1,466 research outputs found
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
Spectral evolution of the microquasar XTE J1550-564 over its entire 2000 outburst
We report on RXTE observations of the microquasar XTE J1550-564 during a ~70
day outburst in April-June 2000. We study the evolution of the PCA+HEXTE
spectra over the outburst. The source transited from an initial Low Hard State
(LS), to an Intermediate State (IS), and then back to the LS. The source shows
an hysteresis effect similar to what is observed in other sources, favoring a
common origin for the state transitions in soft X-ray transients. The first
transition occurs at a ~ constant 2-200 keV flux, which probably indicates a
change in the relative importance of the emitting media. The second transition
is more likely driven by a drop in the mass accretion rate.
In both LS, the spectra are characterized by the presence of a strong
power-law tail (Compton corona) with a variable high energy cut-off. During the
IS, the spectra show the presence of a ~0.8 keV thermal component (accretion
disk). We discuss the apparently independent evolution of the two media, and
show that right after the X-ray maximum on MJD 51662, the decrease of the
source luminosity is due to a decrease of the power-law luminosity, at a
constant disk luminosity. This, together with the detection of radio emission
(with a spectrum typical of optically thin synchrotron emission), may suggest
that the corona is ejected and further detected as a discrete radio ejection.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 9 pages, 4 figures, abstract
abridge
Opening angles, Lorentz factors and confinement of X-ray binary jets
We present a collation of the available data on the opening angles of jets in
X-ray binaries, which in most cases are small (less than 10 degrees). Under the
assumption of no confinement, we calculate the Lorentz factors required to
produce such small opening angles via the transverse relativistic Doppler
effect. The derived Lorentz factors, which are in most cases lower limits, are
found to be large, with a mean greater than 10, comparable to those estimated
for AGN and much higher than the commonly-assumed values for X-ray binaries of
2 to 5. Jet power constraints do not in most cases rule out such high Lorentz
factors. The upper limits on the opening angles show no evidence for smaller
Lorentz factors in the steady jets of Cygnus X-1 and GRS 1915+105. In those
sources in which deceleration has been observed (notably XTE J1550-564 and
Cygnus X-3), some confinement of the jets must be occurring, and we briefly
discuss possible confinement mechanisms. It is however possible that all the
jets could be confined, in which case the requirement for high bulk Lorentz
factors can be relaxed.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures (2 colour), accepted for publication in MNRA
On the role of the magnetic field on jet emission in X-ray binaries
Radio and X-ray fluxes of accreting black holes in their hard state are known
to correlate over several orders of magnitude. This correlation however shows a
large scatter: black hole candidates with very similar X-ray luminosity,
spectral energy distribution and variability, show rather different radio
luminosities. This challenges theoretical models that aim at describing both
the radio and the X-ray fluxes in terms of radiative emission from a
relativistic jet. More generally, it opens important questions on how similar
accretion flows can produce substantially different outflows. Here we present a
possible explanation for this phenomenon, based on the strong dependency of the
jet spectral energy distribution on the magnetic field strength, and on the
idea that the strength of the jet magnetic field varies from source to source.
Because of the effect of radiative losses, sources with stronger jet magnetic
field values would have lower radio emission. We discuss the implications of
this scenario, the main one being that the radio flux does not necessarily
provide a direct measure of the jet power. We further discuss how a variable
jet magnetic field, reaching a critical value, can qualitatively explain the
observed spectral transition out of the hard state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication on ApJ Letter
Galactic black holes in the hard state, a multiwavelength view of accretion and ejection
The canonical hard state is associated with emission from all three fundamental accretion components: the accretion disk, the hot accretion disk corona and the jet. On top of these, the hard state also hosts very rich temporal variability properties (low frequency QPOs in the PDS, time lags, long time scale evolution). Our group has been working on the major questions of the hard state both observationally (with multi-wavelength campaigns using RXTE, SWIFT, SUZAKU, SPITZER, VLA, ATCA, SMARTS) and theoretically (through jet models that can fit entire SEDs). Through spectral and temporal analysis we seek to determine the geometry of accretion components, and relate the geometry to the formation and emission from a jet. In this presentation I will review the recent
contributions of our group to the field, including the SWIFT results on the disk geometry at low accretion rates, the jet model fits to the hard state SEDs (including SPITZER data) of GRO J 1655-40, and the final results on the evolution of spectral (including X-ray, radio and infrared) and temporal
properties of selected black holes in the hard states. I will also talk about impact of ASTROSAT to the science objectives of our group
Is the `IR Coincidence' Just That?
(Abridged) Motch (1985) suggested that in the hard state of GX 339-4 the soft
X-ray power-law extrapolated backward in energy agrees with the IR flux. Corbel
& Fender (2002) showed that the hard state radio power-law extrapolated forward
in energy meets the extrapolated X-ray power-law at an IR break, which was
explicitly observed twice in GX 339-4. This `IR coincidence' has been cited as
further evidence that a jet might make a significant contribution to the X-rays
in hard state systems. We explore this hypothesis with a series of simultaneous
radio/X-ray observations of GX 339-4, taken during its 1997, 1999, and 2002
hard states. We fit these spectra, in detector space, with a simple, but
remarkably successful, doubly broken power-law that requires an IR spectral
break. For these observations, the break position and the integrated radio/IR
flux have stronger dependences upon the X-rays than the simplest jet
predictions. If one allows for a softening of the X-ray power law with
increasing flux, then the jet model agrees with the correlation. We also find
evidence that the radio/X-ray fcorrelation previously observed in GX 339-4
shows a `parallel track' for the 2002 hard state. The slope of the 2002
correlation is consistent with prior observations; however, the radio amplitude
is reduced. We then examine the correlation in Cyg X-1 through the use of radio
data, obtained with the Ryle radio telescope, and RXTE data, from the ASM and
pointed observations. We again find evidence of `parallel tracks', and here
they are associated with `failed transitions' to the soft state. We also find
that for Cyg X-1 the radio flux is more fundamentally correlated with the hard
X-ray flux.Comment: To Appear in the July 2005 Astrophysical Journal; 9 Pages, uses
emulateapj.st
Radio / X-ray correlation in the low/hard state of GX 339--4
We present the results of a long-term study of the black hole candidate GX
339-4 using simultaneous radio (from the Australia Telescope Compact Array) and
X-ray (from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and BeppoSAX) observations
performed between 1997 and 2000. We find strong evidence for a correlation
between these two emission regimes that extends over more than three decades in
X-ray flux, down to the quiescence level of GX 339-4. This is the strongest
evidence to date for such strong coupling between radio and X-ray emission. We
discuss these results in light of a jet model that can explain the radio/X-ray
correlation. This could indicate that a significant fraction of the X-ray flux
that is observed in the low-hard state of black hole candidates may be due to
optically thin synchrotron emission from the compact jet.Comment: 8 pages. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 200
- …