Spectral State Transitions Research Articles

Effect of non-stationary accretion on spectral state transitions: An example of a persistent neutron star LMXB 4U1636–536

Observations of black hole and neutron star X-ray binaries show that the luminosity of the hard-to-soft state transition is usually higher than that of the soft-to-hard state transition, indicating additional parameters other than mass accretion rate are required to interpret spectral state transitions. It has been found in some individual black hole or neutron star soft X-ray transients that the luminosity corresponding to the hard-to-soft state transition is positively correlated with the peak luminosity of the following soft state. In this work, we report the discovery of the same correlation in the single persistent neutron star low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1636–536 based on data from the All Sky Monitor (ASM) on board RXTE, the Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on board MAXI and the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board Swift. We also found such a positive correlation holds in this persistent neutron star LMXB in a luminosity range spanning about a factor of four. Our results indicate that non-stationary accretion also plays an important role in driving X-ray spectral state transitions in persistent accreting systems with small accretion flares, which is much less dramatic compared with the bright outbursts seen in many Galactic LMXB transients.

State transitions in ultracompact neutron star LMXBs: towards the low-luminosity limit

Luminosity of X-ray spectral state transitions in black hole and neutron star X-ray binaries can put constraint on the critical mass accretion rate between accretion regimes. Previous studies indicate that the hard-to-soft spectral state transitions in some ultracompact neutron star LMXBs have the lowest luminosity. With X-ray monitoring observations in the past decade, we were able to identify state transitions towards the lowest luminosity limit in 4U 0614+091, 2S 0918-549 and 4U 1246-588. By analysing corresponding X-ray pointed observations with the Swift/XRT and the RXTE/PCA, we found no hysteresis of state transitions in these sources, and determined the critical mass accretion rate in the range of 0.002 - 0.04 $\dot{\rm M}_{\rm Edd}$ and 0.003 - 0.05 $\dot{\rm M}_{\rm Edd}$ for the hard-to-soft and the soft-to-hard transition, respectively, by assuming a neutron star mass of 1.4 solar masses. This range is comparable to the lowest transition luminosity measured in black hole X-ray binaries, indicating the critical mass accretion rate is not affected by the nature of the surface of the compact stars. Our result does not support the Advection-Dominated Accretion Flow (ADAF) model which predicts that the critical mass accretion rate in neutron star systems is an order of magnitude lower if same viscosity parameters are taken. The low transition luminosity and insignificant hysteresis in these ultracompact X-ray binaries provide further evidence that the transition luminosity is likely related to the mass in the disc.

Detection of X-ray spectral state transitions in mini-outbursts of black hole transient GRS 1739−278

We report the detection of the state transitions and hysteresis effect in the two mini-outbursts of the black hole (BH) transient GRS 1739$-$278 following its 2014 major outburst. The X-ray spectral evolutions in these two mini-outbursts are similar to the major outburst, in spite of their peak luminosities and the outburst durations are one order of magnitude lower. We found the $L_\mathrm{hard-to-soft}$ and the $L_\mathrm{peak,soft}$ of the mini-outbursts also follow the correlation previous found in other X-ray binaries. The $L_\mathrm{hard-to-soft}$ of the mini-outbursts is still higher than that of the persistent BH binary Cyg X-1, which supports that there is a link between the maximum luminosity a source can reach in the hard state and the corresponding non-stationary accretion represented by substantial rate-of-change in the mass accretion rate during flares/outbursts. The detected luminosity range of these two mini-outbursts is roughly in 3.5$\times 10^{-5}$-- 0.015 ($D/7.5$ kpc)$^{2}$($M/8M_{\odot}$) $L_\mathrm{Edd}$. The X-ray spectra of other BH transients at such low luminosities are usually dominated by a power-law component, and an anti-correlation is observed between the photon index and the X-ray luminosity below 1\% $L_\mathrm{Edd}$. So the detection of X-ray spectral state transitions indicates that the accretion flow evolution in these two mini-outbursts of GRS 1739$-$278 are different from other BH systems at such low-luminosity regime.

Broadband observations of the X-ray burster 4U1705-44 withBeppoSAX

4U 1705-44 is one of the most-studied type I X-ray burster and Atoll sources. This source represents a perfect candidate to test different models proposed to self-consistently track the physical changes occurring between different spectral states because it shows clear spectral state transitions. The broadband coverage, the sensitivity and energy resolution of the BeppoSAX satellite offers the opportunity to disentangle the components that form the total X-ray spectrum and to study their changes according to the spectral state. Using two BeppoSAX observations carried out in August and October 2000, respectively, for a total effective exposure time of about 100 ks, we study the spectral evolution of the source from a soft to hard state. Energy spectra are selected according to the source position in the color-color diagram (CCD) Results. We succeeded in modeling the spectra of the source using a physical self-consistent scenario for both the island and banana branches (the double Comptonization scenario). The components observed are the soft Comptonization and hard Comptonization, the blackbody, and a reflection component with a broad iron line. When the source moves from the banana state to the island state, the parameters of the two Comptonization components change significantly and the blackbody component becomes too weak to be detected. We interpret the soft Comptonization component as emission from the hot plasma surrounding the neutron star, hard Comptonization as emission from the disk region, and the blackbody component as emission from the inner accretion disk. The broad feature in the iron line region is compatible with reflection from the inner accretion disk.

X-ray variability with spectral state transitions in NS-LMXBs observed with MAXI/GSC and Swift/BAT

Abstract X-ray variabilities with spectral state transitions in bright low-mass X-ray binaries containing a neutron star are investigated by using the one-day bin light curves of MAXI/GSC (Gas Slit Camera) and Swift/BAT (Burst Alert Telescope). Four sources (4U 1636−536, 4U 1705−44, 4U 1608−52, and GS 1826−238) exhibited small-amplitude X-ray variabilities with spectral state transitions. Such “mini-outbursts” were characterized by smaller amplitudes (several times) and shorter duration (less than several tens of days) than those of “normal outbursts.” A theoretical model of disk instability by Mineshige and Osaki (PASJ, 37, 1, 1985) predicts both large-amplitude outbursts and small-amplitude variabilities. We interpret the normal outbursts as the former prediction of this model, and the mini-outbursts as the latter. Here, we can also call the mini-outburst a “purr-type outburst” referring to the theoretical work. We suggest that similar variabilities lasting for several tens of days without spectral state transitions, which are often observed in the hard state, may be repeats of mini-outbursts.

Longterm optical monitoring of bright BL Lacertae objects with ATOM: Spectral variability and multiwavelength correlations

Blazars are the established sources of an intense and variable non-thermal radiation extending from radio wavelengths up to HE and VHE gamma-rays. Understanding the spectral evolution of blazars in selected frequency ranges, as well as multi-frequency correlations in various types of blazar sources, is of a primary importance for constraining the blazar physics. Here we present the results of a long-term optical monitoring of a sample of 30 blazars of the BL Lac type. We study the optical color-magnitude correlation patterns emerging in the analyzed sample, and compare the optical properties of the targets with the high-energy gamma-ray and high-frequency radio data. The optical observations were carried out in R and B filters using ATOM telescope. Each object was observed during at least 20 nights in the period 2007-2012. We find significant global color-magnitude correlations in 40 % of the sample. The sources which do not display any clear chromatism often do exhibit bluer-when-brighter (bwb) behavior but only in isolated shorter time intervals. We also discovered spectral state transitions at optical wavelengths in several sources. Finally, we find that the radio, optical, and gamma-ray luminosities of the sources obey almost linear correlations, which seem however induced, at least partly, by the redshift dependance, and may be also affected by non-simultaneousness of the analyzed dataset. We argue that the observed bwb behavior is intrinsic to the jet emission regions, at least for some of the analyzed blazars, rather than resulting from the contamination of the measured flux by the starlight of host galaxies. We also conclude that the significance of color-magnitude scalings does not correlate with the optical color, but instead seems to depend on the source luminosity, in a sense that these are the lowest-luminosity BL Lac objects which display the strongest correlations.

Spectral state transitions of the Ultraluminous X-ray Source IC 342 X-1

We observed the Ultraluminous X-ray Source IC 342 X-1 simultaneously in X-ray and radio with Chandra and the JVLA to investigate previously reported unresolved radio emission coincident with the ULX. The Chandra data reveal a spectrum that is much softer than observed previously and is well modelled by a thermal accretion disc spectrum. No significant radio emission above the rms noise level was observed within the region of the ULX, consistent with the interpretation as a thermal state though other states cannot be entirely ruled out with the current data. We estimate the mass of the black hole using the modelled inner disc temperature to be $30~\mathrm{M_{\odot}} \lesssim M\sqrt{\mathrm{cos}i}\lesssim200~\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ based on a Shakura-Sunyaev disc model. Through a study of the hardness and high-energy curvature of available X-ray observations, we find that the accretion state of X-1 is not determined by luminosity alone.

A complete X-ray spectral coverage of the 2010 May–June outbursts of Circinus X-1

Circinus X-1 is a neutron-star-accreting X-ray binary in a wide (P$_{\rm orb}$ = 16.6 d), eccentric orbit. After two years of relatively low X-ray luminosity, in May 2010 Circinus X-1 went into outburst, reaching 0.4 Crab flux. This outburst lasted for about two orbital cycles and was followed by another shorter and fainter outburst in June. We focus here on the broadband X-ray spectral evolution of the source as it spans about three order of magnitudes in flux. We attempt to relate luminosity, spectral shape, local absorption, and orbital phase. We use multiple Rossi-XTE/PCA (3.0--25 keV) and Swift/XRT (1.0--9.0 keV) observations and a 20 ks long Chandra/HETGS observation (1.0--9.0 keV), to comprehensively track the spectral evolution of the source during all the outbursting phases. These observations were taken every two/three days and cover about four orbital cycles. The PCA data mostly cover the major outburst, the XRT data monitor the declining phase of the major outburst and all the phases of the minor outburst, and Chandra data provide an essential snapshot of the end of this overall outbursting phase. The X-ray spectrum can be satisfactorily described by a thermal Comptonization model with variable neutral local absorption in all phases of the outburst. No other additive component is statistically required. The first outburst decays linearly, with an ankle in the light curve as the flux decreases below $\sim$\,5 $\times$ 10$^{-10}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. At the same time, the source shows a clear spectral state transition from an optically thick to an optically thin state. While the characteristics of the first, bright, outburst can be interpreted within the disk-instability scenario, the following, minor, outburst shows peculiarities that cannot be easily reconciled in this framework.

ON THE NATURE OF THE X-RAY CORONA OF BLACK HOLE BINARIES

We discuss the nature of the X-ray emitting plasma of black hole binaries. It is well known that the temperature and optical depth of the Comptonising electrons of the X-ray corona of black hole binaries can be measured using spectroscopy in the 1 keV-1 MeV energy band. We emphasize recent developments in the modeling of high energy radiation processes which allow us to constrain other important physical parameters of the corona, such as the strength of magnetic field, or the temperature of the ions. The results appear to challenge current accretion models. In particular, standard advection dominated accretion flow do not match the observed properties of bright hard state X-ray binaries such as Cygnus X-1 or GX 339-4. On the other hand, we find that all the data would be consistent with a multi-zone magnetically dominated hot accretion flow model. We also emphasize that besides the usual spectral state transitions observed at luminosities above a few percent of Eddington, there is observational evidence for at least two additional, more subtle, radiative transitions occuring at lower luminosities.

X-RAY VARIABILITY AND HARDNESS OF ESO 243-49 HLX-1: CLEAR EVIDENCE FOR SPECTRAL STATE TRANSITIONS

The ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source ESO 243-49 HLX-1 currently provides the strongest evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. We conduct an ongoing monitoring campaign with the Swift X-ray Telescope and found that HLX-1 showed two fast rise and exponential decay with increases in the count rate of a factor ~40 separated by 375+/-13 days. We obtained new XMM-Newton and Chandra dedicated pointings that were triggered at the lowest and highest luminosities, respectively. The unabsorbed luminosities ranged from 1.9x10^40 to 1.25x10^42 erg/s. We confirm here the detection of spectral state transitions from HLX-1 reminiscent of Galactic black hole binaries: at high luminosities, the X-ray spectrum showed a thermal state dominated by a disk component with temperatures of 0.26 keV at most, and at low luminosities the spectrum is dominated by a hard power law with a photon index in the range 1.4-2.1, consistent with a hard state. The source was also observed in a steep power law state. In the thermal state, the luminosity of the disk component appears to scale with the fourth power of the inner disk temperature which supports the presence of an optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk. The low fractional variability (rms of 9+/-9%) in this state also suggests the presence of a dominant disk. The spectral changes and long-term variability of the source cannot be explained by variations of the beaming angle and are not consistent with the source being in a super-Eddington accretion state. HLX-1 is thus an unusual ULX as it is similar to Galactic black hole binaries, which have non-beamed and sub-Eddington emission, but with luminosities 3 orders of magnitude higher. In this picture, a lower limit on the mass of the black hole of >9000 M_sun can be derived, and the disk temperature in the thermal state also suggests the presence of a black hole of a few 10^3 M_sun.

RXTE/ASM and Swift/BAT observations of spectral transitions in bright X-ray binaries in 2005–2010

We have studied X-ray spectral state transitions that can be seen in the long-term monitoring light curves of bright X-ray binaries from the All-Sky Monitor (ASM) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) onboard Swift during a period of five years from 2005 to 2010. We have applied a program to automatically identify the hard-to-soft (H-S) spectral state transitions in the bright X-ray binaries monitored by the ASM and the BAT. In total, we identified 128 hard-to-soft transitions, of which 59 occurred after 2008. We also determined the transition fluxes and the peak fluxes of the following soft states, updated the measurements of the luminosity corresponding to the H-S transition and the peak luminosity of the following soft state in about 30 bright persistent and transient black hole and neutron star binaries following Yu & Yan, and found the luminosity correlation and the luminosity range of spectral transitions in data between 2008–2010 are about the same as those derived from data before 2008. This further strengthens the idea that the luminosity at which the H-S spectral transition occurs in the Galactic X-ray binaries is determined by non-stationary accretion parameters such as the rate-of-change of the mass accretion rate rather than the mass accretion rate itself. The correlation is also found to hold in data of individual sources 4U 1608-52 and 4U 1636-53.

Associated spectral and temporal state transition of the bright ULX NGC 1313 X-1

(Abridged) Stellar mass black hole X-ray binaries exhibit X-ray spectral states which also have distinct and characteristic temporal properties. These states are believed to correspond to different accretion disk geometries. We present analysis of two long XMM-Newton observations of the Ultra-Luminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 1313 X-1, which reveal that the system was in two different spectral/temporal states. With a count rate of 1.5 counts/s and a fractional variability amplitude of ~15%, the ULX was in a high flux and strongly variable state in March 2006. In October 2006, the count rate of the ULX had reduced by a factor of ~2 and the spectral shape was distinctly different with the presence of a soft component. No strong variability was detected during this low flux state with an upper limit on the amplitude < 3%. Moreover, the spectral properties of the two states implies that the accretion disk geometry was different for them. The low flux state is consistent with a model where a standard accretion disk is truncated at a radius of ~17 Schwarzschild radius around a ~200 Msun black hole. The inner hot region Comptonizes photons from the outer disk to give the primary spectral component. The spectrum of the high flux state is not compatible with such a geometry. Instead, it is consistent with a model where a hot corona covers a cold accretion disk and Comptonizes the disk photons. The variability as a function of energy is also shown to be consistent with the corona model. Despite these broad analogies with Galactic black hole systems, the spectral nature of the ULX is distinct in having a colder Comptonizing temperature (~2 keV) and higher optical depth (~15) than what is observed for the Galactic ones.

IS THE CORONA THE SOURCE OF THE EJECTED MATERIAL IN MICROQUASARS?

Microquasar outbursts are characterized by spectral state transitions. The transitions between states characterized by a hard spectrum and those characterized by a soft spectrum are of particular interest. Besides drastic spectral and timing changes, these transitions often show discrete ejections detectable in the radio domain. The mechanisms giving birth to the ejections, the links with accretion and the exact nature of the ejected material are still largely unknown. We present systematic X–ray spectral analysis prior to the ejection in several microquasars, and show that, in each case, the properties of the corona drastically evolve, while that of the disc remain roughly constant. We intepret this behavior as possibly due to an ejection of the corona at the spectral transition.

MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF THE THERMAL COMPTONIZATION PROCESS IN A TWO-COMPONENT ACCRETION FLOW AROUND A BLACK HOLE

We compute the effects of thermal Comptonization of soft photons emitted from a Keplerian disk around a black hole by the postshock region of a sub-Keplerian flow, known as the CENtrifugal-pressure-dominated BOundary Layer (CENBOL). We show that the spectral state transitions of black hole candidates could be explained either by varying the outer boundary of the CENBOL, which also happens to be the inner edge of the Keplerian disk, or by changing the central density of the CENBOL, which is governed by the rate of the sub-Keplerian flow. We confirm the conclusions of the previous theoretical studies that the interplay between the intensity of the soft photons emitted by the Keplerian flow, the optical depth and electron temperature of the Comptonizing cloud is responsible for the state transitions in a black hole.

STATE TRANSITIONS IN BRIGHT GALACTIC X-RAY BINARIES: LUMINOSITIES SPAN BY TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE

Using X-ray monitoring observations with the ASM on board the RXTE and the BAT on board the Swift, we are able to study the spectral state transitions occurred in about 20 bright persistent and transient black hole and neutron star binaries. We have confirmed that there is a correlation between the X-ray luminosity corresponding to the hard-to-soft transition and the X-ray luminosity of the following soft state. This correlation holds over a luminosity range spanning by two orders of magnitude, with no indication of a flux saturation or cut-off. We have also found that the transition luminosity correlates with the rate of increase in the X-ray luminosity during the rising phase of an outburst or flare, implying that the origin of the variation of the transition luminosity is associated with non-stationary accretion in both transient sources and persistent sources. The correlation between the luminosity corresponding to the end of the soft-to-hard transition and the peak luminosity of the preceding soft state is found insignificant. The results suggest that the hysteresis effect of spectral state transitions is primarily driven by non-stationary accretion when the mass accretion rate increases rather than the mass accretion rate decreases. Our results also imply that Galactic X-ray binaries can reach more luminous hard states during outbursts of higher luminosities and of similar rise time scales as those observed. Based on the correlations, we speculate that bright hard state beyond the Eddington luminosity will be observed in Galactic binaries in the next century. We also suggest that some ultra-luminous X-ray sources in nearby galaxies, which stay in the hard states during bright, short flares, harbor stellar-mass compact stars.

A Transient Black Hole Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Candidate in Centaurus A

We report the discovery of a bright transient X-ray source, CXOU J132518.2–430304, toward Centaurus A (Cen A) using six new Chandra X-Ray Observatory observations in 2007 March-May. Between 2003 and 2007, its flux has increased by a factor of >770. The source is likely a low-mass X-ray binary in Cen A with unabsorbed 0.3-10 keV band luminosities of (2-3) × 1039ergs s−1 and a transition from the steep-power-law state to the thermal state during our observations. CXOU J132518.2–430304 is the most luminous X-ray source in an early-type galaxy with extensive timing information that reveals transience and a spectral state transition. Combined with its luminosity, these properties make this source one of the strongest candidates to date for containing a stellar-mass black hole in an early-type galaxy. Unless this outburst lasts many years, the rate of luminous transients in Cen A is anomalously high compared to other early-type galaxies.

Disk Evaporation–Fed Corona: Structure and Evaporation Features with Magnetic Field

The disk-corona evaporation model naturally accounts for many observational phenomena in black hole X-ray binaries, such as the truncation of an accretion disk and the spectral state transitions. On the other hand, magnetic fields are known to play an important role in transporting angular momentum and producing viscosity in accretion flows. In this work, we explicitly take the magnetic field in the accretion disk corona into consideration and numerically calculate the coronal structure on the basis of our two-temperature evaporation code. We show that the magnetic field influences the coronal structure through its contribution to the pressure, energy, and radiative cooling in the corona and by decreasing the vertical heat conduction. We find that the maximum evaporation rate stays more or less constant (similar to 3% of the Eddington rate) when the strength of the magnetic field changes, but that the radius corresponding to the maximum evaporation rate decreases with increasing magnetic field. This suggests that spectral state transitions always occur at a few percent of the Eddington accretion rate, while the inner edge of the thin disk can be at similar to 100RS or even less in the hard state before the transition to the soft state. These results alleviate the problem of previous evaporation models' predicting too large a truncation radius and are in better agreement with the observational results for several black hole X-ray binaries, although discrepancies remain.

BeppoSAX observation of 4U 1705-44: detection of hard X-ray emission in the soft state

Context. 4U 1705-44 is one of the best-studied type I X-ray burster and atoll sources. Aims. Since it covers a wide range in luminosity (from a few to 50 × 10 36 erg s −1 ) and shows clear spectral state transitions, it represents a good laboratory for testing the accretion models proposed for atoll sources. Methods. We analyzed the energy spectrum accumulated with BeppoSAX observations (43.5 ks) in August 2000 when the source was in a soft spectral state. Results. The continuum of the wide-band energy spectrum is well-described by the sum of a blackbody (kTbb ∼ 0.56 keV) and a Comptonized component (seed-photon temperature kTW ∼ 1 keV, electron temperature kTe ∼ 2.7 keV, and optical depth τ ∼ 11). A hard tail was detected at energies above ∼25 keV. The latter can be modeled by a power law having a photon index ∼2.9, which contributes ∼11% of the total flux in the range 0.1–200 keV. A broad emission line, possibly from a relativistic accretion disk, models the feature in the Fe K line region of the spectrum. Conclusions. This is the first time that a high-energy tail has been observed during a soft state of the source.

The First Detection of Compton Reflection in the Low‐Mass X‐Ray Binary 4U 1705−44 withINTEGRALandBeppoSax

We present data from INTEGRAL and BeppoSAX satellites showing spectral state transitions of the neutron star, atoll-type, low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1705-44. Its energy spectrum can be described as the sum of one or two blackbody components, a 6.4 keV Fe line, and a component due to thermal Comptonization. In addition, and for the first time in this source, we find a strong signature of Compton reflection, presumably due to illumination of the optically thick accretion disk by the Comptonization spectrum. The two blackbody components, which the soft-state data require, presumably arise from both the disk and the neutron star surface. The Comptonization probably takes place in a hot inner flow irradiated by some of the blackbody photons. The spectral transitions are shown to be associated with variations in the bolometric luminosity, most likely proportional to the accretion rate. Independently of the spectral state, we also see changes in the temperature of the Comptonizing electrons and the strength of Compton reflection.

Correlation between 3 : 2 QPO Pairs and Jets in Black Hole X‐Ray Binaries

We argue, following our earlier works (the CEBZMC model), that the phenomenon of twin peak high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in black hole X-ray binaries is caused by magnetic coupling (MC) between accretion disk and black hole (BH). Due to MC, two bright spots occur at two separate radial locations r_{in} and r_{out} at the disk surface, energized by a kind of the Blandford-Znajek mechanism (BZ). We assume, following the Kluzniak-Abramowicz QPO resonance model, that Keplerian frequencies at these two locations are in the 3:2 ratio. With this assumption, we estimate the BH spins in several sources, including GRO J1655-40, GRS 1915+105, XTE J1550-564, H1743-322 and Sgr A*. We give an interpretation of the jet line in the hardness-intensity plane discussing the parameter space consisting of the BH spin and the power-law index for the variation of the large-scale magnetic field in the disk. Furthermore, we propose a new scenario for the spectral state transitions in BH X-ray binaries based on fluctuation in densities of accreting plasma from a companion star.