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

Session

Beyond Stellar-Mass BHs & New Windows. Session 4.4: Polarimetry

10 Sept 2026, 15:30

Cefalù

64. X-ray polarimetric view of X-ray binaries

Alexandra Veledina (University of Turku)

10/09/2026, 15:30

Talk

I will review the first results of X-ray polarimetry in accreting X-ray binary systems, focusing on the puzzles and challenges to the models of accretion they posed, along with potential ways towards the solutions.

30. Polarimetry Across the Spectrum: Probing Accretion and Outflows in Black Hole X-ray Binaries

Maria Cristina Baglio (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

10/09/2026, 16:30

Talk

Low-mass X-ray binaries are perfect laboratories for studying accretion physics and its coupling with jets and outflows. The advent of X-ray polarimetry with IXPE has opened a new window onto the geometry of the innermost accretion regions, yet a complete physical picture demands a broader, multi-wavelength perspective.
I will show how optical polarimetry provides an important complementary...

71. X-ray polarization from hybrid electrons in coronae of accreting black holes

Juri Poutanen (University of Turku)

10/09/2026, 16:45

Talk

The launch of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) marked a major advance in X-ray astronomy by enabling measurements of X-ray polarization from compact astrophysical objects. In accreting black holes, polarization provides a powerful tool for probing the geometry of the emitting region and constraining the black hole spin.

IXPE measured a polarization degree of about 2% in Cygnus...

14. A SERENDIPITOUS IXPE VIEW OF THE ECLIPSING NEUTRON STAR BINARY AX J1745.6-2901

Romana Mikusincova (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

10/09/2026, 17:00

Talk

We present the first X-ray polarimetric measurement of the eclipsing neutron star low-mass X-ray binary system AX J1745.6-2901 obtained with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). This transient source lies within ∼1.5′ of the Galactic center and was observed serendipitously during a 150 ks IXPE pointing at MAXI J1744-294. The crowded and highly absorbed Galactic center environment...

47. The first IXPE view of the eclipsing ADC source 4U 1822-37

Alessio Anitra (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

10/09/2026, 17:15

Poster

4U 1822-371 is the prototype accretion-disc corona neutron-star LMXB. In this geometry, the direct emission from the innermost regions is obscured by the outer disc rim, and the observed X-ray radiation is dominated by scattering and reprocessing. We present the first X-ray polarimetric detection of 4U 1822--371 and the first simultaneous broadband spectro-polarimetric analysis of the source,...