Strategies for GR Astrophysics with Black Hole Binaries
Ronald Remillard
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
rr@space.mit.edu
Additional authors:
Galactic black hole binaries (BHBs) in outburst provide vital opportunities to pursue science themes for NASA's 'Beyond Einstein Program'. The thermal-dominant state allows us to investigate the structure of the inner disk, compared to the expectations of MHD and general relativity (GR), and constraints on black hole mass and spin may eventually be attained for some cases. The two states with strong non-thermal components provide three potential applications for GR in astrophysics. There are high-frequency QPOs that may constrain black hole mass and spin, relativistically broadened Fe lines, and several types of relativistic jets. Since 16 of 19 known BHBs are seen as bright X-ray transients, a productive observing strategy requires effective all-sky monitoring and a sequence of X-ray facilities that consider timing capabilities and spectral bandwidth as precious resources.
