X-ray binary

An X-ray binary has a compact mass-gaining star or black hole accreting from a companion, so that much of its emitted power appears as X-rays. Gravitational binding energy supplies an accretion luminosity of order $GM\dot{M}/R$ when there is a surface or an appropriate inner disk radius. The donor star may feed an accretion disk through Roche-lobe overflow or a stellar wind.

An ultraluminous X-ray source is an apparently off-nuclear compact X-ray source with inferred isotropic luminosity above roughly $10^{32}$ W. Luminosity alone does not establish an intermediate-mass black hole: supercritical accretion, beaming and magnetized neutron-star accretion can also produce large apparent luminosities. Spatial association, spectra, timing and dynamical constraints help distinguish models.

A binary in which a black hole captures part of its companion's stellar wind. The captured gas can dissipate energy and, with sufficient specific angular momentum, form an accretion disk. This differs from gas overflowing a Roche lobe through the inner Lagrange point. The fraction captured, its angular momentum and changes in the wind affect the accretion flow and emitted X-rays.

A stellar black-hole binary with a massive stellar companion. A 2011 dynamical analysis combined optical photometry and spectroscopy with a distance constraint and inferred $14.8\pm 1.0$ solar masses for the compact object. This is that study's historical estimate, not a claim about the latest measurement.^[ref]

A Type I X-ray burst is a transient thermonuclear runaway in accreted hydrogen or helium on a neutron star surface. It rises rapidly and cools after the fuel burns. A black hole has no material surface on which the same accumulated surface-fuel event can occur. This is distinct from an accretion-powered X-ray pulse or an accretion instability.

An accreting X-ray pulsar contains a magnetized neutron star whose magnetic field channels the accreting gas toward its magnetic poles. Rotation carries the bright accretion regions through the observer's view and produces pulses. The input angular momentum can change the spin period; this differs from the rotational energy source of an isolated pulsar.

A high-mass X-ray binary has a massive donor star supplying an accreting neutron star or black hole. A strong stellar wind often feeds it, although Roche-lobe overflow and donor equatorial outflows also occur. The short lifetime of the donor associates these systems with young stellar populations.

In a low-mass X-ray binary, the donor star is relatively low mass. Roche-lobe overflow usually feeds an accretion disk around a neutron star or black hole. The low-mass label concerns the donor rather than the total binary mass. Accumulated fuel on a neutron star can produce a Type I X-ray burst.