Related papers: News from Galactic Black Holes
Observations of the Galactic bulge revealed an excess of short-timescale gravitational microlensing events that are generally attributed to a large population of free-floating or wide-orbit exoplanets. However, in recent years, some authors…
Microlensing campaigns have a long history of observations covering the Galactic bulge, where thousands of detections have been obtained, including many exoplanetary systems. The Euclid Galactic Bulge Survey represents a unique opportunity…
We attempt to identify all microlensing parallax events for which the parallax fit improves \Delta\chi^2 > 100 relative to a standard microlensing model. We outline a procedure to identify three types of discrete degeneracies (including a…
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…
In this paper, we discuss how globular clusters (GCs) structural and observational properties can be used to infer the presence of a black hole system (BHS) inhabiting their inner regions. We propose a novel way to identify the BHS size,…
Gravitational microlensing is a phenomenon that allows us to observe dark remnants of stellar evolution even if they no longer emit electromagnetic radiation. In particular, it can be useful to observe solitary neutron stars or stellar-mass…
In recent years, unprecedented progress has been achieved regarding black holes' observation through the electromagnetic channel. The images of the supermassive black holes M87$^{*}$ and Sgr A$^{*}$ released by the Event Horizon Telescope…
We measure black hole masses for 71 BL Lac objects from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with redshifts out to z~0.4. We perform spectral decompositions of their nuclei from their host galaxies and measure their stellar velocity dispersions.…
It is shown that there are large static black holes for which all curvature invariants are small near the event horizon, yet any object which falls in experiences enormous tidal forces outside the horizon. These black holes are charged and…
We present the first systematic search for microlensing events with variability in their baselines using data from the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III). A total of 137 candidates (88 new) was discovered…
We review the spectral properties of the black hole candidate Cygnus X-1. Specifically, we discuss two recent sets of multi-satellite observations. One comprises a 0.5-500 keV spectrum, obtained with every flying X-ray satellite at that…
We report the discovery of a large timescale candidate microlensing event of a bulge stellar source based on near-infrared observations with the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV). The new microlensing event is projected only…
Many black hole (BH) candidates exist, ranging from supermassive ($\sim10^{6}$--$10^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$) to stellar masses ($\sim 1$--$100$ M$_{\odot}$), all of them identified by indirect processes. Although there are no known candidate BHs…
Black-hole binaries are important sources through which studying accretion onto compact objects. In the X/gamma-ray domain, these objects show several and complex spectral behaviours and transitions. Based on INTEGRAL observations collected…
It has been justifiably questioned that if the Black Hole Candidates (BHCs) have a ``hard surface'' why Type I X-ray bursts are not seen from them (Nayayan, R., Black Holes in Astrophysics, New J. Phys., 7, 199-218, 2005). It is pointed out…
Globular clusters have been alternatively predicted to host intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) or nearly impossible to form and retain them in their centres. Over the last decade enough theoretical and observational evidence have…
The origin of supermassive black holes (SMBH) in galaxy centers still remains uncertain. There are two possible ways of their formation - from massive ($10^5 - 10^6 M_{\odot}$) and low-mass ($100 M_{\odot}$) BH nuclei. The latter scenario…
Proof that black holes exist will likely require confirmation of the existence of event horizons. The common assumption that the mere existence of large compact masses proves the case for black holes is an unwarranted extrapolation of…
The possibility of creating microscopic black holes is one of the most exciting predictions for the LHC, with potentially major consequences for our current understanding of physics. We briefly review the theoretical motivation for micro…