The Future of X-ray Spectroscopy of Galactic Black Hole Binaries

Abstract

There are four major X-ray satellites currently in operation, with two more shortly to follow, and several very ambitious observatories in various stages of planning. This very rich period of X-ray observation is leading to great advances in our understanding of the accretion flow onto the black hole, although we are quickly learning (or perhaps better put, remembering) exactly how complicated this flow can be. This review was meant to assess future prospects for X-ray spectroscopy of black hole binaries; however, I first look backward to the observations and theories that helped us arrive at our current `paradigm'. I then discuss current and near-future spectroscopic studies, which increasingly (and very fruitfully) treat X-ray spectroscopy as part of a larger, intimately connected picture along with radio, optical, and gamma-ray spectroscopy. Equally importantly, and in large part thanks to the success of RXTE, there is now a strong realization that spectral-temporal correlations, even across wavelength bands, are crucial to our understanding of the physics of these systems. Going forward, we are well-poised to continue to advance our knowledge via X-ray spectroscopy, both with existing satellites that have a long lifetime ahead of them, and with the next generation of instruments. If there is any `hole' in this bright future, it is the potential loss of RXTE, with no designated follow-up mission. Studies of multi-wavelength spectral-temporal correlations will become more difficult due to the loss of two important attributes of RXTE: its fast timing capabilities and its extremely flexible scheduling which has made many of these studies possible.