Prof. Ranjeev Misra

Rapid X-ray variability arise from regions close to the black hole in a binary system. After a brief introduction, I will highlight a few of the cases where AstroSat observations and new theoretical formalisms have revealed the processes that lead to such variability. Decades old prediction of General Relativity are now being verified using AstroSat data. In the near future, data from AstroSat and other observatories along with more sophisticated theoretical modelling, are expected to test these predictions in more detail. However, despite these advancement in observational and theoretical techniques, many aspects of these systems remain as cosmic riddles whose explanation would require perhaps ingenious and out of the box ideas.