We apply a recently developed technique of calculating the minimum jet kinetic power to the major mass ejections of the black-hole binary GRS 1915+105 observed in radio wavelengths in 1994 and 1997. We derive for them the distance-dependent minimum power, and the corresponding mass flow rate and the total energy and mass content. We find that a fast increase of the jet power with the increasing distance combined with the jet power estimates based on the bolometric luminosity imply the source distance is <10 kpc. If the jet in GRS 1915 contains ions, their bulk motion dominates the jet power, which was either neglected or not properly taken into account earlier. We also reconsider the parameters of the binary, and derive the current best estimates of the distance-dependent black-hole mass and the inclination based on existing measurements combined with the kinematic constraints from the mass ejections. We also find the measurement of the donor radius of Steeghs et al. implies the distance to the system of <10 kpc, in agreement with the estimate from the jet power.
We present three simultaneous/quasi-simultaneous NuSTAR and Swift datasets of the black hole GRS 1716-249 in its hard intermediate state. The accretion disk in this state may have reached the innermost stable circular orbit, and the NuSTAR spectra show a broad relativistic iron line and a strong Compton hump. To measure the black hole spin, we construct a joint model consisting of a relativistic disk model kerrbb and a reflection model relxill, to fit the continuum and the reflection components, respectively. By applying this model to each dataset independently, a consistent result is obtained…
We report on the long-term monitoring campaign of the black hole candidate IGR J17091-3624 performed with INTEGRAL and Swift during the peculiar outburst started on January 2011. We have studied the two month spectral evolution of the source in detail. Unlike the previous outbursts, the initial transition from the hard to the soft state in 2011 was not followed by the standard spectral evolution expected for a transient black hole binary. IGR J17091-3624 showed pseudo periodic flare-like events in the light curve, closely resembling those observed from GRS 1915+105. We find evidence that these…
Using the Very Long Baseline Array, we have measured a trigonometric parallax for the micro quasar GRS 1915+105, which contains a black hole and a K-giant companion. This yields a direct distance estimate of 8.6 (+2.0,-1.6) kpc and a revised estimate for the mass of the black hole of 12.4 (+2.0,-1.8) Msun. GRS 1915+105 is at about the same distance as some HII regions and water masers associated with high-mass star formation in the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Galaxy. The absolute proper motion of GRS 1915+105 is -3.19 +/- 0.03 mas/y and -6.24 +/- 0.05 mas/y toward the east and north, respect…
We report on the X-ray spectral analysis and time evolution of GRS 1739$-$278 during its 2014 outburst based on MAXI/GSC and Swift/XRT observations. Over the course of the outburst, a transition from the low/hard state to the high/soft state and then back to the low/hard state was seen. During the high/soft state, the innermost disk temperature mildly decreased, while the innermost radius estimated with the multi-color disk model remained constant at $\sim18\ (\frac{D}{8.5\ \mathrm{kpc}}) \ {(\frac{\cos i}{\cos 30^{\circ}})}^{-1/2}$ km, where $D$ is the source distance and $i$ is the inclinati…
We study the long term time averaged kinetic luminosity, $\bar{Q}$, of the major flares of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105 and the relationship to the intrinsic X-ray (bolometric) luminosity, $L_{\mathrm{bol}}$, and scale it to that of a complete sample of SDSS/FIRST FR II quasars. If the scale invariance hypothesis for black holes (BHs) holds then we show that the expected distribution in the $\bar{Q}$ - $L_{\mathrm{bol}}$ scatter plane of GRS 1915+105 is consistent with FR II quasars for distances D = 10.7 - 11 kpc. We compare the specific values of kinetic luminosity and $L_{\mathrm{b…
GRS 1915+105 is a transient black hole X-ray binary consistently emitting 10-100% of the Eddington luminosity in the X-ray band during the last three decades until mid-2018 when the source luminosity suddenly decreased by an order of magnitude. This phase was followed by a change to a state with even lower average X-ray fluxes never seen before during the outburst but presenting renewed flaring activity at different wavelengths. Nevertheless, the mean fluxes were still in decline. GRS 1915+105 has the longest orbital period known among low-mass X-ray binaries, the largest accretion disk size, …
Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with frequencies from $\sim0.05$-$30$ Hz are a common feature in the X-ray emission of accreting black hole binaries. As the QPOs originate from the innermost accretion flow, they provide the opportunity to probe the behaviour of matter in extreme gravity. In this paper, we present a systematic analysis of the inclination dependence of phase lags associated with both Type-B and Type-C QPOs in a sample of 15 Galactic black hole binaries. We find that the phase lag at the Type-C QPO frequency strongly depends on inclination, both in evolution with QPO frequency…
Disk and wind signatures are seen in the soft state of Galactic black holes, while the jet is seen in the hard state. Here we study the disk-wind connection in the $ρ$ class of variability in GRS 1915+105 using a joint NuSTAR-Chandra observation. The source shows 50 sec limit cycle oscillations. By including new information provided by the reflection spectrum, and using phase-resolved spectroscopy, we find that the change in the inner disk inferred from the blackbody emission is not matched by reflection measurements. The latter is almost constant, independent of the continuum model. The two r…
We present a new dynamical study of the black hole X-ray transient GRS1915+105 making use of near-infrared spectroscopy obtained with X-shooter at the VLT. We detect a large number of donor star absorption features across a wide range of wavelengths spanning the H and K bands. Our 24 epochs covering a baseline of over 1 year permit us to determine a new binary ephemeris including a refined orbital period of P=33.85 +/- 0.16 d. The donor star radial velocity curves deliver a significantly improved determination of the donor semi-amplitude which is both accurate (K_2=126 +/- 1 km/s) and robust a…
The First X-ray Polarimetry of GRS 1739--278 Reveals Its Rapidly Spinning Black Hole
State Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院高能物理研究所粒子天体物理国家重点实验室）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院天文研究所）；Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva（日内瓦大学天文系）；Fluid and Complex Systems Centre, Coventry University（考文垂大学流体与复杂系统中心）；INAF—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali（意大利国家天体物理研究所空间天体物理学和行星科学研究所）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton（南安普顿大学物理与天文系）；Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre（罗马第三大学数学与物理系）；NASA Marshall Space Flight Center（美国国家航空航天局马歇尔太空飞行中心）
We present optical spectroscopy obtained with the GTC, VLT and SALT telescopes during the decline of the 2016-2017 outburst of the black hole candidate GRS 1716-249 (Nova Oph 1993). Our 18-epoch data set spans 6 months and reveals that the observational properties of the main emission lines are very variable, even on time scales of a few hours. Several epochs are characterised by P-Cyg (as well as flat-top and asymmetric) profiles in the H$α$, H$β$ and He II ($λ$4686) emission lines, implying the presence of an accretion disc wind, which is likely hot and dense. The wind's terminal velocity ($…
Measurements of the angular momentum (spin) of astrophysical black holes are extremely important, as they provide information on the black hole formation and evolution. We present simulated observations of a X-ray binary system with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), with the aim to study the robustness of black hole spin and geometry measurements using X-ray polarimetry. As a representative example, we used the parameters of GRS 1915+105 in its former unobscured, soft state. In order to simulate the polarization properties, we modeled the source emission with a multicolor blackbod…
Feedback by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is essential for regulating the fast radiative cooling of low-entropy gas at the centers of galaxy clusters and for reducing star formation rates of central ellipticals. The details of self-regulation depend critically on the unknown contents of AGN-inflated bubbles. Observations of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signal of AGN bubbles provide us with the ability to directly measure the lobe electron pressure given a bubble morphology. Here we compute the SZ signal of jet-inflated bubbles in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the galaxy …
We report the discovery with XMM-Newton of an approximately 7 mHz X-ray (0.3-10.0 keV) quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) from the eclipsing, high-inclination black hole binary IC 10 X-1. The QPO is significant at > 4.33 sigma confidence level and has a fractional amplitude (% rms) and a quality factor, Q, of approximately 11 and 4, respectively. The overall X-ray (0.3-10.0 keV) power spectrum in the frequency range 0.0001 - 0.1 Hz can be described by a power-law with an index of -2, and a QPO at 7 mHz. At frequencies > 0.02 Hz there is no evidence for significant variability. The fractional amp…
IGR J17091--3624 is a transient X-ray source and is believed to be a Galactic black hole candidate. Recently, it has received a considerable attention due to the detection of peculiar variability patterns known as `heartbeats', which are quasi-periodic mini-outbursts repeated over timescales ranging between 5 and 70 s. So far, such variability patterns have been observed only in GRS 1915+105 and these are classified as $ρ$- and $ν$-variability classes. Here, we present the results of `phase-resolved' spectroscopy of the `heartbeat' oscillations of IGR J17091-3624 using data from simultaneous o…
We present an analysis of ionized X-ray disk winds observed in the Fe K band of four stellar-mass black holes observed with Chandra, including 4U 1630-47, GRO J1655-40, H 1743-322, and GRS 1915+105. High-resolution photoionization grids were generated in order to model the data. Third-order gratings spectra were used to resolve complex absorption profiles into atomic effects and multiple velocity components. The Fe XXV line is found to be shaped by contributions from the intercombination line (in absorption), and the Fe XXVI line is detected as a spin-orbit doublet. The data require 2-3 absorp…
As one of the best-characterized stellar-mass black holes, with good measurements of its mass, distance and inclination, V404 Cyg is the ideal candidate to study Eddington-limited accretion episodes. After a long quiescent period, V404 Cyg underwent a new outburst in June 2015. We obtained two Chandra HETG exposures of 20 ksec and 25 ksec. Many strong emission lines are observed; the ratio of Si He-like triplet lines gives an estimate for the formation region distance of $4\times10^{11}$ cm, while the higher ionization Fe XXV He-like triplet gives an estimate of $7\times10^9$ cm. A narrow Fe K…
We present a dynamical study of the Galactic black hole binary system Nova Muscae 1991 (GS/GRS 1124-683). We utilize 72 high resolution Magellan Echellette (MagE) spectra and 72 strictly simultaneous V-band photometric observations; the simultaneity is a unique and crucial feature of this dynamical study. The data were taken on two consecutive nights and cover the full 10.4-hour orbital cycle. The radial velocities of the secondary star are determined by cross-correlating the object spectra with the best-match template spectrum obtained using the same instrument configuration. Based on our ind…
We present the discovery of correlations between the X-ray spectral (photon) index and mass accretion rate observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) 3C~454.3 and M87. We analyzed spectral transition episodes observed in these AGNs using Chandra, Swift, Suzaku, BeppoSAX, ASCA and RXTE data. We applied a scaling technique for a black hole (BH) mass evaluation which uses a correlation between the photon index (Gamma) and normalization of the seed component which is proportional to a disk mass accretion rate Mdot. We developed an analytical model that shows that Gamma of the BH emergent spectrum u…
Black hole low mass X-ray binaries (BH LMXBs) can launch powerful outflows in the form of discrete ejecta. Observing the entire trajectory of these ejecta allows us to model their motion with great accuracy, and this is essential for measuring their physical properties. In particular, observing the final deceleration phase, often poorly sampled, is fundamental to obtain a reliable estimate of the jet's energy. During its 2019/2020 outburst, the BH LMXB MAXI J1348$-$630 launched a single-sided radio-emitting jet that was detected at large scales after a strong deceleration due to the interactio…
Constraining the physical properties of large-scale jets from black hole X-ray binaries and their impact on the local environment with blast-wave dynamical models
