225 research outputs found
A radio survey of supersoft, persistent and transient X-ray sources in the Magellanic Clouds
We present a radio survey of X-ray sources in the Large and Small Magellanic
clouds with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 6.3 and 3.5 cm.
Specifically, we have observed the fields of five LMC and two SMC supersoft
X-ray sources, the X-ray binaries LMC X-1, X-2, X-3 & X-4, the X-ray transient
Nova SMC 1992, and the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 0525-66. None of the targets
are detected as point sources at their catalogued positions. In particular, the
proposed supersoft jet source RXJ 0513-69 is not detected, placing constraints
on its radio luminosity compared to Galactic jet sources. Limits on emission
from the black hole candidate systems LMC X-1 and X-3 are consistent with the
radio behaviour of persistent Galactic black hole X-ray binaries, and a
previous possible radio detection of LMC X-1 is found to almost certainly be
due to nearby field sources. The SNR N49 in the field of SGR 0525-66 is mapped
at higher resolution than previously, but there is still no evidence for any
enhanced emission or disruption of the SNR at the location of the X-ray source.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX. Accepted for publication in MNRA
On the Origin of Radio Emission in the X-ray States of XTE J1650-500 during the 2001-2002 Outburst
We report on simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of the black hole
candidate XTE J1650-500 during the course of its 2001-2002 outburst. The
scheduling of the observations allowed us to sample the properties of XTE
J1650-50 in different X-ray spectral states, namely the hard state, the steep
power-law state and the thermal dominant state, according to the recent
spectral classification of McClintock & Remillard. The hard state is consistent
with a compact jet dominating the spectral energy distribution at radio
frequencies; however, the current data suggest that its contribution as direct
synchrotron emission at higher energies may not be significant. In that case,
XTE J1650-50 may be dominated by Compton processes (either inverse
Comptonization of thermal disk photons and/or SSC from the base of the compact
jet) in the X-ray regime. We, surprisingly, detect a faint level of radio
emission in the thermal dominant state that may be consistent with the emission
of previously ejected material interacting with the interstellar medium,
similar (but on a smaller angular scale) to what was observed in XTE J1550-564
by Corbel and co-workers. Based on the properties of radio emission in the
steep power-law state of XTE J1650-50, and taking into account the behavior of
other black hole candidates (namely GX 339-4, XTE J1550-564, and XTE J1859+226)
while in the intermediate and steep power-law states, we are able to present a
general pattern of behavior for the origin of radio emission in these two
states that could be important for understanding the accretion-ejection
coupling very close to the black hole event horizon.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 33 pages, 10
figure
Radio Observations of the Black Hole Candidate GX 339-4
The black hole candidate GX 339-4 was first detected as a variable radio
source by Sood & Campbell-Wilson in May 1994 with the Molonglo Observatory
Synthesis Telescope (MOST). Since then, several observations have been obtained
with the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in order to study the radio
behavior of this source in relation to its soft and hard X-ray activity. We
present new results of high resolution radio observations performed with the
ATCA in order to study the jet-like feature observed in GX 339-4 by Fender et
al (1997). From the ATCA lightcurve at 8640 MHz, we find evidence of quenched
radio emission from GX 339-4.Comment: To appear in Proc. 4th Compton Symposium, AIP pres
The large-scale jet-powered radio nebula of Circinus X-1
We present multi-epoch observations of the radio nebula around the neutron
star X-ray binary Circinus X-1 made at 1.4 and 2.5 GHz with the Australia
Telescope Compact Array between October 2000 and September 2004. The nebula can
be seen as a result of the interaction between the jet from the system and the
interstellar medium and it is likely that we are actually looking toward the
central X-ray binary system through the jet-powered radio lobe. The study of
the nebula thus offers a unique opportunity to estimate for the first time
using calorimetry the energetics of a jet from an object clearly identified as
a neutron star. An extensive discussion on the energetics of the complex is
presented: a first approach is based on the minimum energy estimation, while a
second one employs a self-similar model of the interaction between the jets and
the surrounding medium. The results suggest an age for the nebula of \leq 10^5
years and a corresponding time-averaged jet power \geq 10^{35} erg s^{-1}.
During periodic flaring episodes, the instantaneous jet power may reach values
of similar magnitude to the X-ray luminosity.Comment: Accepted to MNRA
The "universal" radio/X-ray flux correlation : the case study of the black hole GX 339-4
The existing radio and X-ray flux correlation for Galactic black holes in the
hard and quiescent states relies on a sample which is mostly dominated by two
sources (GX 339-4 and V404 Cyg) observed in a single outburst. In this paper,
we report on a series of radio and X-ray observations of the recurrent black
hole GX 339-4 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer and the Swift satellites. With our new long term campaign, we
now have a total of 88 quasi-simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of GX
339-4 during its hard state, covering a total of seven outbursts over a
15--year period. Our new measurements represent the largest sample for a
stellar mass black hole, without any bias from distance uncertainties, over the
largest flux variations and down to a level that could be close to quiescence,
making GX 339-4 the reference source for comparison with other accreting
sources (black holes, neutrons stars, white dwarfs and active galactic nuclei).
Our results demonstrate a very strong and stable coupling between radio and
X-ray emission, despite several outbursts of different nature and separated by
a period of quiescence. The radio and X-ray luminosity correlation of the form
L_X ~L_Rad^0.62 +/-0.01 confirms the non-linear coupling between the jet and
the inner accretion flow powers and better defines the standard correlation
track in the radio-X-ray diagram for stellar mass black holes. We further note
epochs of deviations from the fit that significantly exceed the measurement
uncertainties, especially during the formation and destruction of the compact
jets ...[abridged]. We incorporated our new data in a more global study of
black hole candidates strongly supporting a scale invariance in the
jet-accretion coupling of accreting black holes, and confirms the existence of
two populations of sources in the radio/X-ray diagram.Comment: Paper accepted in MNRAS. 18 pages, 9 figure
X-Ray Emission from the Jets of XTE J1550-564
We report on X-ray observations of the the large-scale jets recently
discovered in the radio and detected in X-rays from the black hole candidate
X-ray transient and microquasar XTE J1550-564. On 11 March 2002, X-ray emission
was detected 23 arcsec to the West of the black hole candidate and was extended
along the jet axis with a full width at half maximum of 1.2 arcsec and a full
width at 10% of maximum intensity of 5 arcsec. The morphology of the X-ray
emission matched well to that of the radio emission at the same epoch. The jet
moved by 0.52 +/- 0.13 arcsec between 11 March and 19 June 2002. The apparent
speed during that interval was 5.2 +/- 1.3 mas/day. This is significantly less
than the average apparent speed of 18.1 +/- 0.4 mas/day from 1998 to 2002,
assuming that the jet was ejected in September 1998, and indicates that the jet
has decelerated. The X-ray spectrum is adequately described by a powerlaw with
a photon index near 1.8 subject to interstellar absorption. The unabsorbed
X-ray flux was 3.4 x 10^-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the 0.3-8 keV band in March 2002,
and decreased to 2.9 x 10^-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in June. We also detect X-rays
from the eastern jet in March 2002 and show that it has decelerated and dimmed
since the previous detections in 2000.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ, 11 pages, several figures in colo
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