Is the plateau state in GRS 1915+105 equivalent to canonical hard states?

Abstract

GRS1915+105 is a very peculiar black hole binary that exhibits accretion-related states that are not observed in any other stellar-mass black hole system. One of these states, however -- referred to as the plateau state -- may be related to the canonical hard state of black hole X-ray binaries. Both the plateau and hard state are associated with steady, relatively lower X-ray emission and flat/inverted radio emission, that is sometimes resolved into compact, self-absorbed jets. However, while generally black hole binaries quench their jets when the luminosity becomes too high, GRS1915+105 seems to sustain them despite the fact that it accretes at near- or super-Eddington rates. In order to investigate the relationship between the plateau and the hard state, we fit two multi-wavelength observations using a steady-state outflow-dominated model, developed for hard state black hole binaries. The data sets consist of quasi-simultaneous observations in radio, near-infrared and X-ray bands. Interestingly, we find both significant differences between the two plateau states, as well as between the best-fit model parameters and those representative of the hard state. We discuss our interpretation of these results, and the possible implications for GRS 1915+105's relationship to canonical black hole candidates.

accepted for publication in MNRAS

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Cited by in corpus (11)

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• Unveiling recurrent jets of the ULX Holmberg II X-1: evidence for a massive stellar-mass black hole?
• Probing the origin of quasi-periodic oscillations: the short-timescale evolution of phase lags in GRS 1915+105
• Comparison of time/phase lags in the hard state and plateau state of GRS 1915+105
• A Statistical Study on the Low-Frequency QPO Amplitude Spectrum and Amplitude in GRS 1915+105
• The complex behaviour of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 in the rho class observed with BeppoSAX. II: Time-resolved spectral analysis
• The mass of the black hole in GRS 1915+105: new constraints from IR spectroscopy
• The jet-disk symbiosis without maximal jets: 1-D hydrodynamical jets revisited
• Detection of distinct power spectra in soft and hard X-ray bands in the hard state of GRS 1915+105
• A jet-dominated model for a broad-band spectral energy distribution of the nearby low-luminosity active galactic nucleus in M94
• Infrared interferometry to spatially and spectrally resolve jets in X-ray binaries