We present four X-ray/γ-ray spectra of Cyg X-1 observed in the hard ('low') state simultaneously by Ginga and GRO OSSE on 1991 June 6. The four spectra have almost identical spectral form but vary in the normalisation within a factor of two. The 3-30 keV Ginga spectra are well represented by power laws with an energy spectral index of α ∼ 0.6 and a Compton reflection component including a fluorescent Fe Kα corresponding to the solid angle of the reflector of ∼ 0.3 × 2π. These spectra join smoothly on to the OSSE range (≥ 50 keV) and are then cut off above ∼ 150 keV. The overall spectra can be modelled by repeated Compton scattering in a mildlyrelativistic, thermal plasma with the optical depth of τ ∼ 1. However, the high-energy cutoff is steeper than that due to single-temperature thermal Comptonisation. It can be described by a superposition of dominant τ ∼ 1-2, thermal emission at kT ∼ 100 keV and a Wien-like component from an optically-thick plasma at kT ∼ 50 keV.The X-ray spectra do not show the presence of an anisotropy break required if thermal Compton scattering takes place in a corona above a cold disc. Also, the flat spectral index shows that the plasma is soft-photon starved, i.e., the luminosity in incident soft X-ray seed photons is very much less than that in the hard X-rays. Furthermore, the observed solid angle of the reflector is significantly less than 2π. These facts taken together strongly rule out a disc-corona geometry. Rather, the observed spectra are consistent with a geometry in which the cold accretion disc (which both supplies the seed soft X-rays and reflects hard X-rays) only exists at large radii, while the Comptonising hot plasma is located in an inner region with no cold disc. This hot plasma consists of either pure e ± pairs if the source size is ∼ 5 Schwarzschild radii or it contains also protons if the size is larger.

We have used observations of Cyg X-1 from the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and BeppoSAX to study the variation in the MeV -ray emission between the hard and soft spectral states, using spectra that cover the energy range from 20 keV up to 10 MeV. These data provide evidence for significant spectral variability at energies above 1 MeV. In particular, whereas the hard X-ray flux decreases during the soft state, the flux at energies above 1 MeV increases, resulting in a significantly harder -ray spectrum at energies above 1 MeV. This behavior is consistent with the general picture of galactic black hole candidates having two distinct spectral forms at soft -ray energies. These data extend this picture, for the first time, to energies above 1 MeV. We have used two different hybrid thermal/nonthermal Comptonization models to fit broadband spectral data obtained in both the hard and soft spectral states. These fits provide a quantitative estimate of the electron distribution and allow us to probe the physical changes that take place during transitions between the low and high X-ray states. We find that there is a significant increase (by a factor of $4) in the bolometric luminosity as the source moves from the hard state to the soft state. Furthermore, the presence of a nonthermal tail in the Comptonizing electron distribution provides significant constraints on the magnetic field in the source region.

OSSE has observed seven transient black hole candidates: GRO J0422+32, GX339-4, GRS 1716-249, GRS 1009-45, 4U 1543. Two gamma-ray spectral states are evident and, based on a limited number of contemporaneous X-ray and gamma-ray observations, these states appear to be correlated with X-ray states. The former three objects show hard spectra below 100 keV (photon number indices Γ < 2) that are exponentially cut off with folding energy ∼ 100 keV, a spectral form that is consistent with thermal Comptonization. This "breaking gamma-ray state" is the high-energy extension of the X-ray low, hard state. In this state, the majority of the luminosity is above the X-ray band, carried by photons of energy ∼100 keV. The latter four objects exhibit a "power-law gamma-ray state" with a relatively soft spectral index (Γ ∼ 2.5 − 3) and no evidence for a spectral break. For GRO J1655-40, the lower limit on the break energy is 690 keV. GRS 1716-249 exhibits both spectral states, with the power-law state having significantly lower gamma-ray luminosity. The power-law gamma-ray state is associated with the presence of a strong ultrasoft X-ray excess (kT ∼ 1 keV), the signature of the X-ray high, soft (or perhaps very high) state. The physical process responsible for the unbroken power law is not well understood, although the spectra are consistent with bulk-motion Comptonization in the convergent accretion flow.Here we summarize the low-energy gamma-ray spectra of seven transient galactic BHCs, all low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), observed with OSSE on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (in order of increasing right ascension: GRO J0422+32, GRS 1009-45, 4U 1543-47, GRO J1655-40, GX339-4, GRS 1716 and demonstrate the existence of two spectral states in low-energy gamma rays. We compare these spectra with those of the archetypal galactic BHC, the high-mass X-ray binary Cyg X-1. Introductory remarks covering the historical record of each of these objects are given along with the details of the OSSE observations in the subsections below.

The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) has observed the Cygnus region on several occasions since its launch in 1991. The data collected by the COMPTEL experiment on CGRO represent the most sensitive observations to date of Cygnus X-1 in the 0.75-30 MeV range. A spectrum accumulated by COMPTEL over 10 weeks of observation time shows significant evidence for emission extending out to several -2 -MeV. We have combined these data with contemporaneous data from both BATSE and OSSE to produce a broad-band γ-ray spectrum, corresponding to the low X-ray state of Cygnus X-1, extending from 50 keV up to ∼5 MeV. Although there is no evidence for any broad line-like emissions in the MeV region, these data further confirm the presence of a hard tail at energies above several hundred keV. In particular, the spectrum at MeV energies can be described as a power-law with a photon spectral index of α = -3.2, with no evidence for a cutoff at high energies. For the 200 keV to 5 MeV spectrum, we provide a quantitative description of the underlying electron spectrum, in the context of a hybrid thermal/non-thermal model for the emission. The electron spectrum can be described by a thermal Maxwellian with a temperature of kT e = 86 keV and a nonthermal power-law component with a spectral index of p e = 4.5. The spectral data presented here should provide a useful basis for further theoretical modeling.