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Observational evidence for stellar-mass black holes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2006

Jorge Casares
Jorge Casares*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 – La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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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 M⊙. 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.

Keywords

Accretionaccretion disks – black hole physics – X-rays: binaries
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 2 , Symposium S238: Black Holes from Stars to Galaxies – Across the Range of Masses , August 2006 , pp. 3 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

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