GRS 1739-278 observed at very low luminosity with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR

Abstract

We present a detailed spectral analysis of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the accreting transient black hole GRS 1739-278 during a very faint low hard state at ~0.02% of the Eddington luminosity (for a distance of 8.5 kpc and a mass of 10 M_sun ). The broad-band X-ray spectrum between 0.5-60 keV can be well-described by a power law continuum with an exponential cutoff. The continuum is unusually hard for such a low luminosity, with a photon index of Gamma = 1.39 +/- 0.04. We find evidence for an additional reflection component from an optically thick accretion disk at the 98% likelihood level. The reflection fraction is low with R_refl = 0.043(+0.033,-0.023). In combination with measurements of the spin and inclination parameters made with NuSTAR during a brighter hard state by Miller and co-workers, we seek to constrain the accretion disk geometry. Depending on the assumed emissivity profile of the accretion disk, we find a truncation radius of 15-35 Rg (5-12 R_ISCO ) at the 90% confidence limit. These values depend strongly on the assumptions and we discuss possible systematic uncertainties.

arXiv comment7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (59)

• On the Absorption of X-rays in the Interstellar Medium
• The Swift X-ray Telescope
• X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
• The European Photon Imaging Camera on XMM-Newton: The MOS Cameras
• The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
• Atomic Data for Astrophysics. II. New Analytic Fits for Photoionization Cross Sections of Atoms and Ions
• Advection-Dominated Accretion: Underfed Black Holes and Neutron Stars
• Advection-Dominated Accretion and the Spectral States of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries: Application to Nova Muscae 1991
• The MAXI Mission on the ISS: Science and Instruments for Monitoring All Sky X-Ray Images
• Broad-band gamma-ray and X-ray spectra of NGC 4151 and their implications for physical processes and geometry
• Improved Reflection Models of Black-Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-rays
• Going with the flow: can the base of jets subsume the role of compact accretion disk coronae?
• The May 1989 outburst of the Soft X-ray Transient GS 2023+338 (V404 Cyg)
• The Swift/BAT Hard X-ray Transient Monitor
• X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations
• Irradiation of an Accretion Disc by a Jet: General Properties and Implications for Spin Measurements of Black Holes
• Plasma Ejection from Magnetic Flares and the X-ray Spectrum of Cygnus X-1
• Do X-ray Binary Spectral State Transition Luminosities Vary?
• X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. I. Constant density atmospheres
• Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets
• Correlation between Compton reflection and X-ray slope in Seyferts and X-ray binaries
• The Constant Inner-Disk Radius of LMC X-3: A Basis for Measuring Black Hole Spin
• A Long, Hard Look at the Low-Hard State in Accreting Black Holes
• Understanding X-ray reflection emissivity profiles in AGN: Locating the X-ray source
• Evidence for Spin and Energy Extraction in a Galactic Black Hole Candidate: The XMM-Newton/EPIC-pn Spectrum of XTE J1650-500
• X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy of the Black Hole GX 339-4: Exploring the Hard State with Unprecedented Sensitivity
• Modeling the Low State Spectrum of the X-Ray Nova XTE J1118+480
• Black hole accretion disks in the canonical low-hard state
• The profile and equivalent width of the X-ray iron emission-line from a disk around a Kerr black hole
• On the size and location of the X-ray emitting coronae around black holes
• The X-ray Spectral Evolution of Galactic Black Hole X-ray Binaries Toward Quiescence
• Correlation between the photon index and X-ray luminosity of black hole X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei: observations and interpretation
• The Reflection Component from Cygnus X-1 in the Soft State Measured by NuSTAR and Suzaku
• The hard X-ray spectral evolution in X-ray binaries and its application to constrain the black hole mass of ultraluminous X-ray sources
• NuSTAR and Swift observations of the very high state in GX 339-4: Weighing the black hole with X-rays
• Truncation of the Inner Accretion Disk around a Black Hole at Low Luminosity
• Coronal--Temporal Correlations in GX339-4: Hysteresis, Possible Reflection Changes, and Implications for ADAFs
• The complex accretion geometry of GX 339-4 as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
• Complete Multiwavelength Evolution of Galactic Black Hole Transients During Outburst Decay I: Conditions for "Compact" Jet Formation
• On the origin of black hole X-ray emission in quiescence: Chandra observations of XTE J1550-564 and H 1743-322
• Revealing accretion onto black holes: X-ray reflection throughout three outbursts of GX 339-4
• The soft component and the iron line as signatures of the disc inner radius in Galactic black hole binaries
• Detection of Low-Hard State Spectral and Timing Signatures from the Black Hole X-Ray Transient XTE J1650-500 at Low X-Ray Luminosities
• X-Ray Observations of XTE J1550-564 During the Decay of the 2000 Outburst - I. Chandra and RXTE Energy Spectra
• New Constraints on the Black Hole Low/Hard State Inner Accretion Flow with NuSTAR
• X-Ray and Near-Infrared Observations of GX 339-4 in the Low/Hard State with Suzaku and IRSF
• Multi-state observations of the Galactic Black Hole XTE J1752-223: Evidence for an intermediate black hole spin
• A close look at the state transitions of Galactic black hole transients during outburst decay
• Luminosity dependence of the electron temperature in the bright hard state of the black hole candidate GX 339--4
• NuSTAR and XMM-Newton Observations of the Hard X-Ray Spectrum of Centaurus A
• The return to the hard state of GX 339-4 as seen by Suzaku
• A Low/Hard State Outburst of XTE J1550-564
• The truncated disk from Suzaku data of GX 339-4 in the extreme very high state
• Suzaku broadband spectroscopy of Swift J1753.5-0127 in the Low-Hard State
• Wind, jet, hybrid corona and hard X-ray flares: multiwavelength evolution of GRO J1655-40 during the 2005 outburst rise
• Near Infrared Observations of Galactic Black Hole Candidates
• Spectro-timing study of GX 339-4 in a hard intermediate state
• Detection of a 5-Hz QPO from X-ray Nova GRS 1739-278
• Swift and RXTE observations of the black hole transient GX 339-4 in the hard state between outbursts

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Detection of X-ray spectral state transitions in mini-outbursts of black hole transient GRS 1739-278
• Coronal properties of black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
• Evidence for Disk Truncation at Low Accretion States of the Black Hole Binary MAXI J1820+070 Observed by NuSTAR and XMM-Newton
• High-density reflection spectroscopy of black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state
• The black hole X-ray transient Swift J1357.2-0933 as seen with Swift and NuSTAR during its 2017 outburst
• State Transitions of GRS 1739$-$278 in the 2014 Outburst
• A strongly changing accretion morphology during the outburst decay of the neutron star X-ray binary 4U 1608-52
• X-ray spectral correlations in a sample of Low-mass black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state
• Radio/X-ray Correlation in the Mini-Outburts of Black Hole X-ray Transient GRS 1739--278
• NuSTAR and Swift observations of Swift J1357.2-0933 during an early phase of its 2017 outburst
• Studying temporal variability of GRS1739-278 during the 2014 outburst
• Comparing X-ray color selection in separating X-ray binary classes using Color-Color-Intensity diagrams
• Accretion Geometry of Black Hole X-ray Binaries: Insights from X-ray Observations