Radio polarimetry as a probe of unresolved jets: the 2013 outburst of XTE J1908+094

Curran, P. A.; Miller-Jones, J. C. A.; Rushton, A.; Pawar, Devraj; Anderson, G.; Altamirano, D.; Krimm, H. A.; Broderick, J. W.; Belloni, T.; Fender, R. P.; Körding, Elmar; Maitra, D.; Markoff, Sera; Migliari, S.; Rumsey, C.; Rupen, M. P.; Russell, D. M.; Russell, Thomas; Sarazin, Craig L.; Sivakoff, G. R.; Soria, Roberto; Tetarenko, Alexandra J.; Titterington, D.; Tudose, V.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1252

Cited by 15 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If synchrotron emission from the jet dominates the KS-band polarization, then this implies the magnetic field vector is parallel to the jet axis. This is the same as found in other LMXBs from NIR data Russell et al 2011) and radio data (Curran et al 2015). Whether the synchrotron is optically thin, or partially self-absorbed (i.e.…”

Section: A0620-00supporting

confidence: 85%

“…the flat spectrum that extends from NIR to radio), the polarization will be dominated by the optically thin regions, which have PAs aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field (e.g. Zdziarski et al 2014;Curran et al 2015). The KS-band FLP is ∼ 1.25 ± 0.28 per cent and if this is produced by the jet which contributes ∼ 8 -37 per cent of the flux density, this would imply the jet contribution itself is polarized at a level of FLPjet ∼ 3-18 per cent, suggesting that the magnetic field in the jet is moderately tangled.…”

Section: A0620-00mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Polarized synchrotron emission in quiescent black hole X-ray transients

Russell¹,

Shahbaz²,

Lewis³

et al. 2016

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present near-infrared polarimetric observations of the black hole X-ray binaries Swift J1357.2-0933 and A0620-00. In both sources, recent studies have demonstrated the presence of variable infrared synchrotron emission in quiescence, most likely from weak compact jets. For Swift J1357.2-0933 we find that the synchrotron emission is polarized at a level of 8.0 ± 2.5 per cent (a 3.2 σ detection of intrinsic polarization). The mean magnitude and rms variability of the flux (fractional rms of 19-24 per cent in K S -band) agree with previous observations. These properties imply a continuously launched (stable on long timescales), highly variable (on short timescales) jet in the Swift J1357.2-0933 system in quiescence, which has a moderately tangled magnetic field close to the base of the jet. We find that for A0620-00, there are likely to be three components to the optical-infrared polarization; interstellar dust along the line of sight, scattering within the system, and an additional source that changes the polarization position angle in the reddest (H and K S ) wave-bands. We interpret this as a stronger contribution of synchrotron emission, and by subtracting the line-of-sight polarization, we measure an excess of ∼ 1.25±0.28 per cent polarization and a position angle of the magnetic field vector that is consistent with being parallel with the axis of the resolved radio jet. These results imply that weak jets in low luminosity accreting systems have magnetic fields which possess similarly tangled fields compared to the more luminous, hard state jets in X-ray binaries.

show abstract

Section: A0620-00supporting

confidence: 85%

Section: A0620-00mentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarized synchrotron emission in quiescent black hole X-ray transients

Russell¹,

Shahbaz²,

Lewis³

et al. 2016

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, we note that radio behaviour around the transition is complex, and that there are time lags between various components of the jet which can make it difficult to establish causal connections (Hannikainen et al 2009;Miller-Jones et al 2012;Brocksopp et al 2013;Corbel et al 2013b;Curran et al 2015). None the less, it seems that the power is not being dissipated in a steady jet, nor in a discrete ejection.…”

Section: Low Radiative Efficiency: Jet Power?mentioning

confidence: 76%

Tracking the energetics of the non-thermal disc–corona–jet in the very high state GX 339 − 4

Kubota

Done

2016

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The dramatic hard-soft spectral transition in Black Hole Binaries is important as it is associated with the collapse of the jet and with the strongest low frequency QPOs. These transition spectra (intermediate and very high state: VHS) are complex, with soft but distinctly non-thermal Comptonisation which merges smoothly into the disc emission. Here we develop a physical model for the accretion flow which can accommodate all these features, with an outer standard disc, which can make a transition to an energetically coupled disc-corona region, and make a further transition to a hot inner flow which can be radiatively inefficient if required. The code explicitly uses fully relativistic emissivity (Novikov-Thorne), and all Comptonisation is calculated with a hybrid (thermal and non-thermal) electron distribution. We fit this to a VHS spectrum from GX 339 − 4. We show that the complex continuum curvature produced by a hybrid electron distribution is enough to remove the strong constraint on black hole spin derived from reflection using simpler Comptonisation models. More fundamentally, we show that the VHS cannot be fit with the same Novikov-Thorne emissivity which can fit the disc dominated spectrum but instead requires that the inner flow is somewhat radiatively inefficient. This is consistent with an accretion powered jet, but simultaneous radio data show that the jet has already collapsed at the time of our data. Instead, it could point to truncation of the inner flow at radii larger than the innermost stable circular orbit, as predicted by the Lense-Thirring QPO models.

show abstract

“…The source distance is poorly constrained, although in't Zand et al (2002b) used the peak bolometric flux of the 2002 outburst to place a lower limit of > 6.8 kpc. Using the measured flux of the soft-to-hard X-ray state transition, which is known to occur at 1-3% of the Eddington luminosity (Maccarone 2003;Kalemci et al 2013), Curran et al (2015) found a distance range of 4.8-13.6 kpc (for black hole masses of 3-10M ). Throughout this paper we therefore assume a canonical distance of 8 kpc.…”

Section: Xte J1908+094mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On November 5 (MJD 56601), AMI-LA detected a rapid radio flare to 15 mJy, which decayed over the course of a few hours. The radio emission subsequently quenched to < 0.32 mJy on MJD 56602.7, before undergoing a much longer-duration flare that peaked at 13 mJy on MJD 56607.1 and decayed slowly over the following ten days, becoming undetectable by MJD 56618 (Curran et al 2015).…”

Section: Xte J1908+094mentioning

confidence: 99%

Resolved, expanding jets in the Galactic black hole candidate XTE J1908+094

Rushton¹,

Miller-Jones²,

Curran³

et al. 2017

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Black hole X-ray binaries undergo occasional outbursts caused by changing inner accretion flows. Here we report high-angular resolution radio observations of the 2013 outburst of the black hole candidate X-ray binary system XTE J1908+094, using data from the VLBA and EVN. We show that following a hard-to-soft state transition, we detect moving jet knots that appear asymmetric in morphology and brightness, and expand to become laterally resolved as they move away from the core, along an axis aligned approximately −11 • east of north. We initially see only the southern component, whose evolution gives rise to a 15-mJy radio flare and generates the observed radio polarization. This fades and becomes resolved out after 4 days, after which a second component appears to the north, moving in the opposite direction. From the timing of the appearance of the knots relative to the X-ray state transition, a 90 • swing of the inferred magnetic field orientation, the asymmetric appearance of the knots, their complex and evolving morphology, and their low speeds, we interpret the knots as working surfaces where the jets impact the surrounding medium. This would imply a substantially denser environment surrounding XTE J1908+094 than has been inferred to exist around the microquasar sources GRS 1915+105 and GRO J1655−40.

show abstract

Radio polarimetry as a probe of unresolved jets: the 2013 outburst of XTE J1908+094

Cited by 15 publications

References 71 publications

Polarized synchrotron emission in quiescent black hole X-ray transients

Polarized synchrotron emission in quiescent black hole X-ray transients

Tracking the energetics of the non-thermal disc–corona–jet in the very high state GX 339 − 4

Resolved, expanding jets in the Galactic black hole candidate XTE J1908+094

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About