Black holes: accretion processes in X-ray binaries

TL;DR

This review discusses the astrophysical processes of black hole accretion, especially in X-ray binary systems, covering theoretical models, observational signatures, and their significance in high-energy astrophysics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of black hole accretion mechanisms, models, and observational features specific to X-ray binaries, integrating recent developments.

Findings

Different accretion models explained, from thin disks to advective flows.

Observational signatures like spectral states and variability are detailed.

Black hole accretion processes are key to understanding luminous cosmic phenomena.

Abstract

Accretion onto black holes is one of the most efficient energy source in the Universe. Black hole accretion powers some of the most luminous objects in the universe, including quasars, active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole X-ray transients. In the present review, we give an astrophysical overview of black hole accretion processes, with a particular focus on black hole X-ray binary systems. In Section 1, we briefly introduce the basic paradigms of black hole accretion. Physics related to accretion onto black holes are introduced in Section 2. Models proposed for black hole accretion are discussed in this section, from the Shakura-Sunyaev thin disk accretion to the advective-dominated accretion flow. Observational signatures that make contact to stellar-mass black hole accretion are introduced in Section 3, including the spectral and fast variability properties. A short conclusion is given in Section 4.