[OIII] 5007 Emission from the Black-Hole X-ray Binary in a NGC 4472 Globular Cluster

Abstract

We present the discovery of [OIII] 5007 emission associated with the black hole X-ray binary recently identified in a globular cluster in the Virgo elliptical galaxy NGC 4472. This object is the first confirmed black-hole X-ray binary in a globular cluster. The identification of [OIII] 5007 emission from the black-hole hosting globular cluster is based on two independent fiber spectra obtained at the VLT with FLAMES, which cover a wavelength range of 5000-5800 Angstrom at a spectral resolution of about 6000. In each of these spectra we find an emission line at 5031.2 Angstrom with an uncertainty of several tenths of an Angstrom. These are consistent with [OIII] 5007 emission at the 1475 +/- 7 km/s radial velocity of the globular cluster previously determined from an analysis of its absorption lines. This agreement within the small uncertainties argues strongly in favor of the interpretation of the line as [OIII] 5007 emission from the black-hole hosting globular cluster. We also find that the emission line most likely has a velocity width of several hundred km/s. Such a velocity width rules out a planetary nebula explanation for the [OIII] 5007 emission and implicates the black hole as the source of the power driving the nebular emission.

arXiv commentApJ Letters, in press

References in corpus (13)

• Stellar population synthesis at the resolution of 2003
• Production of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Globular Clusters
• The Nature of SS433 and the Ultraluminous X-ray Sources
• A black hole in a globular cluster
• Detection of ionized gas in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae
• The Globular Cluster System in the Outer Regions of NGC 4472
• Dynamical Constraints on the Formation of NGC 4472 and Its Globular Clusters
• Could Black-Hole X-Ray Binaries Be Detected in Globular Clusters?
• Gemini/GMOS Spectra of Globular Clusters in the Leo Group Elliptical NGC 3379
• Wide-field kinematics of globular clusters in the Leo I group
• The Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project XVIII. The Discovery of Cepheids and a New Distance to NGC 4535 Using the Hubble Space Telescope
• Stellar mass loss and the Intra-Cluster Medium in Galactic globular clusters: a deep radio survey for HI and OH
• Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton Accretion Model for Low-luminosity X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters

Cited by in corpus (29)

• Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
• Deep radio imaging of 47 Tuc identifies the peculiar X-ray source X9 as a new black hole candidate
• On the coexistence of stellar-mass and intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters
• Evidence for a Stellar Disruption by an IMBH in an Extragalactic Globular Cluster
• Radio observations of NGC 2808 and other globular clusters: constraints on intermediate mass black holes
• Very Broad [O III]4959,5007 Emission from the NGC 4472 Globular Cluster RZ2109 and Implications for the Mass of Its Black Hole X-ray Source
• A new globular cluster black hole in NGC 4472
• Strong [O III] and [N II] emission lines in globular clusters from photoionized R Corona Borealis star winds
• The Peculiar Globular Cluster System of the S0 Galaxy NGC 7457
• X-Ray Spectral Variability of Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Extragalactic Globular Clusters
• Fading of the X-ray flux from the black hole in the NGC 4472 globular cluster RZ 2109
• HST spectrum and timing of the ultra-compact X-ray binary candidate 47 Tuc X9
• Formation constraints indicate a black-hole accretor in 47 Tuc X9
• Spatially resolved spectroscopy of the globular cluster RZ 2109 and the nature of its black hole
• Composition of an Emission Line System in Black Hole Host Globular Cluster RZ2109
• Velocity Structure and Variability of [O III] Emission in Black Hole Host Globular Cluster RZ2109
• Broad and Luminous [OIII] and [NII] in Globular Cluster ULXs
• Multi-epoch spectroscopy of the globular cluster black hole in NGC 4472
• Broad [OIII] in the globular cluster RZ 2109: X-ray ionized nova ejecta?
• Slow Decline and Rise of the Broad [OIII] Emission Line in Globular Cluster Black Hole Candidate RZ2109
• Recurrent X-ray flares of the black hole candidate in the globular cluster RZ 2109 in NGC 4472
• Multiwavelength study of the bright X-ray source population in the interacting galaxies NGC5774/NGC5775
• Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Globular Clusters
• The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. XVII. A Search for Planetary Nebulae in Virgo Cluster Globular Clusters
• Deep $Chandra$ observations of the NGC 4472 globular cluster black hole XMMU 122939.7+075333: Short term variability from the first globular cluster black hole binary
• Detection of X-ray elongated emission from a ultraluminous X-ray source in the interacting pair of galaxies NGC 5953/5954
• An Extreme Ultra-Compact X-ray Binary in a Globular Cluster: Multi-Wavelength Observations of RZ2109 Explored in a Triple System Framework
• Optical and X-ray Follow-Up to a Globular Cluster Ultraluminous X-ray Source in NGC 4472
• HST's hunt for intermediate-mass black holes in star clusters