Why Do Black-Hole X-Ray Binaries Tend to Be Transient?

Abstract

Black hole X-ray binaries are transient probably because their discs are subject to the same thermal-viscous instability which is present in dwarf nova binary systems. I discuss applications of the dwarf-nova instability model to transient, low-mass, X-ray binary systems. When disc truncation and X-ray irradiation are taken into account this model is capable of reproducing the basic properties of X-ray binary outbursts ([3]).