scholarly journals Measuring the distance to the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1348–630 using H i absorption

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (1) ◽  
pp. L60-L64
Author(s):  
J Chauhan ◽  
J C A Miller-Jones ◽  
W Raja ◽  
J R Allison ◽  
P F L Jacob ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present neutral hydrogen (H i) absorption spectra of the black hole candidate X-ray binary (XRB) MAXI J1348–630 using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and MeerKAT. The ASKAP H i spectrum shows a maximum negative radial velocity (with respect to the local standard of rest) of −31 ± 4 km s−1 for MAXI J1348–630, as compared to −50 ± 4 km s−1 for a stacked spectrum of several nearby extragalactic sources. This implies a most probable distance of $2.2^{+0.5}_{-0.6}$ kpc for MAXI J1348–630, and a strong upper limit of the tangent point distance at 5.3 ± 0.1 kpc. Our preferred distance implies that MAXI J1348–630 reached 17 ± 10  per cent of the Eddington luminosity at the peak of its outburst, and that the source transited from the soft to the hard X-ray spectral state at 2.5 ± 1.5  per cent of the Eddington luminosity. The MeerKAT H i spectrum of MAXI J1348–630 (obtained from the older, low-resolution 4k mode) is consistent with the re-binned ASKAP spectrum, highlighting the potential of the eventual capabilities of MeerKAT for XRB spectral line studies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (1) ◽  
pp. L129-L133 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Chauhan ◽  
J C A Miller-Jones ◽  
G E Anderson ◽  
W Raja ◽  
A Bahramian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT With the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) we monitored the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535–571 over seven epochs from 2017 September 21 to October 2. Using ASKAP observations, we studied the H i absorption spectrum from gas clouds along the line of sight and thereby constrained the distance to the source. The maximum negative radial velocities measured from the H i absorption spectra for MAXI J1535–571 and an extragalactic source in the same field of view are −69 ± 4 and −89 ± 4 km s−1, respectively. This rules out the far kinematic distance ($9.3^{+0.5}_{-0.6}$ kpc), giving a most likely distance of $4.1^{+0.6}_{-0.5}$ kpc, with a strong upper limit of the tangent point at $6.7^{+0.1}_{-0.2}$ kpc. At our preferred distance, the peak unabsorbed luminosity of MAXI J1535–571 was >78 per cent of the Eddington luminosity, and shows that the soft-to-hard spectral state transition occurred at the very low luminosity of (1.2–3.4) × 10−5 times the Eddington luminosity. Finally, this study highlights the capabilities of new wide-field radio telescopes to probe Galactic transient outbursts, by allowing us to observe both a target source and a background comparison source in a single telescope pointing.


Galaxies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Debjit Chatterjee ◽  
Arghajit Jana ◽  
Kaushik Chatterjee ◽  
Riya Bhowmick ◽  
Sujoy Kumar Nath ◽  
...  

We study the properties of the faint X-ray activity of Galactic transient black hole candidate XTE J1908+094 during its 2019 outburst. Here, we report the results of detailed spectral and temporal analysis during this outburst using observations from Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). We have not observed any quasi-periodic-oscillations (QPOs) in the power density spectrum (PDS). The spectral study suggests that the source remained in the softer (more precisely, in the soft–intermediate) spectral state during this short period of X-ray activity. We notice a faint but broad Fe Kα emission line at around 6.5 keV. We also estimate the probable mass of the black hole to be 6.5−0.7+0.5M⊙, with 90% confidence.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S238) ◽  
pp. 361-362
Author(s):  
P. Elebert ◽  
P. J. Callanan ◽  
L. Russell ◽  
S. E. Shaw

AbstractWe present the first high resolution optical spectrum of the black hole candidate BG Geminorum, as well as UV spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope, and X-ray data from INTEGRAL. The UV spectra suggest the presence of material in BG Gem with velocities possibly as high as ∼1000 km s−1, suggesting an origin at a distance of ∼0.7 R⊙ from a 3.5 M⊙ object; if real, this would be strong evidence that the primary in BG Gem is indeed a black hole. In contrast, the upper limit provided by the INTEGRAL data gives a maximum X-ray luminosity of only ∼0.1 of the Eddington luminosity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 388-389
Author(s):  
A. Kubota ◽  
K. Makishima ◽  
T. Dotani ◽  
H. Inoue ◽  
K. Mitsuda ◽  
...  

About 10 X-ray binaries in our Galaxy and LMC/SMC are considered to contain black hole candidates (BHCs). Among these objects, Cyg X-1 was identified as the first BHC, and it has led BHCs for more than 25 years(Oda 1977, Liang and Nolan 1984). It is a binary system composed of normal blue supergiant star and the X-ray emitting compact object. The orbital kinematics derived from optical observations indicates that the compact object is heavier than ~ 4.8 M⊙ (Herrero 1995), which well exceeds the upper limit mass for a neutron star(Kalogora 1996), where we assume the system consists of only two bodies. This has been the basis for BHC of Cyg X-1.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S356) ◽  
pp. 348-350
Author(s):  
Eva Šrámková ◽  
K. Goluchová ◽  
G. Török ◽  
Marek A. Abramowicz ◽  
Z. Stuchlík ◽  
...  

AbstractA strong quasi-periodic modulation has recently been revealed in the X-ray flux of the X-ray source XMMUJ134736.6+173403. The two observed twin-peak quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) exhibit a 3:1 frequency ratio and strongly support the evidence for the presence of an active galactic nucleus black hole (AGN BH). It has been suggested that detections of twin-peak QPOs with commensurable frequency ratios and scaling of their periods with BH mass could provide the basis for a method intended to determine the mass of BH sources, such as AGNs. Assuming the orbital origin of QPOs, we calculate the upper and lower limit on the AGN BH mass M, reaching M ≍ 107–109M⊙. Compared to mass estimates of other sources, XMMUJ134736.6+173403 appears to be the most massive source with commensurable QPO frequencies, and its mass represents the current observational upper limit on the AGN BH mass obtained from the QPO observations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (4) ◽  
pp. 4783-4790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen C Dage ◽  
Stephen E Zepf ◽  
Arash Bahramian ◽  
Jay Strader ◽  
Thomas J Maccarone ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT RZ2109 is the first of several extragalactic globular clusters shown to host an ultraluminous X-ray source. RZ2109 is particularly notable because optical spectroscopy shows it has broad, luminous [O iii] λλ4959,5007 emission, while also having no detectable hydrogen emission. The X-ray and optical characteristics of the source in RZ2109 make it a good candidate for being a stellar mass black hole accreting from a white dwarf donor (i.e. an ultracompact black hole X-ray binary). In this paper we present optical spectroscopic monitoring of the [O iii]5007 emission line from 2007 to 2018. We find that the flux of the emission line is significantly lower in recent observations from 2016 to 2018 than it was in earlier observations in 2007–2011. We also explore the behaviour of the emission line shape over time. Both the core and the wings of the emission line decline over time, with some evidence that the core declines more rapidly than the wings. However, the most recent observations (in 2019) unexpectedly show the emission line core rebrightening


2020 ◽  
Vol 240 ◽  
pp. 04001
Author(s):  
Fahmi Iman Alfarizki ◽  
Kiki Vierdayanti

Investigation of spectral evolution of four black hole candidates was carried out by using color-color diagram as well as spectral fitting on Swift/XRT data. Newly found candidates, which are classified as low-mass X-ray binary system based on their transient nature, are the focus of our work. We compare their spectral evolutions to that of XTE J1752-223, a transient system and a more convincing black hole candidate whose mass has been determined from spectral-timing correlation scaling. In addition, comparison to Cygnus X-1, a well-known stellar-mass black hole, was done despite its persistent nature. The spectral fitting, by using a combination of thermal disk and non-thermal component model, results in the innermost temperature values in the range of the typical innermost temperature of black hole binary which is 0.7 – 1.5 keV. The spectral evolutions of the candidates bear a resemblance to both Cygnus X-1 and XTE J1752-223. We note that during Swift/XRT observations, the spectra of Cygnus X-1 and IGR J17451-3022 are mostly dominated by the non- thermal component. We conclude that the compact object of MAXI J1535- 571 and MAXI J1828-249 is highly likely to be a black hole. However, the lack of data rendered conclusive result impossible for IGR J17454-2919.


1995 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 334-335
Author(s):  
H.C. Pan ◽  
G.K. Skinner ◽  
R.A. Sunyaev ◽  
K.N. Borozdin

X1755-338 is an X-ray binary source which displays X-ray dips with a 4.4 hour period (White et al. 1984). It was previously noted as an unusually soft X-ray source by Jones (1977) and was suggested later as a black-hole candidate (BHC) by White & Marshall (1984), and White et al. (1984), based on the similarity of its location in an X-ray colour-colour diagram to that of a group of BHCs.The TTM is a coded-mask imaging spectrometer on board the KVANT module of the MIR space station. It is capable of producing images in the 2 – 30 keV band with an energy resolution of about 18% at 6 keV. The instrumental details are given in Brinkman et al. (1985).We observed X1755-338 in 1989 March-September during the period of the TTM Galactic Centre Survey.


1996 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 363-367
Author(s):  
W.S. Paciesas ◽  
S.N. Zhang ◽  
B.C. Rubin ◽  
B.A. Harmon ◽  
C.A. Wilson ◽  
...  

A bright transient X-ray source, GRO J1655-40 (X-ray Nova Scorpii 1994) was discovered with BATSE (the Burst and Transient Source Experiment) in late July 1994. More recently, the source also became a strong radio emitter, its rise in the radio being approximately anti-correlated with a decline in the hard X-ray intensity. High-resolution radio observations subsequent to this symposium showed evidence for superluminally expanding jets. Since the hard X-ray emission extends to at least 200 keV and we find no evidence of pulsations, we tentatively classify the source as a black-hole candidate. However, its hard X-ray spectrum is unusually steep (power-law photon index α ≃ −3) relative to most other black-hole candidates. In this regard, it resembles GRS 1915+105, the first galactic source to show superluminal radio jets.


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