Observational evidence for stellar-mass black holes

Abstract

Radial velocity studies of X-ray binaries provide the most solid evidence for the existence of stellar-mass black holes. We currently have 20 confirmed cases, with dynamical masses in excess of 3 Msun. Accurate masses have been obtained for a subset of systems which gives us a hint at the mass spectrum of the black hole population. This review summarizes the history of black hole discoveries and presents the latest results in the field.

9 pages, invited review to appear in Proceedings of IAU Symposium 238: "Black Holes: From Stars to Galaxies -Across the Range of Masses". Prague 14-18 August 2006

References in corpus (4)

• A possible black hole in the gamma-ray microquasar LS 5039
• The radial velocity of the companion star in the low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921-630: limits on the mass of the compact object
• The Rates of type I X-ray Bursts from Transients Observed with RXTE: Evidence for Black Hole Event Horizons
• The massive neutron star or low-mass black hole in 2S0921-630

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Gravitational wave background from binary systems
• Potential Kick Velocity distribution of black hole X-ray binaries and implications for natal kicks
• Observational signature of near-extremal Kerr-like black holes in a modified gravity theory at the Event Horizon Telescope
• Disk-jet coupling in low-luminosity accreting neutron stars
• High mass-to-light ratios of UCDs - Evidence for dark matter ?
• Experimental Relativity with Accretion Disk Observations
• Oblique magnetic fields and the role of frame dragging near rotating black hole
• A Machine Learning Approach For Classifying Low-mass X-ray Binaries Based On Their Compact Object Nature