The Existence of Inner Cool Disks in the Low Hard State of Accreting Black Holes

Abstract

The condensation of matter from a corona to a cool, optically thick inner disk is investigated for black hole X-ray transient systems in the low hard state. A description of a simple model for the exchange of energy and mass between corona and disk originating from thermal conduction is presented, taking into account the effect of Compton cooling of the corona by photons from the underlying disk. It is found that a weak, condensation-fed inner disk can be present in the low hard state of black hole transient systems for a range of luminosities which depend on the magnitude of the viscosity parameter. For $\alpha \sim 0.1-0.4$ an inner disk can exist for luminosities in the range $\sim 0.001-0.02$ Eddington value. The model is applied to the X-ray observations of the black hole candidate sources GX 339-4 and Swift J1753.5-0127 in their low hard state. It is found that Compton cooling is important in the condensation process, leading to the maintenance of cool inner disks in both systems. As the results of the evaporation/condensation model are independent of the black hole mass, it is suggested that such inner cool disks may contribute to the optical and ultraviolet emission of low luminosity active galactic nuclei.

32 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (Dec. 10, 2007, Vol.671)

References in corpus (8)

• X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
• Accretion disc viscosity: how big is alpha?
• A Long, Hard Look at the Low-Hard State in Accreting Black Holes
• A Prominent Accretion Disk in the Low-Hard State of the Black Hole Candidate SWIFT J1753.5-0127
• Re-condensation from an ADAF into an inner disk - the intermediate state of black hole accretion?
• Effects of Downscattering on the Continuum and Line Spectra in Powerful Wind Environment. Monte Carlo Simulations, Analytical Results and Data Analysis
• Time-dependent models of two-phase accretion discs around black holes
• An inner disk below the ADAF: the intermediate spectral state of black hole accretion

Cited by in corpus (35)

• Advection-Dominated Accretion and the Black Hole Event Horizon
• The radio/X-ray domain of black hole X-ray binaries at the lowest radio luminosities
• Correlation between the photon index and X-ray luminosity of black hole X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei: observations and interpretation
• A possible mechanism for multiple changing look phenomenon in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Broadband X-ray Spectra of GX 339-4 and the Geometry of Accreting Black Holes in the Hard State
• Accretion disks and coronae in the X-ray flashlight
• An overview of jets and outflows in stellar mass black holes
• SWIFT J1753.5-0127: a surprising optical/X-ray cross-correlation function
• On the Properties of Inner Cool Disks in the Hard State of Black Hole X-Ray Transient Systems
• Jet power extracted from ADAF and the applications to X-ray binaries and radio galaxy FR dichotomy
• Jet Properties of GeV-Selected Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies and Possible Connection to Their Disk and Corona
• Enhanced Polarized Emission from the One-Parsec-Scale Hotspot of 3C 84 as a Result of the Interaction with Clumpy Ambient Medium
• X-ray burst induced spectral variability in 4U 1728-34
• Different X-ray spectral evolution for black hole X-ray binaries in dual tracks of radio-X-ray correlation
• Segregation of a Keplerian disc and sub-Keplerian halo from a Transonic flow around a Black Hole by Viscosity and Cooling processes
• Effect of geometrically thin discs on precessing, thick flows: Relevance to type-C QPOs
• Revisiting the structure and spectrum of the magnetic-reconnection-heated corona in luminous AGNs
• The condensation of the corona for the correlation between the hard X-ray photon index $\Gamma$ and the reflection scaling factor $\Re$ in active galactic nuclei
• Insight-HXMT Study of the Inner Accretion Disk in the Black Hole Candidate EXO 1846--031
• Peculiar disk behaviors of the black hole candidate MAXI J1348-630 in the hard state observed by Insight-HXMT and Swift
• Analytical Model of Disk Evaporation and State Transitions in Accreting Black Holes
• Spectral and polarization properties of reflected X-ray emission from black-hole accretion discs for a distant observer: the lamp-post model
• Prototyping non-equilibrium viscous-timescale accretion theory using LMC X-3
• The peculiar spectral evolution of the new X-ray transient MAXI J0637-430
• Interaction of the accretion flows in corona and disk near the black hole in AGN
• Reflare in MAXI J1348-630]{Evolution of disc and corona in MAXI J1348-630 during the 2019 reflare: NICER and Insight-HXMT view
• The X-ray Spectrum Of The Black Hole Candidate Swift J1753.5-0127
• Constraints on jet-driven disk accretion in Sagittarius A*
• Wind accretion in Cygnus X-1
• Investigating the Disk-Corona Relation in a Blue AGN Sample
• Accretion flows in the hard state of black hole X-ray binaries: the effect of hot gas condensation
• Accretion with two-phase gas supply and its application in black hole X-ray binaries
• Polarization Signatures of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in Simulated Tilted, Truncated Disks
• The width-flux relation of the broad iron line during the state transition of the black hole X-ray binaries
• A Monte Carlo Study of the Spectra from Inhomogeneous Accretion Flow