We report on the detection of a thermal-disk component from the stellar-mass black hole binary XTE J1118+480 in the canonical low/hard state. The presence of a thermal component with a temperature of approximately 0.21keV in the Chandra spectra of XTE J1118+480 is found at more than the 14 sigma confidence level. Based on this evidence we argue that the accretion disk in XTE J1118+480 is not truncated far from the central black hole in contrast with previous claims.
With Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data, we systematically study the cross-correlation and time lag in all spectral states of black hole X-ray binary (BHXB) XTE J1859+226 in detail during its entire 1999-2000 outburst that lasted for 166 days. Anti-correlations and positive correlations and their respective soft and hard X-ray lags are only detected in the first 100 days of the outburst when the luminosity is high. This suggests that the cross-correlations may be related to high luminosity. Positive correlations are detected in every state of XTE J1859+226, viz., hard state, hard-intermed…
We report on the nearly simultaneous \nicer{} and \nustar{} observations of the known X-ray transient XTE~J1739-285. These observations provide the first sensitive hard X-ray spectrum of this neutron star X-ray transient. The source was observed on 2020 February 19 in the hard spectral state with a luminosity of $0.007$ of the Eddington limit. The broadband $1-70 \kev{}$ \nicer{} and \nustar{} observation clearly detects a cutoff of the hard spectral component around $34-40 \kev{}$ when the continuum is fitted by a soft thermal component and a hard power-law component. This feature has been de…
The degree to which the thin accretion disks of black hole X-ray binaries are truncated during hard spectral states remains a contentious open question in black hole astrophysics. During its singular observed outburst in $2009\mbox{--}2010$, the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1752-223 spent $\sim1$~month in a long-stable hard spectral state at a luminosity of $\sim0.02\mbox{--}0.1~L_{\rm Edd}$. It was observed with 56 RXTE pointings during this period, with simultaneous Swift-XRT daily coverage during the first 10 days of the RXTE observations. Whilst reflection modeling has been extensively exp…
The accreting black-hole binary XTE J1752--223 was observed in a stable hard state for 25 d by RXTE, yielding a 3--140 keV spectrum of unprecedented statistical quality. Its published model required a single Comptonization spectrum reflecting from a disk close to the innermost stable circular orbit. We studied that model as well as a number of other single-Comptonization models (yielding similarly low inner radii), but found they violate a number of basic physical constraints, e.g., their compactness is much above the maximum allowed by pair equilibrium. We also studied the contemporaneous 0.5…
We carry out a detailed study of the spectral and the timing properties of the stellar-mass black hole candidate XTE J1752-223 during its 2009-10 outburst using RXTE PCA data in the $2.5-25$ keV energy range. Low frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (LFQPOs) are seen in the power density spectrum (PDS). The spectral analysis is done using two types of models: one is the combined disk black body plus power-law model and the other is Transonic flow solution based Two Component Advective Flow (TCAF) model. RXTE PCA was non-operational during 2009 Nov. 16 to 2010 Jan. 18 and thus we study light c…
We present a detailed spectral analysis of the Black Hole Binary XTE J1752-223 in the hard state of its 2009 outburst. Regular monitoring of this source by RXTE provided high signal-to-noise spectra along the outburst rise and decay. During one full month this source stalled at $\sim$30\% of its peak count rate at a constant hardness and intensity. By combining all the data in this exceptionally-stable hard state, we obtained an aggregate PCA spectrum (3-45 keV) with 100 million counts, and a corresponding HEXTE spectrum (20-140 keV) with 5.8 million counts. Implementing a version of our refle…
This work presents the broad-band time-averaged spectral analysis of neutron star low-mass X-ray binary, XTE J1710-281 by using the Suzaku archival data. The source was in a hard or an intermediate spectral state during this observation. This is the first time that a detailed spectral analysis of the persistent emission spectra of XTE J1710-281 has been done up to 30 keV with improved constraints on its spectral parameters. By simultaneously fitting the XIS (0.6-9.0 keV) and the HXD-PIN (15.0-30.0 keV) data, we have modelled the persistent spectrum of the source with models comprising a soft c…
NuSTAR observed the black hole candidate XTE J1908$+$094 during its 2013 and 2019 outbursts. We use relativistic reflection to measure the spin of the black hole through 19 different assumptions of relxill flavors and parameter combinations. The most favored model in terms of Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) measures the spin of the black hole to be $a = 0.55^{+0.29}_{-0.45}$, and an inclination of $θ=27^{+2}_{-3}$ degrees ($1σ$ statistical errors). We look at the effects of coronal geometry assumptions and density of the accretion disk on the spin prediction. All 19 tested models provide …
It has been suggested for a long time that dark matter would form a density spike around a black hole. However, no promising evidence has been observed so far to verify this theoretical suggestion. Here, we report the existence of a dark matter density spike around each of the two nearby stellar-mass black holes (A0620-00 and XTE J1118+480). The dynamical friction between dark matter and the companion stars can satisfactorily explain the abnormally fast orbital decays in the two binaries. The calculated spike index for A0620-00 and XTE J1118+480 are $γ=1.71^{+0.01}_{-0.02}$ and $γ=1.85^{+0.04}…
We study the timing properties of XTE J1858+034 using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and Burst Alert Telescope onboard Swift during the outburst in October--November 2019. We have investigated for Quasi-Periodic Oscillation (QPO) during the outburst and detected a low-frequency QPO at $\sim$196 mHz with $\sim$6% RMS variability from the NuSTAR observation. The QPO is fitted and explained with the model - power law and a Lorentzian component. We have also studied the variation of QPO frequency with energy. The beat frequency model and Keplerian frequency model both are suita…
X-ray time lags are complicated in nature. The exact reasons for complex lag spectra are yet to be known. However, the hard lags, in general, are believed to be originated due to the inverse Comptonization process. But, the origin of soft lags remained mischievous. Recent studies on "Disk-Jet Connections" revealed that the jets are also contributing to the X-ray spectral and timing properties in a magnitude which was more than what was predicted earlier. In this article, we first show an exact anti-correlation between X-ray time lag and radio flux for XTE J1550-546 during its 1998 outburst. We…
Optical, J, and K photometric observations of the KV UMa black hole X-ray nova in its quiescent state obtained in 2017-2018 are presented. A significant flickering within light curves was not detected, although the average brightness of the system faded by $\approx 0.1^m$ during 350 days. Changes in the average brightness were not accompanied with the increase or the decrease of the flickering. From the modelling of five light curves the inclination of the KV UMa orbit and the black hole mass were obtained: $i=74^{\circ}\pm 4^{\circ}$, $M_{BH}=(7.06÷7.24)M_{\odot}$ dependently on the used mass…
XTE J1550-564 is a black hole X-ray binary for which the dynamical characteristics are well established, and the broadband spectral evolution of the source has been well studied. Its orbital inclination is known to be high, at $\sim75^{\circ}$, with the jet estimated to align well with the orbital axis. We explore simultaneous observations made with ASCA and RXTE, covering the $1$--$200$~keV band, during the early stages of the first outburst of XTE J1550-564 in its hard-intermediate state, on 1998-09-23/24. We show that the most up-to-date reflection models, applied to these data, yield an in…
The high-energy emission ($400$ keV $- 2$ MeV) of Cygnus X-1 --the most well-studied Galactic black hole-- was recently found to be strongly polarized. The origin of this radiation is still unknown. In this work, we suggest that it is the result of non-thermal processes in the hot corona around the accreting compact object, and study the polarization of high-energy radiation expected for black hole binaries. Two contributions to the total magnetic field are taken into account in our study, a small scale random component related to the corona, and an ordered magnetic field associated with the a…
We study spectral and temporal properties of Galactic short orbital period transient black hole XTE J1118+480 during its 2005 outburst using archival data of RXTE PCA and HEXTE instruments in the combined energy range of $3-100$ keV. Spectral analysis with the physical two-component advective flow (TCAF) model allows us to understand the accretion flow properties of the source. We found that this outburst of XTE J1118+480 is an unconventional outburst as the source was only in the hard state (HS). Our spectral analysis suggests that during the entire outburst, the source was highly dominated b…
We examine the dynamical behavior of accretion flow around XTE J1859+226 during the 1999 outburst by analyzing the entire outburst data ($\sim$ 166 days) from RXTE Satellite. Towards this, we study the hysteresis behavior in the hardness intensity diagram (HID) based on the broadband ($3 - 150$ keV) spectral modeling, spectral signature of jet ejection and the evolution of Quasi-periodic Oscillation (QPO) frequencies using the two-component advective flow model around a black hole. We compute the flow parameters, namely Keplerian accretion rate (${\dot m}_d$), sub-Keplerian accretion rate (${\…
We explore the accretion properties of the black hole X-ray binary \j1550\ during its outbursts in 1998/99 and 2000. We model the disk, corona, and reflection components of X-ray spectra taken with the {\it Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer} (\rxte), using the {\tt relxill} suite of reflection models. The key result of our modeling is that the reflection spectrum in the very soft state is best explained by disk self-irradiation, i.e., photons from the inner disk are bent by the strong gravity of the black hole, and reflected off the disk surface. This is the first known detection of thermal disk rad…
X-ray irradiation in X-ray binaries is thought to control the behavior at the outer disc, which is observable mainly at optical wavelengths. It is generally parameterized phenomenologically, but it can also be predicted from theoretical models of irradiated discs and their coronae/winds. We test these models using five multi-wavelength Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and quasi simultaneous Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) datasets from the black-hole binary XTE J1859$+$226. These show how the reprocessed optical emission changes during outburst as the source fades from the very high/intermediat…
We report on the BeppoSAX monitoring of a giant outburst of the transient X-ray pulsar XTE J1946+274 in 1998. The source was detected with a flux of ~ 4 x 10^(-9) erg cm^(-2) s^(-1) (in 0.1 - 120 keV range). The broadband spectrum, typical for accreting pulsars, is well described by a cutoff power law with a cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF) at ~ 38 keV. This value is consistent with earlier reports based on the observations with Suzaku at factor of ten lower luminosity, which implies that the feature is formed close to the neutron star surface rather than in the accretion column. …
Timing properties of black hole X-ray binaries in outburst can be modeled with mass accretion rate fluctuations propagating towards the black hole. Such models predict time lags between energy bands due to propagation delays. First application of a propagating fluctuations model to black hole power spectra showed good agreement with the data. Indeed, hard lags observed from these systems appear to be in agreement with this generic prediction. Our PROPFLUC code allows to simultaneously predict power spectra, time lags, and coherence of the variability as a function of energy. This was successfu…
Galactic black hole candidate (BHC) XTE~J1118+480 during its 2000 outburst has been studied in a broad energy range using the archival data of PCA and HEXTE payloads of {\it Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer}. Detailed spectral and temporal properties of the source are studied. Low and very low frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), with a general trend of increasing frequency are observed during the outburst. Spectral analysis is done using the combined data of PCA and HEXTE instruments with two types of models: the well known phenomenological power-law model and the current version of the {…
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 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 $-11$\degree\ east of north. We initially see only the southern component, whose evolu…
