0120248

The study of galactic X-ray binaries (XRBs) has matured very rapidly in the past few years: RXTE has allowed us to observe for the first time phenomena that take place at the inner edge of the accretion discs that feed the central black hole or neutron star in these systems Chandra and XMM-Netown are producing energy spectra of unprecedented quality for some of these objects systematic studies at radio wavelengths are beginning to show that jets are quite a common phenomenon in XRBs. In short this new era has produced several exciting discoveries but it has also posed new and more sophisticated questions than could have been formulated 2-3 years ago. These motivate us to propose an ambitious program using INTEGRAL in combination with radio and softer X-ray observations (both spectral and timing) of a group of persistent hard-spectra low-mass X-ray binaries. We will probe the relation between radio and (non-thermal) hard X-ray emission in XRBs this will eventually allow us to understand the physics of the mechanism that produces the hard X-rays and its relation to the relativistic jets seen in several of these sources. We will measure their energy spectra over a very large frequency baseline which we will use to address the issue of the relation between X-ray and bolometric luminosities and their correlation to mass accretion rate. We anticipate the contributions of INTEGRAL to be part of the foundations of this important field. [truncated! Please see actual data for full text]