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Black Hole Binaries in Quiescence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2017
Abstract
I discuss some of what is known and unknown about the behavior of black hole binary systems in the quiescent accretion state. Quiescence is important for several reasons: 1) the dominance of the companion star in optical and IR wavelengths allows the binary parameters to be robustly determined — as an example, we argue that the longer proposed distance to the X-ray source GRO J1655-40 is correct; 2) quiescence represents the limiting case of an extremely low accretion rate, in which both accretion and jets can be observed; 3) understanding the evolution and duration of the quiescent state is a key factor in determining the overall demographics of X-ray binaries, which has taken on a new importance in the era of gravitational wave astronomy.
- Type
- Contributed Papers
- Information
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 12 , Symposium S324: New Frontiers in Black Hole Astrophysics , September 2016 , pp. 35 - 38
- Copyright
- Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2017