Optical Observations of GRO J1655−40 in Quiescence. I. A Precise Mass for the Black Hole Primary

Orosz, Jerome A.; Bailyn, Charles D.

doi:10.1086/303741

Cited by 291 publications

(361 citation statements)

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“…For details of the model, see Tjemkes et al (1986) and Orosz & Bailyn (1997). The geometry of the binary system is given by the orbital inclination i, the mass ratio q ¼ M 2 =M 1 (where M 1 and M 2 are the masses of the compact object and secondary star, respectively), and the Roche lobe-filling factor f of the secondary star.…”

Section: The X-ray Binary Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Optical Light Curves of XTE J2123−058. III. The Mass of the Binary Components and the Structure of the Quiescent Accretion Disk

Shahbaz

Zurita

Casares

et al. 2003

ApJ

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We present optical photometry of XTE J2123À058 taken in 1999 and 2000, during its quiescent state. The dominant feature of our R-band light curve is the ellipsoidal modulation of the secondary star; however, in order to fit this satisfactorily, we require additional components that comprise an X-ray-heated Roche lobefilling secondary star and an accretion disk bulge, i.e., where the gas stream impacts the accretion disk. The observed dip near phase 0.8 is interpreted as the eclipse of inner parts of the accretion disk by the bulge. This scenario is highly plausible given the high binary inclination. Our fits allow us to constrain the size of the quiescent accretion disk to lie in the range (0.26-0.58)R L1 (68% confidence). Using the distance of 9.6 kpc and the X-ray flux inferred from the heated hemisphere of the companion, we obtain an unabsorbed X-ray luminosity of 1:2 Â 10 33 ergs s À1 for XTE J2123À058 in quiescence. From the observed quiescent optical/IR colors, we find that the power-law index (À1.4) for the spectral distribution of the accretion disk compares well with other quiescent X-ray transients.We also reanalyze the optical light curves of the soft X-ray transient XTE J2123À058 taken during its outburst and decay in 1998. We use a robust method to fit the data using a refined X-ray binary model. The model computes the light arising from a Roche lobe-filling star and flared accretion disk irradiated by X-rays and calculates the effects of shadowing and mutual star/disk eclipses. We obtain relatively accurate values for the binary inclination and mass ratio, which when combined with spectroscopic results obtained in Paper II, gives a neutron star mass in the range 1.04-1.56 M (68% confidence).

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Section: The X-ray Binary Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With this data set, we cannot determine the shape of the accretion disk. However, it should be noted that multicolor observations throughout an outburst may allow one to determine (see Orosz & Bailyn 1997) and, more importantly, provide information on the shape of the accretion disk in an SXT during outburst.…”

Section: Fitting the Outburst/decay Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Optical Light Curves of XTE J2123−058. III. The Mass of the Binary Components and the Structure of the Quiescent Accretion Disk

Shahbaz

Zurita

Casares

et al. 2003

ApJ

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“…Throughout the article, we refer to the table given by Wilms et al (2000) for the solar abundances. The distance and inclination angle of GRO J1655−40 are assumed to be = D 3.2 kpc (Hjellming & Rupen 1995;Orosz & Bailyn 1997) and =  i 70 (Greene et al 2001), respectively. Figure 1 shows the long-term X-ray and optical/NIR behavior in the first ∼80 days of the outburst in 2005, including the date of the Chandra observation (April 1 = MJD 53461).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Optically Thick Disk Wind in Gro J1655–40?

Shidatsu

Done

Ueda

2016

ApJ

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The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTWe revisited the unusual wind in GRO J1655−40, detected with Chandra in 2005 April, using long-term Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer X-ray data and simultaneous optical/near-infrared photometric data. This wind is the most convincing case for magnetic driving in black hole binaries, as it has an inferred launch radius that is a factor of 10 smaller than the thermal wind prediction. However, the optical and near-infrared (OIR) fluxes monotonically increase around the Chandra observation, whereas the X-ray flux monotonically decreases from 10 days beforehand. Yet the optical and near-infrared fluxes are from the outer, irradiated disk, so for them to increase implies that the X-rays likewise increased. We applied a new irradiated disk model to the multi-wavelength spectral energy distributions. Fitting the OIR fluxes, we estimated the intrinsic luminosity at the Chandra epoch was  L 0.7 Edd , which is more than one order of magnitude larger than the observed X-ray luminosity. These results could be explained if a Compton-thick, almost completely ionized gas was present in the wind and strong scattering reduced the apparent X-ray luminosity. The effects of scattering in the wind should then be taken into account for discussion of the wind-driving mechanism. Radiation pressure and Compton heating may also contribute to powering the wind at this high luminosity.

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“…For example, two studies of A0620-00 have given the following discrepant results: 62 o < i < 71 o M 1 [20]. The one exceptionally clear-cut case is GRO J1655-40: the high quality of the fourcolor ellipsoidal light curve data and the excellent model t yield a precise inclination of 69.5 0:08 o ; the black hole mass is M 1 = 7 : 02 0:22 M [10]. See also van der Hooft et al [21] for a more conservative appraisal.…”

Section: The Eight Black Hole X-ray Novaementioning

confidence: 99%

Probing strong gravitational fields in X-ray novae

McClintock¹

1998

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract. Most X-ray n o v ae (aka soft X-ray transients) contain black hole primaries. In particular, the large mass functions measured for six X-ray novae directly clinch the argument (within general relativity) that they contain black holes. These rm dynamical results are discussed, and the urgent need to determine precise masses for black holes is stressed. The dynamical evidence for black holes is convincing but it is indirect. Now it appears that direct evidence may be at hand. Three recent studies have revealed phenomena that very likely probe strong gravitational elds: (1) a comparison of the luminosities of black hole systems and neutron star systems has yielded compelling evidence for the existence of event horizons; (2) RXTE observations of fast, stable QPOs have probed the very inner accretion disks of two black holes; and (3) three di erent types of low energy spectra have been linked to di erent black-hole spin states (e.g. Kerr vs. Schwarzschild).

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Optical Observations of GRO J1655−40 in Quiescence. I. A Precise Mass for the Black Hole Primary

Cited by 291 publications

References 53 publications

The Optical Light Curves of XTE J2123−058. III. The Mass of the Binary Components and the Structure of the Quiescent Accretion Disk

The Optical Light Curves of XTE J2123−058. III. The Mass of the Binary Components and the Structure of the Quiescent Accretion Disk

An Optically Thick Disk Wind in Gro J1655–40?

Probing strong gravitational fields in X-ray novae

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