States and transitions in black-hole binaries

By T. Belloni. 2009

220 citations recorded by the source corpus.

With the availability of the large database of black-hole transients from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, the observed phenomenology has become very complex. The original classification of the properties of these systems in a series of static states sorted by mass accretion rate proved not to be able to encompass the new picture. I outline here a summary of the current situation and show that a coherent picture emerges when simple properties such as X-ray spectral hardness and fractional variability are considered. In particular, fast transition in the properties of the fast time variability appear to be crucial to describe the evolution of black-hole transients. Based on this picture, I present a state classification which takes into account the observed transitions. I show that, in addition to transients systems, other black-hole binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei can be interpreted within this framework. The association between these states and the physics of the accretion flow around black holes will be possible only through modeling of the full time evolution of galactic transient systems.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Atmospheric Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e9867de67b02f008c7d29f0e3e01ae7a2c4e8c43

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Robert P. Fender
2. T. Belloni
3. S. Motta
4. G. Sivakoff
5. C. Heinke
6. J. Gladstone
7. B. Tetarenko
8. A. Tzioumis

In Atmospheric Science

1. M. Méndez
2. Andrea P. Sanna
3. G. Sivakoff
4. J. Gladstone
5. B. Tetarenko
6. C. Heinke
7. S. Motta
8. A. Ingram

Citations in the corpus

• High-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in black hole binaries (2012, methodology): “The four detections from GRO J1655-40 correspond to the “anomalous state” described in Belloni (2010).”
• A review of quasi-periodic oscillations from black hole X-ray binaries: Observation and theory (2019, background): “ince the hardness and the fractional rms variability amplitude are tightly correlated, the rms decreases during the state transition and is very low (sometimes consistent with zero) in the soft state [25]. Shortly before or just after the transition to the soft state, a few sources enter the so call”
• WATCHDOG: A COMPREHENSIVE ALL-SKY DATABASE OF GALACTIC BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES (2015, methodology): “Using XMM and INTEGRAL, Sidoli et al. (2011) were able to obtain the first broadband spectrum, dominated by a power-law with a slope consistent with the canonical range for BHXBs in the HCS (Γ ∼ 1.5− 1.7; Belloni 2010).”
• Radiatively efficient accreting black holes in the hard state: the case study of H1743-322 (2011, background): “These spectral characteristics are also coupled to different levels of X-ray variability (see e.g., van der Klis 2006; Belloni 2010, for a review).”