An HI absorption distance to the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571

Abstract

With the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) we monitored the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535--571 over seven epochs from 21 September to 2 October 2017. Using ASKAP observations, we studied the HI absorption spectrum from gas clouds along the line-of-sight and thereby constrained the distance to the source. The maximum negative radial velocities measured from the HI absorption spectra for MAXI J1535--571 and an extragalactic source in the same field of view are $-69\pm 4$ km s${}^{-1}$ and $-89\pm 4$ km s${}^{-1}$, respectively. This rules out the far kinematic distance ($9.3_{-0.6}^{+0.5}$ kpc), giving a most likely distance of $4.1_{-0.5}^{+0.6}$ kpc, with a strong upper limit of the tangent point at $6.7_{-0.2}^{+0.1}$ kpc. At our preferred distance, the peak unabsorbed luminosity of MAXI J1535--571 was $>78$ per cent of the Eddington luminosity, and shows that the soft-to-hard spectral state transition occurred at the very low luminosity of 1.2 -- 3.4 $\times$ 10${}^{-5}$ times the Eddington luminosity. Finally, this study highlights the capabilities of new wide-field radio telescopes to probe Galactic transient outbursts, by allowing us to observe both a target source and a background comparison source in a single telescope pointing.

Revised after favorable referee report from MNRAS Letters

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Cited by in corpus (22)

• A radio parallax to the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070
• Rapid compact jet quenching in the Galactic black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571
• The comptonizing medium of the black-hole X-ray binary MAXI~J1535$-$571 through type-C quasi-periodic oscillations
• A NICER look at the state transitions of the black hole candidate MAXI J1535-571 during its reflares
• Systematically Revisiting All NuSTAR Spins of Black Holes in X-Ray Binaries
• Coronal properties of black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
• A NICER look at the jet-like corona of MAXI J1535-571 through type-B quasi-periodic oscillations
• The current state of disk wind observations in BHLMXBs through X-ray absorption lines in the iron band
• High-density reflection spectroscopy of black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state
• Analysis of the reflection spectra of MAXI J1535-571 in the hard and intermediate states
• Radio observations of the Black Hole X-ray Binary EXO 1846-031 re-awakening from a 34-year slumber
• Possible contribution of X-ray binary jets to the Galactic cosmic ray and neutrino flux
• X-ray spectral correlations in a sample of Low-mass black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state
• Testing the dynamic origin of Quasi-periodic Oscillations in MAXI J1535-571 and H 1743-322
• Compact Objects in close orbits as Gravitational Wave Sources: Formation Scenarios and Properties
• Investigating the nature and properties of MAXI J1810-222 with radio and X-ray observations
• Global Accretion Properties of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries: A Phenomenological Perspective
• The population of NuSTAR Black Hole X-ray Binaries
• MAXI J1535-571 2017 outburst Seen by INTEGRAL/SPI and Investigating the Origin of Its Hard Tail
• Accretion Geometry of Black Hole X-ray Binaries: Insights from X-ray Observations
• On the origin of core radio emissions from black hole sources in the realm of relativistic shocked accretion flow
• Observational Biases and Improved Modelling of Off-axis Relativistic Jets