BlackCAT: A catalogue of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray transients

Aims. During the last ~50 years, the population of black hole candidates in X-ray binaries has increased considerably, with 59 Galactic objects being detected in transient low-mass X-ray binaries, as well as a few in persistent systems (including ~5 extragalactic binaries). Methods. We collect near-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2016-03, Vol.587, p.A61
Main Authors: Corral-Santana, J. M., Casares, J., Muñoz-Darias, T., Bauer, F. E., Martínez-Pais, I. G., Russell, D. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Binary stars
Black holes (astronomy)
Catalogues
Dynamical systems
Population (statistical)
stars: black holes
X-ray stars
X-rays
X-rays: binaries
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Summary:Aims. During the last ~50 years, the population of black hole candidates in X-ray binaries has increased considerably, with 59 Galactic objects being detected in transient low-mass X-ray binaries, as well as a few in persistent systems (including ~5 extragalactic binaries). Methods. We collect near-infrared, optical, and X-ray information spread over hundreds of references to study the population of black holes in X-ray transients as a whole. Results. We present the most updated catalogue of black hole transients. This contains X-ray, optical, and near-infrared observations, together with their astrometric and dynamical properties. The catalogue provides new and useful information in both statistical and observational parameters and provides a thorough and complete overview of the black hole population in the Milky Way. Analysing the distances and spatial distribution of the observed systems, we estimate a total population of ~1300 Galactic black hole transients. This means that we have only discovered less than ~5% of the total Galactic distribution.
ISSN:0004-6361
1432-0746
DOI:10.1051/0004-6361/201527130