This thesis brings together the various techniques of X-ray spectral analysis in order to examine the properties of black holes that vary in mass by several ord

In rare cases, optical observations of Galactic binary star systems which are bright in the X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum dynamically constrain

On July 23, 1999, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built, was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Since then, Chand

The capabilities of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton for high-resolution spectroscopy have brought tradition plasma diagnostic techniques to the stu