LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF AND X-RAY EMISSION FROM A RECOILING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN A DISK GALAXY

ABSTRACT IGR J17091–3624 is a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB), which received wide attention from the community thanks to its similarities with the bright black hole system GRS 1915+105. Both systems exhibit a wide range of highly structured X-ray variability during outburst, with time-scales from few seconds to tens of minutes, which make them unique in the study of mass accretion in LMXBs. In this work, we present a general overview into the long-term evolution of IGR J17091–3624, using Swift/XRT observations from the onset of the 2011–2013 outburst in 2011 February till the end of the last bright outburst in 2016 November. We found four re-flares during the decay of the 2011 outburst, but no similar re-flares appear to be present in the latter one. We studied, in detail, the period with the lowest flux observed in the last 10 yr, just at the tail end of the 2011–2013 outburst, using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. We observed changes in flux as high as a factor of 10 during this period of relative quiescence, without strong evidence of softening in the spectra. This result suggests that the source has not been observed at its true quiescence so far. By comparing the spectral properties at low luminosities of IGR J17091–3624 and those observed for a well-studied population of LMXBs, we concluded that IGR J17091–3624 is most likely to host a black hole as a compact companion rather than a neutron star.

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Long-term evolution of anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stw235 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 457 (4) ◽

pp. 4114-4122 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

O. Benli ◽

Ü. Ertan

Keyword(s):

Long Term Evolution ◽

X Ray ◽

Soft Gamma Repeaters ◽

Term Evolution

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Long‐Term Evolution of Massive Black Hole Binaries

The Astrophysical Journal ◽

10.1086/378086 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 596 (2) ◽

pp. 860-878 ◽

Cited By ~ 170

Author(s):

Miloš Milosavljević ◽

David Merritt

Keyword(s):

Black Hole ◽

Long Term Evolution ◽

Massive Black Hole ◽

Black Hole Binaries ◽

Term Evolution

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Long-term Evolution of the Short-term X-Ray Variability of the Jetted TDE Swift J1644+57

The Astrophysical Journal ◽

10.3847/1538-4357/ac1674 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 920 (1) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Chichuan Jin

Keyword(s):

Long Term Evolution ◽

Short Term ◽

X Ray ◽

Term Evolution

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Accretion and outflow in V404 Cyg

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stz1793 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 488 (1) ◽

pp. 1356-1365 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J Casares ◽

T Muñoz-Darias ◽

D Mata Sánchez ◽

P A Charles ◽

M A P Torres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Transfer ◽

Black Hole ◽

Radiation Pressure ◽

Decay Time ◽

Total Mass ◽

Key Factors ◽

X Ray ◽

Term Evolution ◽

Inner Parts

ABSTRACT We study the optical evolution of the 2015 outburst in V404 Cyg, with emphasis on the peculiar nebular phase and subsequent decay to quiescence. From the decay time-scale of the Balmer emission associated with the nebula, we measure an outflow mass Mwind ≃ 4 × 10−6 M⊙. Remarkably, this is ∼100 times larger than the accreted mass and ∼10 per cent of the total mass stored in the disc. The wind efficiency must therefore be significantly larger than previous estimates for black hole transients, suggesting that radiation pressure (in addition to other mechanisms such as Compton-heating) plays a key role in V404 Cyg. In addition, we compare the evolution of the 2015 and 1989 outbursts and find not only clear similarities (namely a large luminosity drop ∼10 d after the X-ray trigger, followed by a brief nebular phase) but also remarkable differences in decay time-scales and long-term evolution of the H α profile. In particular, we see evidence for a rapid disc contraction in 2015, consistent with a burst of mass transfer. This could be driven by the response of the companion to hard X-ray illumination, most notably during the last gigantic (super-Eddington) flare on 2015 June 25. We argue that irradiation and consequential disc wind are key factors to understand the different outburst histories in 1989 and 2015. In the latter case, radiation pressure may be responsible for the abrupt end of the outburst through depleting inner parts of the disc, thus quenching accretion and X-ray irradiation. We also present a refined orbital period and updated ephemeris.

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