The identification of MAXI J1659-152 as a black hole candidate

Abstract

We report on the analysis of all 65 pointed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the recently discovered soft X-ray transient MAXI J1659-152 (initially referred to as GRB 100925A). The source was studied in terms of its evolution through the hardness-intensity diagram (HID) as well as its X-ray variability properties. MAXI J1659-152 traced out an anti-clockwise loop in the HID, which is commonly seen in transient low-mass X-ray binaries. The variability properties of the source, in particular the detection of type-B and type-C low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations, and the way they evolve along the HID track, indicate that MAXI J1659-152 is a black hole candidate. The spectral and variability properties of MAXI J1659-152 imply that the source was observed in the hard and soft intermediate states during the RXTE observations, with several transitions between these two states.

6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

References in corpus (3)

• X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
• Evaluating Spectral Models and the X-ray States of Neutron-Star X-ray Transients
• Identification of black hole power spectral components across all canonical states

Cited by in corpus (26)

• WATCHDOG: A Comprehensive All-Sky Database of Galactic Black Hole X-ray Binaries
• Discovery of two simultaneous non-harmonically related Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the 2005 outburst of the black-hole binary GRO J1655-40
• INTEGRAL/IBIS nine-year Galactic Hard X-Ray Survey
• MAXI J1659-152: The shortest orbital period black-hole transient in outburst
• The black hole candidate MAXIJ1659-152 in and towards quiescence in X-ray and radio
• NICER observations reveal that the X-ray transient MAXI J1348-630 is a Black Hole X-ray binary
• INTEGRAL/IBIS 17-yr hard X-ray all-sky survey
• The black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152: spectral and timing analysis during its 2010 outburst
• Accretion Flow Dynamics of MAXI J1659-152 from the Spectral Evolution Study of its 2010 Outburst using the TCAF Solution
• The X-ray properties of the black hole transient MAXI J1659-152 in quiescence
• Modelling the cross-spectral variability of the black hole binary MAXI J1659-152 with propagating accretion rate fluctuations
• Combined Spectral and Timing Analysis of the Black Hole Candidate MAXI J1659-152 Discovered by MAXI and Swift
• Broadband monitoring tracing the evolution of the jet and disk in the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1659-152
• Swift Observations of MAXI J1659-152: A Compact Binary with a Black Hole Accretor
• VLBI observations of the shortest orbital period black hole binary, MAXI J1659-152
• Delimiting the black hole mass in the X-ray transient MAXI J1659-152 with H$\alpha$ spectroscopy
• An underlying clock in the extreme flip-flop state transitions of the black hole transient Swift J1658.2-4242
• Spectro-temporal studies of rapid transition of the quasi periodic oscillations in the black hole source H1743-322
• Energy dependent power spectral states and origin of aperiodic variability in black hole binaries
• Constraining black hole spins with low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in soft states
• The long-term optical evolution of the black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152
• A retrograde spin of the black hole in MAXI J1659--152
• Are spectral and timing correlations similar in different spectral states in black hole X-ray binaries?
• Swift X-ray Telescope study of the Black Hole Binary MAXI J1659-152: Variability from a two component accretion flow
• Estimating the spin of the black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152 with the X-ray continuum-fitting method
• A Dependable Distance Estimator to Black Hole Low-Mass X-ray Binaries