Tomaso Belloni (INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera)
I will review the current standpoint of fast variability from black-hole binary systems. The large amount of data obtained in the past two decades has led to a significant advancement in our knowledge, although it still needs to be consolidated through new observations. I will present the more recent evidences of General Relativistic effects obtained from RossiXTE data and will present new data from the Astrosat mission.
Krzysztof Czart (ESO)
Polish Astronomical Society is an organization of professional astronomers with about 250 members. It's activities can be divided into two categories: science related activities and science communication activities. During the presentation there will be an opportunity to get information about all major projects run by the organization, some of it's future plans and also how to become a member of the organization and some useful information for members.
Ariadna Murguia-Bertheir (University of California)
LIGO discovered gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger, marking the beginning of a new era in astrophysics. This revolutionary discovery challenged our understanding of compact objects, especially the formation of these massive binaries. In my talk I will describe how a common envelope phase aids in understanding the assembly of this merger. A common envelope phase occurs when, in a binary, one of the stars evolves and engulfs its companion (in this case a black hole). I will talk about how the flow around the embedded companion affects the inspiral and the fate of the binary. I will discuss the necessary conditions for disk assembly around the companion, and the possible implications for the LIGO binary black hole.
