X-ray States of Black Hole Binaries & Possible Applications for General Relativity
Ron Remillard, Center for Space Research, M.I.T.
Outline Progress for Black Hole Binaries
Intensive Monitoring Campaigns: RXTE, radio, optical Modified Definitions of X-ray States: Physical Elements Each State : Applications for General Relativity Each State : Problems in Accretion Physics
Prospects for Advancement
Multi-X-ray Observations (broad-band and high-resolution Spectroscopy & Timing & Imaging)
Multi-Frequency Observations Engaging Theorists
Compact Objects
Masses from binary
motion of companion stars
or pulsars
Black Hole Binaries
Mx = 4-18 Mo
Neutron Stars
(X-ary & radio pulsars)
Mx ~ 1.4 Mo
Black Holes in the Milky Way
16 Black-Hole Binariesin the Galaxy
(Jerry Orosz, SDSU)
Scaled, tilted, andcolored for surface temp.
of companion star.
Black Hole Properties:mass (Mx) and
spin (a* = cJ / GMx2)
BH in Milky Way: 15/16 are transients
XTE J1550-564
First recorded outburst: 1998 Sept 6
Optical study in quiescence: 1.54 day binary,
9.6 Mo black hole + K subgiant star
d ~ 5 kpc ; Peak Lx ~ 20,000 Lo
Black Holes in the Milky Way
Black Holes in the Milky WayX-ray States: thermal & non-thermal
Spectral components
X-ray States of Black Hole Binaries McClintock & Remillard 2003
State modified descriptions
“very high” “steep power law”power law, ~ 2.4-3.0, fpow > 50% or fpow > 20% + QPOs
“high/soft” “thermal dominant”fpow < 20%, no QPOs, rms (0.1-10 Hz) < 0.06 at 2-30 keV
“low/hard” “low-hard (steady jet)” fpow > 80% (2-20 keV), ~ 1.5-2.1, broad PDS features, rms(0.1-10 Hz) is 10-30%
+ “quiescent” “quiescent”Lx < 10-4 Lmax , power law, ~ 1.9
X-ray States, GR, & Accretion PhysicsState / properties GR opportunity ? / physics problem
Steep power law High Freq. QPOs: GR resonance? (Mx, a*) a*
~ 2.5 , QPOs origin of steep power law and QPOs
Thermal dominant “spectro. parallax” Rin : {Ndbb, d, i } Rin(Mx, a*) a*
Tdisk ~ 1 keV range a* 0 1, then Rin = 6 1 GMx/c2
disk spectrum in Kerr metric + MHD + rad. transfer
Low Hard (steady jet) jets tap BH spin energy? (impulsive & steady jets?)
~ 1.7 ejection mechanisms; X-ray mechanism; B evolution
Quiescence N.S. vs. B.H. spectra surface vs. event horizon
~ 1.9 ADAF/CDAF model disputes; alternative scenarios?
Black Hole Emission StatesStatistics
XTE J1550-564 GRO J1655-40 XTE J1118+480
Steep Power Law 26 15 0Thermal Dominant 147 47 0Low/hard 22 2 10
Intermediate 57 2 0
Timescales (days) for all BH Binaries (RXTE)
duration transitionsSteep Power Law 1-10 <1Thermal Dominant 3-200 1-10Low/hard 3-200 1-5
Intermediate 3-30 1-3
X-ray States : Complications
+
“intermediate” ~2.5 impulsive jets state + Ecut? in transitions;
More Complications: Fast X-ray Novae
SAX J1819.3-2525 (V4641 Sgr)
black hole binary(Orosz et al. 2002)
‘Fast X-ray Nova’20 min of rage,
Sept 15, 1999 (RXTE)
outburst << disk flow ~ 20 d
High Frequency QPOs (40-450 Hz)
source HFQPO (Hz)
GRO J1655-40 300, 450
XTE J1550-564 184, 276
GRS 1915+105 41, 67, 113, 164
XTE J1859+226 190
4U1630-472 184
XTE J1650-500 250
H1743-322 160?, 240-----------red: 2-30 keV green: 6-30 keVblue: 13-30 keV
XTE J1550-564: 184, 276 Hz
GRO J1655-40: 300, 450 Hz
Commensurate Frequencies (3:2)
HFQPOs and General Relativity “Diskoseismology” (Wagoner 1999; Kato 2001)
Eigenfunctions for adiabatic perturbations
g-modes m={0,1} o, 4.1o
?? Add complexities {thick disk, corona model for SPL, nonlinear effects}
Resonance in the Inner Disk (Abramowicz & Kluzniak 2001)
GR has Frequencies for 3 coords {r, } & non-circular orbits
: r, or r, resonance ‘blob’ orbits? (Stella et al. 1999 for n.s.)… model too simplistic?
…ray tracing in Kerr metric (Schnittman & Bertschinger 2003):
feasible to produce QPOs at and r = 0.667
GR Coordinate Frequencies
r, = f ( Mx, r = r / (GMx/c2), a* = cJ/GMx
2 )
azimuth = c3/GMx [ 2 r 3/2 (1+ a* r -3/2) ]-1
radialr = || (1 - 6r -1 + 8a* r -3/2 - 3a*2 r -2)1/2
polar = || (1 - 4a* r -3/2 + 3a*2 r -2)1/2
Bardeen & Pettersen 1975; Chandrasekhar 1983
Merloni et al. 1999; Markovic 2000; Lamb 2001
QPO Pairs (3:2 o) vs. BH Mass GRO J1655-40, XTE J1550-564,
GRS1915+105: plot 2o vs, MBH
“QPO mass” (o = 931 Hz / M)
same mechanism
AND same spin
a* ~ 0.3-0.4 if QPOs are
and r
? Compare subclasses
While model efforts go on.
Combining X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy
GRO J1655-40
red “x”: no QPOs, thermal dom.
green : only Low-Freq. QPOs (0.1-20 Hz)
blue: LFQPOs + HFQPOs;(300, 450 Hz)
steep power law state
Combining X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy
XTE J1550-564
red “x”: no QPOs, thermal dom.
green : only Low-Freq. QPOs (0.05-20 Hz); LH and INT states
blue: LFQPOs + HFQPOs;(184, 276 Hz)
most: steep power-law state
Low Frequency QPOs
XTE J1550-564
QPOs (4 Hz)
rms variations ~ 30%At Lx ~ 5X1038 erg cm-2 s-1
(5.3 kpc; ~0.3 LEdd)
? Spiral waves in a highly magnetized disk?
Tagger & Pellat 1999(transports energy
out to wave corotation radius)
Low Frequency QPOs Properties
range: 0.05 – 30 Hz (most 0.5 – 10 Hz) amplitude: 1 – 20 % (rms, 2 – 30 keV) Q (= / ) 3 – 20 (typical 8.5) Phase lags -0.1 to +0.2 (2-6 keV vs. 13-30 keV)
X-ray States Low / Hard sometimes (transitions) Thermal Dominant generally, no Steep Power Law yes
Physical Correlations proportional to disk flux (not Tdisk; Fpow, etc) Ampl.(E) roughly like power law flux (harder than disk)
Sensitive Broad-Band Spectra (e.g. XMM)
Other Methods to Deduce Disk Structure
Broad Fe K Emission in B.H.(Profiles require spin? Which states?)
XTEJ1550-564 (INT): Miller et al. 2002
XTE J1650-500 (SPL): Miller et al. 2002
GRS1915 (SPL?) Martocchia et al. 2002
V4641 Sgr (LH?) Miller et al. 2002
Disk Reflection Spectra(Reflection vs. states?)
e.g. Done et al. 1999; Done & Nayakshin 2001
High Resolution Spectra (e.g. Chandra)Other Methods to Deduce Disk Structure
Spectral Lines from Hot Gas
Local outflow? disk winds (e.g. in Cir X-1)
but no BH cases yet.
Disk atmosphere (? thick disk at high Lx)
GRS1915+105: Lee et al. 2001
Conclusions Progress in Astrophysics of Black Hole Binaries:
18 Mass Measurements (4-18 Mo) Radio : X-ray efforts secure LH state steady jet Prospects (3) for measuring spin Timing + Energetics framework to probe
disk magnetization and other essential variables
Outstanding Problems: Origin of Steep Power Law component Strong, Low Frequency QPOs in SPL and INT states Kerr disk spectral models difficult; (5,000+ X-ray spectra)