Related papers: Modeling The Time Variability of Accreting Compact…
We present the first detection from the Spitzer Space Telescope of 4.5 micron variability from Sgr A*, the emitting source associated with the Milky Way's central black hole. The >23 hour continuous light curve was obtained with the IRAC…
We present the use of continuous-time autoregressive moving average (CARMA) models as a method for estimating the variability features of a light curve, and in particular its power spectral density (PSD). CARMA models fully account for…
We study spectra generated by Comptonization of soft photons by cold electrons radially free-falling onto a black hole. We use a Monte Carlo method involving a fully relativistic description of Comptonization in the Kerr space-time. In…
Fourier power spectra and phases of a signal from a large number of radiating sources orbiting around a black hole are investigated. It is assumed that the individual sources (bright spots) are located in an accretion disc and their…
The spatiotemporal content of a black-hole movie is set jointly by source variability and by the distribution of light-travel times across the image. In the slow-light prescription, an image evaluated at fixed observer time contains photons…
The Galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105 exhibits various types of light curves. There is, however, no understanding of when a certain type of light curve will be exhibited and only in a handful of cases, the transitions from one type to…
We improved the discless accretion models of Wynn \& King, considering the effects of the changing aspect due to the white dwarf spin and the variable feeding intensity caused by the asynchronism, and set up a more general spot model which…
Most general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of black hole (BH) hot accretion flows are initialized with small rotating tori and produce stable jets with only small fluctuations. However, recent studies using larger scale…
A simple, analytical fitting-formula for a photometric light curve of a source of light orbiting around a black hole is presented. The formula is applicable for sources on a circular orbit with radius smaller than 45 gravitational radii…
The light curves of variable stars are commonly described using simple trigonometric models, that make use of the assumption that the model parameters are constant in time. This assumption, however, is often violated, and consequently, time…
XMM-Newton X-ray spectra of the hard state Black Hole X-Ray Binaries (BHXRBs) SWIFT J1753.5-0127 and GX 339-4 show evidence for accretion disc blackbody emission, in addition to hard power-laws. The soft and hard band Power-Spectral…
Uncorrelated variability between direct X-ray continuum and reflection components (including the Fe line, if present) has been reported in many accreting black hole systems, challenging theoretical models of disc reflection. We explore a…
Sub milli-arcsecond astrometry and imaging of the black hole Sgr A* at the Galactic centre may become possible in the near future at infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths. Motivated by observations of short-term infrared and X-ray…
We analyse the properties of the Comptonizing medium in the black-hole X-ray binary Swift J1727.8$-$1613 using the time-dependent Comptonization model vkompth, using NICER observations of type-C QPOs in the hard and hard-intermediate…
The models that seek to explain the reflection spectrum in black hole binaries usually invoke a point-like primary source of hard X-rays. This source illuminates the accretion disk and gives rise to the discrete (lines) and…
These notes resulted from a series of lectures at the IAC winter school. They are designed to help students, especially those just starting in subject, to get hold of the fundamental tools used to study accretion powered sources. As such,…
In the static and infalling spherical-shell models of optically thin accretion on Schwarzschild black hole, the formulas for the integrated intensities observed by a distant observer are derived, and by taking the monochromatic emission…
The nature of the broad-band spectra of supermassive accreting black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still unknown. The hard X-ray spectra of Seyferts as well as of Galactic stellar-mass black holes (GBHs) are well represented by…
Giant planets generate accretion luminosity as they form. Much of this energy is radiated in strong H$\alpha$ line emission, which has motivated direct imaging surveys at optical wavelengths to search for accreting protoplanets. However,…
The eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary 4U is the prototypical accretion disk corona (ADC) system. We have obtained new time-resolved UV spectrograms of 4U with the Hubble Space Telescope and new V- and J-band light curves with the 1.3-m SMARTS…