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Observational evidence for stellar-mass black holes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2006

Jorge Casares*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 – La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain email: jcv@iac.es
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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.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

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