The many tones of accretion - to the memory of Tomaso Belloni

QPOs in X-ray binaries

8 Sept 2026, 09:30

30m

Cefalù

Talk Timing (Belloni Session). Session 2.1: QPOs

Speaker

Federico Vincentelli (Coventry University)

Description

Since the early X-ray timing studies, it has been known that both Black hole and Neutro stars X-ray binaries show narrow quasi-periodic oscillations between 0.01 and 100 Hz. Despite decades of studies, the physical origin of this intriguing phenomenon remains uncertain. In this talk I will review the main observational properties of these oscillation for both classes of systems, and describe the leading theories invoked to explain them. Finally, I will discuss the most promising paths forward — both for understanding the origin of QPOs with new data and for using them as tools to constrain the fundamental physical properties of accreting compact objects.