Physical Constraints from Near-infrared Fast Photometry of the Black Hole Transient GX 339–4

Vincentelli, F.M.; Casella, P.; Petrucci, P.; Maccarone, T.; Russell, D.M.; Uttley, P.; Marco, B. De; Fender, R.; Gandhi, P.; Malzac, J.; O’Brien, K.; Tomsick, J.A.

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab5860

Physical Constraints from Near-infrared Fast Photometry of the Black Hole Transient GX 339–4

Vincentelli, F.M.; Casella, P.; Petrucci, P.; Maccarone, T.; Russell, D.M.; Uttley, P.; Marco, B. De; Fender, R.; Gandhi, P.; Malzac, J.; O’Brien, K.; Tomsick, J.A.

Authors

F.M. Vincentelli

P. Casella

P. Petrucci

T. Maccarone

D.M. Russell

P. Uttley

B. De Marco

R. Fender

P. Gandhi

J. Malzac

Professor Kieran Obrien kieran.s.obrien@durham.ac.uk
Professor

J.A. Tomsick

Abstract

We present results from the first multi-epoch X-ray/IR fast-photometry campaign on the black hole transient GX 339–4, during its 2015 outburst decay. We studied the evolution of the power spectral densities finding strong differences between the two bands. The X-ray power spectral density follows standard patterns of evolution, plausibly reflecting changes in the accretion flow. The IR power spectral density instead evolves very slowly, with a high-frequency break consistent with remaining constant at 0.63 ± 0.03 Hz throughout the campaign. We discuss this result in the context of the currently available models for the IR emission in black hole transients. While all models will need to be tested quantitatively against this unexpected constraint, we show that an IR-emitting relativistic jet that filters out the short-timescale fluctuations injected from the accretion inflow appears as the most plausible scenario.

Citation

Vincentelli, F., Casella, P., Petrucci, P., Maccarone, T., Russell, D., Uttley, P., Marco, B. D., Fender, R., Gandhi, P., Malzac, J., O’Brien, K., & Tomsick, J. (2019). Physical Constraints from Near-infrared Fast Photometry of the Black Hole Transient GX 339–4. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 887(1), Article L19. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab5860

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Nov 14, 2019
Online Publication Date	Dec 10, 2019
Publication Date	Dec 10, 2019
Deposit Date	Jan 22, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Jan 22, 2020
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Print ISSN	2041-8205
Publisher	American Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	887
Issue	1
Article Number	L19
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab5860
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1279073