Radiative Processes, Spectral States and Variability of Black-Hole Binaries

作者：A. A. Zdziarski, Marek Gierliński · 发表于：Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplement · 年份：2004 · DOI：10.1143/ptps.155.99 · 被引用次数：305 · 研究领域：Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations、Mechanics and Biomechanics Studies、High-pressure geophysics and materials

We review radiative processes responsible for X-ray emission in hard (low) and soft (high) spectral states of black-hole binaries. The main process in the hard state appears to be scattering of blackbody photons from a cold disk by thermal electrons in a hot inner flow, and any contribution from nonthermal synchrotron emission is at most small. In the soft states, blackbody disk emission dominates energetically, and its high-energy tail is due to scattering by hybrid, thermal/nonthermal electrons, probably in active regions above the disk surface. State transitions appear to correspond to a variable inner radius of the cold disk driven by changes of the accretion rate. The existence of two accretion solutions, hot and cold, in a range of the accretion rate leads to hysteresis in low-mass X-ray binaries.