The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes

Foreword.- Searching for Black Holes in Space.- General Overview of Black Hole Accretion Theory.- Fast Variability from Black-Hole Binaries.- Modelling Spectral and Timing Properties of Accreting Black Holes: The Hybrid Hot Flow Paradigm.- Current STatus of Simulations.- Observational Tests of the Picture of Disk Accretion.- Observational Appearance of Black Holes in X-Ray Binaries and AGN.- Scaling Relations from Stellar to Supermassive Black Holes.- Menus for Feeding Black Holes.- Massive Binary Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei and Their Path to Coalescence.- Mass Measurements of Stellar and Intermdiate-Mass Black Holes.- Measuring the Masses of Supermassive Black Holes.- Measuring Black Hole Spin Using X-Ray Reflection Spectroscopy.- Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets.- An Overview of Jets and Outflows in Stellar Mass Black Holes.- X-Ray Observations of Powerful AGN Outflows.- Outflow Launching Mechanisms.- Energetic and Broad Band Spectral Distribution of Emission from Astronomical Jets.- Jet-Environment Interactions as Diagnostic of Jet Physics.-The Supermassive Black Hole--Galaxy Connection.- Multi-Wavelength Variability.- Black Hole Studies: Overview and Outlook.

Professor Maurizio Falanga is the Science Program Manager at the International Space Science Institute. His research areas include high-energy astrophysics, observations and numerical simulations.

Professor Tomaso Belloni is a senior scientist at INAF's Brera Astronomical Observatory. He is an expert in X-ray astronomy, accreting sources and time series analysis.

Dr. Piergiorgio Casella is an astronomer at INAF's Rome Astronomical Observatory. He is an expert in high-energy astrophysics, accretion and jet physics.

Professor Marat Gilfanov is a senior scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. His research areas include theoretical and observational astrophysics, black holes and galaxies.

Professor Peter Jonker is an astronomer at SRON. He is an expert in high-energy astrophysics and observations.

Professor Andrew King is a senior scientist at the University of Leicester. He is an expert in theoretical astrophysics, accretion, black holes and galaxies.