Evolving Morphology of the Large-Scale Relativistic Jets from XTE J1550-564

Abstract

We present an in-depth study of the large-scale, western jet of the microquasar XTE J1550-564, based on X-ray and radio observations performed in 2002-2003. The jet is spatially resolved in both observing windows. The X-ray jet is expanding in time along the axis of the jet's propagation: we observe the formation of a tail (~2.25"), which appears to extend backwards with an apparent velocity ~-0.10c. The origin of this feature is discussed in the framework of scenarios of energy dissipation. A single power-law adequately describes the broadband spectra, supporting a synchrotron origin of the X-ray emission. However, a spectral break at ~10^{15} Hz is necessary in coincidence with a re-flare at 8.64 GHz in September 2002. This finding may be indicative of emission from newly accelerated low-energy particles. The first detection of the jet is in February 2001 (F_{8.64GHz}=0.25+/-0.09 mJy) in the flux rising phase. A phase of stable emission is followed by a rapid decay (t_{decay}=167+/-5 days). The decay at radio frequencies is significantly shorter than in X-rays (t_{decay}=338+/-14 days). We detected a high fraction (up to ~9%) of linearly polarized radiation at 4.8 GHz and 8.6 GHz. The orientation of the electric vector is consistent with the picture of a shock-compressed magnetic field, and there are hints of variations on month-timescales, possibly connected with the evolution of the jet structure.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (60)

• Optical and Long Wavelength Afterglow from Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Sources of Relativistic Jets in the Galaxy
• Powerful jets from black hole X-ray binaries in Low/Hard X-ray states
• MERLIN observations of relativistic ejections from GRS 1915+105
• Internal shocks in the jets of radio-loud quasars
• A dark jet dominates the power output of the stellar black hole Cygnus X-1
• Near-infrared synchrotron emission from the compact jet of GX339-4
• An improved map of the Galactic Faraday sky
• Large-Scale, Decelerating, Relativistic X-ray Jets from the Microquasar XTE J1550-654
• The Afterglow of GRB 130427A from 1 to 10^16 GHz
• The Spin of the Black Hole Microquasar XTE J1550-564 via the Continuum-Fitting and Fe-Line Methods
• An Improved Dynamical Model for the Microquasar XTE J1550-564
• Estimating extragalactic Faraday rotation
• Complete RXTE Spectral Observations of the Black Hole X-ray Nova XTE J1550-564
• The Distance, Inclination, and Spin of the Black Hole Microquasar H1743-322
• A variable mid-infrared synchrotron break associated with the compact jet in GX 339-4
• On the Mechanism of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• X-ray states and radio emission in the black hole candidate XTE J1550-564
• A Reverse Shock in GRB 130427A
• Discovery of X-ray Jets in the Microquasar H 1743-322
• Iron Emission Lines from Extended X-ray Jets in SS 433: Reheating of Atomic Nuclei
• Jet spectral breaks in black hole X-ray binaries
• The infrared/X-ray correlation of GX 339-4: Probing hard X-ray emission in accreting black holes
• A transient large-scale relativistic radio jet from GX 339-4
• Chandra/ACIS Subpixel Event Repositioning. II. Further Refinements and Comparison between Backside and Front-side Illuminated X-ray CCDs
• The jet-powered optical nebula of Cygnus X-1
• Formation of the compact jets in the black hole GX 339-4
• Evidence for a compact jet dominating the broadband spectrum of the black hole accretor XTE J1550-564
• The spectral energy distribution of compact jets powered by internal shocks
• Energy Injection in Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows
• Modeling the Jet Kinematics of the Black Hole Microquasar XTE J1550-564: A Constraint on Spin-Orbit Alignment
• Synthetic off-axis light curves for low energy gamma-ray bursts
• iShocks: X-ray binary jets with an internal shocks model
• The black hole candidate XTE J1752-223 towards and in quiescence: optical and simultaneous X-ray - radio observations
• New Evidence for Efficient Collisionless Heating of Electrons at the Reverse Shock of a Young Supernova Remnant
• X-Ray Emission from the Jets of XTE J1550-564
• XTE J1550-564: A superluminal ejection during the September 1998 outburst
• Multiwavelength Observations of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1550-564 during the 2000 Outburst
• Internal shocks at the origin of the flat spectral energy distribution of compact jets
• Radio monitoring of the hard state jets in the 2011 outburst of MAXI J1836-194
• X-Ray Jet Emission from the Black Hole X-Ray Binary XTE J1550-564 with Chandra in 2000
• Radio Emission from GRO J1655-40 during the 1994 Jet Ejection Episodes
• A multiwavelength study of Cygnus X-1: the first mid-infrared spectroscopic detection of compact jets
• Variable circular polarisation associated with relativistic ejections from GRS 1915+105
• An XMM-Newton Observation of 4U1755-33 in Quiescence: Evidence for a Fossil X-Ray Jet
• The evolving polarised jet of black hole candidate Swift J1745-26
• Probing the Bright Radio Flare and Afterglow of GRB 130427A with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager
• The 2003 radio outburst of a new X-ray transient: XTE J1720-318
• The Early Afterglows
• Parsec-Scale Bipolar X-ray Shocks Produced by Powerful Jets from the Neutron Star Circinus X-1
• Large Scale Cavities Surrounding Microquasars Inferred from Evolution of their Relativistic Jets
• External shock model for the large-scale, relativistic X-ray jets from the microquasar XTE J1550-564
• A decade of radio imaging the relativistic outflow in the peculiar X-ray binary Circinus X-1
• Coupled radio and X-ray emission and evidence for discrete ejecta in the jets of SS 433
• Revisiting the relativistic ejection event in XTE J1550-564 during the 1998 outburst
• A late jet rebrightening revealed from multi-wavelength monitoring of the black hole candidate XTE J1752-223
• Reverse Shock Emission in Gamma-ray Bursts Revisited
• Evolution of the X-Ray Jets from 4U 1755--33
• The rise of the afterglow in GRB 050820a
• High energy astrophysics with the next generation of radio astronomy facilities

Cited by in corpus (15)

• An extremely powerful long-lived superluminal ejection from the black hole MAXI J1820+070
• Disk-jet coupling in the 2017/2018 outburst of the Galactic black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571
• The black hole transient MAXI J1348-630: evolution of the compact and transient jets during its 2019/2020 outburst
• Relativistic X-ray jets from the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070
• Swift J1727.8-1613 has the Largest Resolved Continuous Jet Ever Seen in an X-ray Binary
• Modeling the kinematics of the decelerating jets from the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1348$-$630
• Mapping Jet-ISM Interactions in X-ray Binaries with ALMA: A GRS 1915$+$105 Case Study
• The appearance of a compact jet in the soft-intermediate state of 4U 1543-47
• Jet-ISM Interactions near the Microquasars GRS 1758-258 and 1E 1740.7-2942
• Conflicting disk inclination estimates for the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1550-564
• Comprehensive Radio Monitoring of the Black Hole X-ray Binary Swift J1727.8$-$1613 during its 2023$-$2024 Outburst
• Large-scale radio bubbles around the black hole transient V4641 Sgr
• Effects of precession versus instabilities on the jets of GRS 1758-258
• The Accretion-Ejection Connection in the Black Hole X-ray Binary MAXI J1820$+$070
• Effects of radiative losses on the relativistic jets of high-mass microquasars