Thermal and radiation driving can produce observable disc winds in hard-state X-ray binaries

Higginbottom, Nick; Knigge, Christian; Long, Knox S.; Matthews, James H.; Hewitt, Henrietta A.; Parkinson, Edward J.; Mangham, Samuel W.

doi:10.1093/mnras/staa209

Cited by 34 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The rationale for this suggestion originates in the correlation between the strength of reflection features-such as Fe line equivalent width, and reflection fraction-and the column density of the warm absorber. This is a plausible explanation for the observed features, as has been found by recent works, e.g., Higginbottom et al (2020). Including these potential scattering and line emission effects in the warm absorber could affect our reflection modeling results, as such processes may mimic some of the reflection features, in particular the Fe line emission and Compton hump.…”

Section: Comparisons With Previous Worksupporting

confidence: 78%

Reflection Modeling of the Black Hole Binary 4U 1630–47: The Disk Density and Returning Radiation

Connors

García

Tomsick

et al. 2021

ApJ

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We present the analysis of X-ray observations of the black hole binary 4U 1630−47 using relativistic reflection spectroscopy. We use archival data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array observatories, taken during different outbursts of the source between 1998 and 2015. Our modeling includes two relatively new advances in modern reflection codes: high-density disks, and returning thermal disk radiation. Accretion disks around stellar-mass black holes are expected to have densities well above the standard value assumed in traditional reflection models (i.e., n e ∼ 10 15 cm −3 ). New high-density reflection models have important implications in the determination of disk truncation (i.e., the disk inner radius). This is because one must retain self-consistency in the irradiating flux and corresponding disk ionization state, which is a function of disk density and system geometry. We find that the disk density is n e 10 20 cm −3 across all spectral states. This density, combined with our constraints on the ionization state of the material, implies an irradiating flux impinging on the disk that is consistent with the expected theoretical estimates. Returning thermal disk radiation-the fraction of disk photons that bend back to the disk producing additional reflection components -is expected predominantly in the soft state. We show that returning radiation models indeed provide a better fit to the soft-state data, reinforcing previous results that show that in the soft state, the irradiating continuum may be blackbody emission from the disk itself. Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Accretion (14); Stellar accretion disks (1579); Black hole physics (159); Atomic physics (2063); Low-mass x-ray binary stars (939)

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Section: Comparisons With Previous Worksupporting

confidence: 78%

Reflection Modeling of the Black Hole Binary 4U 1630–47: The Disk Density and Returning Radiation

Connors

García

Tomsick

et al. 2021

ApJ

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“…systems in which the disc is not subject to the instability that drives the outbursts of transient accretors [36][37][38] The emerging physical picture of disc winds being an integral part of the accretion flows in X-ray binaries is consistent with theoretical modeling of outburst light curves 5,37 . It is also in line with recent radiation-hydrodynamical modeling of thermally-driven outflows from X-ray binary discs 4 . These simulations confirm that strong mass loss is inevitable in any systems with a sufficiently large disc subject to strong irradiation.…”

supporting

confidence: 89%

“…The joint presence of UV and optical wind features in the hard state reveals a multi-phase and/or spatially stratified evaporative outflow from the outer disc. This type of persistent mass loss across all accretion states has been predicted by radiation-hydrodynamic simulations 4 and is required to account for the shorter-than-expected outburst durations 5,6 .…”

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confidence: 79%

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A persistent ultraviolet outflow from the accretion disc in a transient neutron star binary

Segura

Knigge

Long

et al. 2021

Preprint

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All disc-accreting astrophysical objects also produce powerful disc winds and/or jets. In compact binaries containing neutron stars or black holes, accretion often takes place during violent outbursts. The main disc wind signatures seen during these eruptions are blue-shifted X-ray absorption lines. However, these signatures are only observed during "soft states", when the accretion disc generates most of the luminosity. By contrast, optical wind-formed absorption lines have recently been detected in "hard states", when the luminosity is dominated by a hot corona. The relationship between these disc wind signatures is unknown, and no erupting compact binary has so far been observed to display wind-formed lines between the X-ray and optical bands, despite the many strong resonance transitions in this ultraviolet (UV) region of the spectrum. In turn, the impact of disc winds on the overall mass and energy budget of these systems remains a key open question. Here, we show that the transient neutron star X-ray binary Swift J1858.6-0814 exhibits wind-formed, blue-shifted absorption features associated with C IV, N V and He II in time-resolved, UV spectroscopy obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope during a luminous hard state. In simultaneous ground-based observations, the optical H and He I lines also display transient blue-shifted absorption troughs. By decomposing our UV data into constant and flaring components, we demonstrate that the blue-shifted absorption is associated with the former, which implies that the outflow is always present. The joint presence of UV and optical wind features in the hard state reveals a multi-phase and/or spatially stratified evaporative outflow from the outer disc. This type of persistent mass loss across all accretion states has been predicted by radiation-hydrodynamic simulations and is required to account for the shorter-than-expected outburst durations.

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“…It has been recently understood that the spectral state of the central source has a huge impact on the thermal stability of the wind and its ionization state (Chakravorty et al 2013(Chakravorty et al , 2016Bianchi et al 2017;Higginbottom et al 2020). When illuminated by a soft state spectrum, the wind is always thermally stable regardless of its ionization parameter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expected evolution of disk wind properties along an X-ray binary outburst

Petrucci

Bianchi

Ponti

et al. 2021

A&A

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Blueshifted X-ray absorption lines (preferentially from Fe XXV and Fe XXVI present in the 6–8 keV range) indicating the presence of massive hot disk winds in black hole (BH) X-ray binaries (XrB) are most generally observed during soft states. It has been recently suggested that the nondetection of such hot wind signatures in hard states could be due to the thermal instability of the wind in the ionization domain consistent with Fe XXV and Fe XXVI. Studying the wind thermal stability does require, however, a very good knowledge of the spectral shape of the ionizing spectral energy distribution (SED). In this paper, we discuss the expected evolution of the disk wind properties during an entire outburst by using the RXTE observations of GX 339-4 during its 2010–2011 outburst. While GX 339-4 never showed signatures of a hot wind in the X-rays, the dataset used is optimal for the analysis shown in this study. We computed the corresponding stability curves of the wind using the SED obtained with the jet-emitting disk model. We show that the disk wind can transit from stable to unstable states for Fe XXV and Fe XXVI ions on a day timescale. While the absence of wind absorption features in hard states could be explained by this instability, their presence in soft states seems to require changes in the wind properties (e.g., density) during the spectral transitions between hard and soft states. We propose that these changes could be partly due to the variation of the heating power release at the accretion disk surface through irradiation by the central X-ray source. The evolution of the disk wind properties discussed in this paper could be confirmed through the daily monitoring of the spectral transition of a high-inclination BH XrB.

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Thermal and radiation driving can produce observable disc winds in hard-state X-ray binaries

Cited by 34 publications

References 64 publications

Reflection Modeling of the Black Hole Binary 4U 1630–47: The Disk Density and Returning Radiation

Reflection Modeling of the Black Hole Binary 4U 1630–47: The Disk Density and Returning Radiation

A persistent ultraviolet outflow from the accretion disc in a transient neutron star binary

Expected evolution of disk wind properties along an X-ray binary outburst

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