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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

Walter Lewin
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michiel van der Klis
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

Extra-solar X-ray astronomy began with the historical paper in Physical Review Letters by Giacconi, Gursky, Paolini, and Rossi (1962). Now, more than four decades later, X-ray astronomy is central to many aspects of astronomy. In 2002, Riccardo Giacconi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources”. In the decade since the publication of X-ray Binaries – the predecessor of the present book – the study of compact stellar X-ray sources has received enormous impetus from observations with the BeppoSAX, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), Chandra, and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. In addition, many exciting new results on these X-ray sources have also been produced in the radio, infrared, optical and ultraviolet bands. Highlights include the discovery in low-mass X-ray binaries of millisecond X-ray pulsations, confirming the connection with the millisecond radio pulsars. Millisecond and sub-millisecond quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) were discovered that are thought to provide a direct view of regions of strong-field gravity near neutron stars and black holes. The discovery of X-ray, optical and radio afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) firmly established their long-suspected cosmological distances. Super-luminal motion of radio jets was discovered in accreting black-hole binaries. Dozens of ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULX) have been detected in many galaxies. Their origin is still not clear; some may be accreting intermediate-mass (i.e., of order 103 M) black holes (IMBH).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Preface
  • Edited by Walter Lewin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michiel van der Klis, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Compact Stellar X-ray Sources
  • Online publication: 01 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536281.001
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  • Preface
  • Edited by Walter Lewin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michiel van der Klis, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Compact Stellar X-ray Sources
  • Online publication: 01 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536281.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Edited by Walter Lewin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michiel van der Klis, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Compact Stellar X-ray Sources
  • Online publication: 01 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536281.001
Available formats
×