomers have discovered many potential black holes in X-ray binaries and galactic nuclei. These black holes are usually identified by the fact that they are too massive to be neutron stars. Until recently, however, there was no…
Improved observations of globular clusters are uncovering a large number of radio pulsars and of X-ray sources. The latter include binaries in which a neutron star or a white dwarf accretes matter from a companion, recycled pulsars, and…
In this article we consider the formation and evolution of black holes, especially those in binary stars where radiation from the matter falling on them can be seen. We consider a number of effects introduced by some of us, which are not…
Binary stars are common. While only those with small separations may exchange gas with one another, even the widest binaries interact with their gaseous surroundings. Drag forces and accretion rates dictate how these systems are transformed…
The stellar ejection rate and the rates of change of the binary semimajor axis and eccentricity are derived from scattering experiments for the restricted three-body problem. They are used to study the evolution of binaries in simple models…
We analyze the dynamical evolution of binary stars that interact with a static background of single stars in the environment of a massive black hole (MBH). All stars are considered to be single mass, Newtonian point particles. We follow the…
The fluctuating accretion model of Lyubarskii (1997) and its extension by Kotov et al. (2001), seeks to explain the spectral-timing properties of the X-ray variability of accreting black holes in terms of inward-propagating mass accretion…
The inner radius of the accretion disc around a black hole in the low/hard state can be measured in one of two ways. Firstly, via the extent of broadening of the iron emission line, and secondly, from the luminosity and temperature of the…
We study an accretion flow during the gravitational-wave driven evolution of binary massive black holes. After the binary orbit decays due to an interaction with a massive circumbinary disk, the binary is decoupled from the circumbinary…
We investigate whether the intrinsic spin of neutron stars leaves an observable imprint on the spectral properties of X-ray binaries. To evaluate this we consider a sample of nine NSs for which the spins have been measured that are not…
We present a survey of how the spectral features of black hole X-ray binary systems depend on spin, accretion rate, viewing angle, and Fe abundance when predicted on the basis of first principles physical calculations. The power law…