Related papers: Microquasars: disk-jet coupling in stellar-mass bl…
We discuss the problem of the formation of a large-scale magnetic field in the accretion disks around black holes, taking into account the non-uniform vertical structure of the disk. The high electrical conductivity of the outer layers of…
I review recent progress in the theory of relativistic jet production, with special emphasis on unifying black hole sources of stellar and supermassive size. Observations of both classes of objects, as well as theoretical considerations,…
Accreting black holes are observed to launch relativistic, collimated jets of matter and radiation. In some sources, discrete ejections have been detected with highly relativistic velocities. These particular sources typically have very…
Massive black holes are fundamental constituents of our cosmos, from the Big Bang to today. Understanding their formation from cosmic dawn, their growth, and the emergence of the first, rare quasars in the early Universe remains one of our…
Stellar-mass black holes (BHs), with masses comparable to stars, are a major constituent of our Milky Way galaxy. This chapter describes the landscape of challenging, and long-sought efforts to identify these objects in the Galaxy. The…
The study of stellar-remnant black holes (BH) in dense stellar clusters is now in the spotlight, especially due to their intrinsic ability to form binary black holes (BBH) through dynamical encounters, that potentially coalesce via…
Astronomers have discovered two populations of black holes: (i) stellar-mass black holes with masses in the range 5 to 30 solar masses, millions of which are present in each galaxy in the universe, and (ii) supermassive black holes with…
The stellar dynamical evolution of massive star clusters formed during starburst periods leads to the segregation of $\gtrsim10^4 M_\odot$ stellar-mass black hole sub-clusters in their centres. In gas-rich environments, such as galactic…
Relativistic jets have been found for decades as a key phenomenon in active galactic nuclei (AGNs), compact binary systems, and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), yet their energy resources remain a mystery. Two competing ideas prevail: one…
We review the plasma phenomenology in the astrophysical sources which show appreciable radio emissions, namely Radio-Jets from Pulsars, Microquasars, Quasars and Radio-Active Galaxies. A description of their basic features is presented,…
The aim of this short paper is to motivate and encourage research in the field of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Here we summarize the main open questions concerning the central engine. Is the central black hole rapidly spinning and can we…
The power carried by the jet of blazars is large, compared to the luminosity produced by their accretion disk, and is probably in the form of kinetic energy of a normal electron-proton plasma. The Poynting flux is modest, as suggested by…
In this paper we discuss the recent advances in the quantitative comparison of accretion, and the accretion:jet coupling, in accreting black holes in both X-ray binaries (where M ~ 10Msun) and Active Galactic Nuclei (10^5Msun < M <…
High-resolution observations of the central few 100 pc of the galactic nuclear environments remain prohibitive for large statistical samples, which are crucial for tracing the links between central black hole formation, galaxy formation and…
Astrophysical implications of gravitational microlensing of gravitational waves emitted by rotating neutron stars (NSs) are investigated. In particular, attention is focused on the following situations: i) NSs in the galactic bulge lensed…
Microquasars are stellar-mass black holes accreting matter from a companion star and ejecting plasma jets at almost the speed of light. They are analogues of quasars that contain supermassive black holes of $10^6$ to $10^{10}$ solar masses.…
Since the seminal work of Penrose (1969) and Blandford & Znajek (1977), it has been realized that black hole spin may be an important energy source in astrophysics. The radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy in the AGN population is usually…
Masses of black holes in nearby galactic nuclei can be measured in a variety of ways, using stellar and gaseous kinematics. Reliable black hole masses are known for several dozen objects, so that demographic questions can start to be…
Relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei represent one of the most powerful phenomena in the Universe. They form in the surroundings of the supermassive black holes as a by-product of accretion onto the central black hole in active…
Galactic nuclei are unique laboratories for the study of processes connected with the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes. At the same time, they represent challenging environments from the point of view of stellar dynamics due…