Related papers: A New Model for Black Hole Soft X-ray Transients i…
When the mass accretion rate onto a black hole (BH) falls below a critical rate, ${\dot M}_{crit}\sim \alpha^2 {\dot M}_{Edd}$, accretion can occur via a hot optically thin flow where most of the dissipated energy is advected inward. We…
Using the black hole transient X-ray source A0620-00 as an example we study the physical interplay of three theoretical constituents for modelling these transient sources: (1) the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) onto the central…
The observations and theory of the exciting new class of galactic black hole X-ray transients is reviewed. Seven of these systems have measured mass functions or mass estimates in excess of stable neutron stars, making them excellent black…
We have analyzed archival ASCA data on the soft X-ray transient source V404 Cyg in quiescence. We find that in the energy range 0.7 to 8.5 keV the spectrum is a hard power-law with a photon spectral index between 1.8 and 2.6 (90% confidence…
The formation of a cool disk in the innermost regions of black hole X-ray transient systems in the low hard state is investigated. Taking into account the combined cooling associated with the Compton and conductive energy transport…
The outburst cycles of black hole X-ray transients are now generally understood as caused by a thermal instability in the accretion disk, the same mechanism as in dwarf novae outbursts. During quiescence the accretion occurs via a cool disk…
Recent observations of two black hole candidates (GX 339-4 and J1753.5-0127) in the low-hard state (L_X/L_Edd ~ 0.003-0.05) suggest the presence of a cool accretion disk very close to the innermost stable orbit of the black hole. This runs…
Accretion of matter onto black holes is universally associated with strong radiative feedback and powerful outflows. In particular, black hole transients show outflows whose properties are strongly coupled to those of the accretion flow.…
We report results from a systematic study of X-ray emission from black hole transients in quiescence. In this state mass accretion is thought to follow the geometry of an outer optically thick, geometrically thin disc and an inner optically…
A phenomenological model of X-ray variability of accreting black holes is considered, where the variable emission is attributed to multiple active regions/perturbations moving radially towards the central black hole. The hard X-rays are…
We investigate the transition of a radiatively inefficient phase of a viscous two temperature accreting flow to a cooling dominated phase and vice versa around black holes. Based on a global sub-Keplerian accretion disc model in steady…
Many black hole X-ray transients are in a low state for several decades until an outburst occurs. We interpret this outburst behaviour as a marginal occurrence of a dwarf nova type disk instability in the cool outer accretion disk. We…
Observed spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and luminous X-ray binaries in our Galaxy suggest that both hot (~10^9 K) and cold (~10^6 K) plasma components exist close to the central accreting black hole. Hard X-ray component of the…
In this paper, we summarize key observational constraints of the accretion flow on the black hole X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 (Cyg X-1). The discussion highlights the flows of energy close to the black hole and the importance of the distance…
We report results of Chandra X-ray and VLA radio observations of the Galactic accreting black hole V404 Cyg (GS 2023+338) in its quiescent state. V404 Cyg is detected at its faintest level of radio and X-ray emission with a 0.5-10 keV…
We present Chandra observations of black hole X-ray novae V404 Cyg, A0620-00, GRO J1655-40 and XTE J1550-564 in quiescence. Their quiescent spectra can be well fitted by a power-law model with slope $\alpha \sim 2$. While a coronal…
To understand the origin of hard X-ray emissions from black hole X-ray binaries during their low/hard states, we calculate the X-ray spectra of black-hole accretion flow for the following three configurations of hot and cool media: (a) an…
It is commonly believed that the optical/UV and X-ray emissions in luminous AGN are produced in an accretion disk and an embedded hot corona respectively. The inverse Compton scattering of disk photons by hot electrons in the corona can…
We present a self-consistent model of accretion flows which unifies four distinct spectral states observed in black hole X-ray binaries: quiescent, low, intermediate and high states. In the quiescent, low and intermediate states, the flow…
We present HST/ACS ultraviolet photometry of three quiescent black hole X-ray transients: X-ray Nova Muscae 1991 (GU Mus), GRO J0422+32 (V518 Per), and X-ray Nova Vel 1993 (MM Vel), and one neutron star system, Aql X-1. These are the first…