NuSTAR reveals the hidden nature of SS433

Abstract

SS433 is the only Galactic binary system known to persistently accrete at highly super-critical (or hyper-critical) rates, similar to those in tidal disruption events, and likely needed to explain the rapid growth of those very high redshift quasars containing massive SMBHs. Probing the inner regions of SS433 in the X-rays is crucial to understanding this system, and super-critical accretion in general, but is highly challenging due to obscuration by the surrounding wind, driven from the accretion flow. NuSTAR observed SS433 in the hard X-ray band across multiple phases of its 162 day super-orbital precession period. Spectral-timing tools allow us to infer that the hard X-ray emission from the inner regions is likely being scattered towards us by the walls of the wind-cone. By comparing to numerical models, we determine an intrinsic X-ray luminosity of $\ge$ 2$\times$10${}^{37}$ erg/s and that, if viewed face on, we would infer an apparent luminosity of $>$ 1$\times$10${}^{39}$ erg/s, confirming SS433's long-suspected nature as an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). We present the discovery of a narrow, $\sim 100$s lag due to atomic processes occurring in outflowing material travelling at least 0.14-0.29c, which matches absorption lines seen in ULXs and -- in the future -- will allow us to map a super-critical outflow for the first time.

arXiv comment14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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• Formation of Magnetically Truncated Accretion Disks in 3D Radiation-Transport Two-Temperature GRMHD Simulations
• XMM-Newton campaign on the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 247 ULX-1: outflows
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• MUSE spectroscopy of the ULX NGC 1313 X-1: a shock-ionised bubble, an X-ray photoionised nebula, and two supernova remnants
• A NuSTAR view of SS433: Precessional evolution of the jet-disk system
• Propeller states in locally super-critical ULXs
• Discovery of a radio transient in M81
• Winds in ultraluminous X-ray sources: new challenges
• Bubble in the Whale: Identifying the Optical Counterparts and Extended Nebula for the Ultraluminous X-ray Sources in NGC 4631
• Exploring the accretion-ejection geometry of GRS 1915+105 in the obscured state with future X-ray spectro-polarimetry
• Radio Nebulæ from Hyper-Accreting X-ray Binaries as Common Envelope Precursors and Persistent Counterparts of Fast Radio Bursts
• The extreme properties of the nearby hyper-Eddington accreting Active Galactic Nucleus in IRAS 04416+1215