A connection between accretion states and the formation of ultra-relativistic outflows in a neutron star X-ray binary

Abstract

The nearby accreting neutron star binary Sco X-1 is the closest example of ongoing relativistic jet production at high Eddington ratios. Previous radio studies have revealed that alongside mildly relativistic, radio-emitting ejecta, there is at times a much faster transfer of energy from the region of the accretion flow along the jet. The nature of this ultrarelativistic flow remains unclear and while there is some evidence for a similar phenomenon in other systems which might contain neutron stars, it has never been observed in a confirmed black hole system. We have compared these previous radio observations with a new analysis of simultaneous X-ray observations which were performed with the RXTE mission. We find that the ejection of the ultra-relativistic flow seems to be associated with the simultaneous appearance of two particular types of quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray power spectrum. In contrast, the mildly relativistic, radio-emitting outflows may be associated with flat-topped broad band noise in the X-ray power spectrum. This is the first time a link, albeit tentative, has been found between these mysterious unseen flows and the accretion flow from which they are launched.

14 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (4)

• RXTE observations of the first transient Z source XTE J1701-462: shedding new light on mass accretion in luminous neutron star LMXBs
• Tracing the jet contribution to the mid-IR over the 2005 outburst of GRO J1655-40 via broadband spectral modeling
• The variable radio counterpart and possible large-scale jet of the new Z-source XTE J1701-462
• Coupling between the 45 Hz Horizontal-Branch Oscillation and the Normal Branch Oscillation in Scorpius X-1

Cited by in corpus (12)

• The black hole transient MAXI J1348-630: evolution of the compact and transient jets during its 2019/2020 outburst
• A new radio census of neutron star X-ray binaries
• Black hole mass and spin measurements through the Relativistic Precession Model: XTE J1859+226
• Highly Significant Detection of X-Ray Polarization from the Brightest Accreting Neutron Star Sco X-1
• A shared accretion instability for black holes and neutron stars
• The twisted jets of Circinus X-1
• The variable radio counterpart of Swift J1858.6-0814
• X-ray spectro-polarimetric characterization of GX 340+0 in the horizontal branch: a highly inclined source?
• A search for signatures of interactions of X-ray binary outflows with their environments with ALMA
• X-ray spectropolarimetric characterization of the Z-source GX 340+0 in the normal branch
• Observational Biases and Improved Modelling of Off-axis Relativistic Jets
• The NICER view of Scorpius X-1