Mass Measurements of Stellar and Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

We discuss the method, and potential systematic effects therein, used for measuring the mass of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries. We restrict our discussion to the method that relies on the validity of Kepler’s laws; we refer to this method as the dynamical method. We briefly discuss the implications of the mass distribution of stellar-mass black holes and provide an outlook for future measurements. Further, we investigate the evidence for the existence of intermediate-mass black holes i.e. black holes with masses above 100 M_⊙, the limit to the black hole mass that can be produced by stellar evolution in the current Universe.     

Measuring the Masses of Supermassive Black Holes

Supermassive black holes reside at the centers of most, if not all, massive galaxies: the difference between active and quiescent galaxies is due to differences in mass accretion rate and radiative efficiency rather than whether or not they have nuclear black holes. In this contribution, methods for measuring the masses of supermassive black holes are discussed, with emphasis on reverberation mapping which is most generally applicable to accreting supermassive black holes and, in particular, to distant quasars where time resolution can be used as a surrogate for angular resolution. Indirect methods based on scaling relationships from reverberation mapping studies are also discussed, along with their current limitations.     

Observational Appearance of Black Holes in X-Ray Binaries and AGN

Accretion onto black holes powers most luminous compact sources in the Universe. Black holes are found with masses extending over an extraordinary broad dynamic range, from several to a few billion times the mass of the Sun. Depending on their position on the mass scale, they may manifest themselves as X-ray binaries or active galactic nuclei. X-ray binaries harbor stellar mass black holes—endpoints of the evolution of massive stars. They have been studied by X-ray astronomy since its inception in the early 60-ies, however, the enigma of the most luminous of them—ultra-luminous X-ray sources, still remains unsolved. Supermassive black holes, lurking at the centers of galaxies, are up to hundreds of millions times more massive and give rise to the wide variety of different phenomena collectively termed “Active Galactic Nuclei”. The most luminous of them reach the Eddington luminosity limit for a few billions solar masses object and are found at redshifts as high as z≥5–7. Accretion onto supermassive black holes in AGN and stellar- and (possibly) intermediate mass black holes in X-ray binaries and ultra-luminous X-ray sources in star-forming galaxies can explain most, if not all, of the observed brightness of the cosmic X-ray background radiation. Despite the vast difference in the mass scale, accretion in X-ray binaries and AGN is governed by the same physical laws, so a degree of quantitative analogy among them is expected. Indeed, all luminous black holes are successfully described by the standard Shakura-Sunyaev theory of accretion disks, while the output of low-luminosity accreting black holes in the form of mechanical and radiative power of the associated jets obeys to a unified scaling relation, termed as the “fundamental plane of black holes”. From that standpoint, in this review we discuss formation of radiation in X-ray binaries and AGN, emphasizing their main similarities and differences, and examine our current knowledge of the demographics of stellar mass and supermassive black holes.     

Fast Variability from Black-Hole Binaries

Currently available information on fast variability of the X-ray emission from accreting collapsed objects constitutes a complex phenomenology which is difficult to interpret. We review the current observational standpoint for black-hole binaries and survey models that have been proposed to interpret it. Despite the complex structure of the accretion flow, key observational diagnostics have been identified which can provide direct access to the dynamics of matter motions in the close vicinity of black holes and thus to the some of fundamental properties of curved spacetimes, where strong-field general relativistic effects can be observed.     

Massive Binary Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei and Their Path to Coalescence

Massive binary black holes (10⁵ M_⊙–10⁹ M_⊙) form at the centre of galaxies that experience a merger episode. They are expected to coalesce into a larger black hole, following the emission of gravitational waves. Coalescing massive binary black holes are among the loudest sources of gravitational waves in the Universe, and the detection of these events is at the frontier of contemporary astrophysics. Understanding the black hole binary formation path and dynamics in galaxy’s mergers is therefore mandatory. A key question poses: during a merger, will the black holes descend over time on closer orbits, form a Keplerian binary and coalesce shortly after? Here we review progress discussing the fate of black holes in different environments: from major mergers of collisionless galaxies to major and minor mergers of gas-rich disc galaxies, from smooth and clumpy circum-nuclear discs to circum-binary discs present on the smallest scales inside galactic nuclei.     

Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets

The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of the black hole’s accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a _? of the black hole (|a _?|<1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by this continuum-fitting method range widely from a _?≈0 to a _?>0.95. The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.     

Multi-Wavelength Variability

Multiwavelength variability data, combined with spectral-timing analysis techniques, provides information about the causal relationship between different physical components in accreting black holes. Using fast-timing data and long-term monitoring, we can probe the behaviour of the same components across the black hole mass scale. In this chapter we review the observational status of multiwavelength variability in accreting black holes, from black hole X-ray binaries to AGN, and consider the implications for models of accretion and ejection, primarily considering the evidence for accretion disc and jet variability in these systems. We end with a consideration of future prospects in this quickly-developing field.     

X-ray Spectroscopy of Astrophysical Dust

High spectral resolution X-ray instruments on powerful X-ray satellites (e.g. Chandra, XMM-Newton) pointed through dust and gas at bright black holes and neutron stars can be used to study dust and intervening material in unique ways. With the new subfield of Condensed Matter Astrophysics as its goal, I will discuss current efforts to combine techniques and knowledge from condensed matter physics and astrophysics to determine the species-specific quantity and composition of interstellar gas and dust in the ISM and ionized environments. Prospects for improving on this work in future X-ray missions with higher throughput and spectral resolution are also presented in the context of spectral resolution goals for gratings and calorimeters.     

Scaling Relations from Stellar to Supermassive Black Holes

Accretion is a ubiquitous phenomenon—it is seen in sources ranging from young stars to accreting supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies. Here, we present the known empirical connections between stellar mass X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. We argue that this implies that both the accretion disc and the jet are scale invariant with respect to the black hole mass. Finally, we show that also accretion discs and jets in sources with a different accretor can be connected empirically to accreting black holes, hinting towards a common mechanism of accretion in all sources.     

The atmospheric Čerenkov technique in the search for PBH

Searches for primordial black holes are reviewed.     

Observational Tests of the Picture of Disk Accretion

In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of systems. Evidence is discussed for the basic structures of accretion flows. The cases of systems with and without accretion disks are discussed, as is the evidence that disks actually form. Also discussed are the hot spots where accretion streams impact the disks, and the boundary layers in the inner parts of systems where the accretors are not black holes. The nature of slow, large amplitude variability is discussed. It is shown that some of the key predictions of the classical thermal-viscous ionization instability model for producing outbursts are in excellent agreement with observational results. It is also show that there are systems whose outbursts are extremely difficult to explain without invoking variations in the rate of mass transfer from the donor star into the outer accretion disk, or tidally induced variations in the mass transfer rates. Finally, I briefly discuss recent quasar microlensing measurements which give truly independent constraints on the inner accretion geometry around black holes.     

The Diverse Planetary Ingassing/Outgassing Paths Produced over Billions of Years of Magmatic Activity

Space Science Reviews - Accretion onto black holes is an efficient mechanism in converting the gas mass-energy into energetic outputs as radiation, wind and jet. Tidal disruption events, in which...     

Measuring Black Hole Spin Using X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy

I review the current status of X-ray reflection (a.k.a. broad iron line) based black hole spin measurements. This is a powerful technique that allows us to measure robust black hole spins across the mass range, from the stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries to the supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. After describing the basic assumptions of this approach, I lay out the detailed methodology focusing on “best practices” that have been found necessary to obtain robust results. Reflecting my own biases, this review is slanted towards a discussion of supermassive black hole (SMBH) spin in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Pulling together all of the available XMM-Newton and Suzaku results from the literature that satisfy objective quality control criteria, it is clear that a large fraction of SMBHs are rapidly-spinning, although there are tentative hints of a more slowly spinning population at high (M>5×10⁷ M _⊙) and low (M<2×10⁶ M _⊙) mass. I also engage in a brief review of the spins of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries. In general, reflection-based and continuum-fitting based spin measures are in agreement, although there remain two objects (GRO J1655–40 and 4U 1543–475) for which that is not true. I end this review by discussing the exciting frontier of relativistic reverberation, particularly the discovery of broad iron line reverberation in XMM-Newton data for the Seyfert galaxies NGC 4151, NGC 7314 and MCG–5-23-16. As well as confirming the basic paradigm of relativistic disk reflection, this detection of reverberation demonstrates that future large-area X-ray observatories such as LOFT will make tremendous progress in studies of strong gravity using relativistic reverberation in AGN.     

An Overview of Jets and Outflows in Stellar Mass Black Holes

In this article, we will briefly review the current empirical understanding of the relation between accretion state and outflows in accreting stellar mass black holes. The focus will be on the empirical connections between X-ray states and relativistic (‘radio’) jets, although we are now also able to draw accretion disc winds into the picture in a systematic way. We will furthermore consider the latest attempts to measure/order jet power, and to compare it to other (potentially) measurable quantities, most importantly black hole spin.     

Supermassive Black Holes and Galaxy Formation

The formation of supermassive black holes (SMBH) is intimately related to galaxy formation, although precisely how remains a mystery. I speculate that formation of, and feedback from, SMBH may alleviate problems that have arisen in our understanding of the cores of dark halos of galaxies.     

Black Hole Studies: Overview and Outlook

In this article, I will attempt to give an overview of the motivations for studying black holes and of the current major problems in the field. I will also give some perspectives on what can be done in the future, focusing on instrumentation which has already been approved. This chapter will necessarily be more speculative than the other chapters in this volume.     

Searching for Black Holes in Space

Although General Relativity had provided the physical basis of black holes, evidence for their existence had to await the Space Era when X-ray observations first directed the attention of astronomers to the unusual binary stars Cygnus X-1 and A0620-00. Subsequently, a number of faint Ariel 5 and Uhuru X-ray sources, mainly at high Galactic latitude, were found to lie close to bright Seyfert galaxies, suggesting the nuclear activity in AGN might also be driven by accretion in the strong gravity of a black hole. Detection of rapid X-ray variability with EXOSAT later confirmed that the accreting object in an AGN is almost certainly a supermassive black hole.     

Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future Research

This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early ‘90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the VLBA and improvements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques, have not only given us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive black holes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of the central singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It is thanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in a position to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance of these fascinating objects.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Astrophysics in 2006

The fastest pulsar and the slowest nova; the oldest galaxies and the youngest stars; the weirdest life forms and the commonest dwarfs; the highest energy particles and the lowest energy photons. These were some of the extremes of Astrophysics 2006. We attempt also to bring you updates on things of which there is currently only one (habitable planets, the Sun, and the Universe) and others of which there are always many, like meteors and molecules, black holes and binaries.     

Jet–Environment Interactions as Diagnostics of Jet Physics

In this chapter, we will explore the interaction of jets with their environments. Jets can transport a sizable fraction of accretion energy away from black holes and neutron stars. Because they are collimated, they can travel to distances far beyond the gravitational sphere of influence of the black hole. Yet, their interaction with the interstellar and intergalactic medium must eventually halt their advance and dissipate the energy they carry. The termination of the jet, and the inflation of large scale cavities of relativistic plasma offers one of the most powerful ways to constrain the physics of jets. In this chapter, we will review the inflation of radio lobes, the propagation of hot spots, the creation of shells and cavities, and the bending of jet by proper motion through their environment, both in the context of AGN jets and microquasars.