THE X-RAY PROPERTIES OF THE BLACK HOLE TRANSIENT MAXI J1659-152 IN QUIESCENCE
Name
Homan-2013-The x-ray properties.pdf
Size
445.18 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
276c9f6b324e73056aa889822b1c7509
Author(s)
Homan, Jeroen
Fridriksson, Joel K.
Jonker, P. G.
Russell, David M.
Gallo, Elena
Kuulkers, Erik
Rea, Nanda
Altamirano, Diego
Date Issued
September 2013
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society
Citation
Homan, Jeroen, Joel K. Fridriksson, Peter G. Jonker, David M. Russell, Elena Gallo, Erik Kuulkers, Nanda Rea, and Diego Altamirano. “THE X-RAY PROPERTIES OF THE BLACK HOLE TRANSIENT MAXI J1659-152 IN QUIESCENCE.” The Astrophysical Journal 775, no. 1 (August 28, 2013): 9. ©2013 American Astronomical Society.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We present new Chandra X-ray observations of the transient black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1659-152 in quiescence. These observations were made more than one year after the end of the source's 2010-2011 outburst. We detect the source at a 0.5-10 keV flux of 2.8(8) × 10[superscript –15] erg s[superscript –1] cm[superscript –2], which corresponds to a luminosity of ~1.2 × 10[superscript 31] (d/6 kpc)[superscript 2] erg s[superscript –1]. This level, while being the lowest at which the source has been detected, is within factors of ~2 of the levels seen at the end of the initial decay of the outburst and soon after a major reflare of the source. The quiescent luminosity of MAXI J1659-152, which is the shortest-orbital-period black hole X-ray binary (~2.4 hr), is lower than that of neutron-star X-ray binaries with similar periods. However, it is higher than the quiescent luminosities found for black hole X-ray binaries with orbital periods ~2-4 times longer. This could imply that a minimum quiescent luminosity may exist for black hole X-ray binaries, around orbital periods of ~5-10 hr, as predicted by binary-evolution models for the mass transfer rate. Compared to the hard state, we see a clear softening of the power-law spectrum in quiescence, from an index of 1.55(4) to an index of 2.5(4). We constrain the luminosity range in which this softening starts to (0.18-6.2) × 10[superscript –5] (d/6 kpc)[superscript 2] (M/8 M ☉) L [subscript Edd], which is consistent with the ranges inferred for other sources.
MIT Department
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/775/1/9
