Time lag in transient galactic and extragalactic accreting sources

TL;DR

This paper investigates the time delays between low-energy and high-energy emissions in accreting sources like X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei, highlighting observational evidence and physical implications of these lags.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive analysis of time lags in various accreting systems, linking observational data with physical processes in galactic and extragalactic sources.

Findings

Delay observed in X-ray/Be system A0535+26/HDE245770

Time lags also present in cataclysmic variables and systems with neutron stars or black holes

Discussion of tidal disruption events by massive black holes

Abstract

X-ray binaries are cauldrons of fundamental physical processes which appear along practically the whole electromagnetic spectrum. The sub-class of X-ray transient sources show multifrequency behaviour which deserve particular attention in order to understand the causing physics. These binary systems consist of a compact star and an optical star, therefore there is a mutual influence between these two stars that drive the low energy (LE) (i.e. radio, IR, optical) and high energy (HE) (i.e. UV, X-ray, $\gamma$-ray) processes. The LE processes are produced mostly on the optical star and the HE processes mostly on the compact star, typically a neutron star. Thus it appears evident that through the study of LE processes it is possible to understand also the HE processes and vice versa. In this paper we will discuss this problem starting from the experimental evidence of a delay between LE and HE processes detected for the first time in the X-ray/Be system A0535+26/HDE245770 (e.g. Giovannelli \& Sabau-Graziati, 2011; Giovannelli, Bisnovatyi-Kogan \& Klepnev, 2013 (here after GBK13); Giovannelli et al., 2015b). This delay is common in cataclysmic variables (CVs) and other binary systems with either a neutron star or a black hole. Since a delay between LE processes and HE processes has been experimentally observed in several active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we will discuss also the tidal disruption of stars by massive BHs, following the original idea of Rees (1998): stars in galactic nuclei can be captured or tidally disrupted by a central black hole. Some debris would be ejected at high speed, the remainder would be swallowed by the hole, causing a bright flare lasting at most a few years.