Evolution of the accretion disk-corona during bright hard-to-soft state transition: A reflection spectroscopic study with GX 339-4

Abstract

We present the analysis of several observations of the black hole binary GX 339--4 during its bright intermediate states from two different outbursts (2002 and 2004), as observed by RXTE/PCA. We perform a consistent study of its reflection spectrum by employing the relxill family of relativistic reflection models to probe the evolutionary properties of the accretion disk including the inner disk radius ($R_{\mathrm{in}}$), ionization parameter ($\xi$), temperatures of the inner disk ($T_{\mathrm{in}}$), corona ($k{T}_{\mathrm{e}}$), and its optical depth ($\tau$). Our analysis indicates that the disk inner edge approaches the inner-most stable circular orbit (ISCO) during the early onset of bright hard state, and that the truncation radius of the disk remains low ($\lesssim 14R_{\mathrm{g}}$) throughout the transition from hard to soft state. This suggests that the changes observed in the accretion disk properties during the state transition are driven by variation in accretion rate, and not necessarily due to changes in the inner disk's radius. We compare the aforementioned disk properties in two different outbursts, with state transitions occurring at dissimilar luminosities, and find identical evolutionary trends in the disk properties, with differences only seen in corona's $k{T}_{\mathrm{e}}$ and $\tau$. We also perform an analysis by employing a self-consistent Comptonized accretion disk model accounting for the scatter of disk photons by the corona, and measure low inner disk truncation radius across the bright intermediate states, using the temperature dependent values of spectral hardening factor, thereby independently confirming our results from the reflection spectrum analysis.

arXiv commentThe erratum (doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abcb95) in the original paper (doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab64f5) is amended in this version. The overall conclusion of the original paper remains unchanged

References in corpus (84)

• emcee: The MCMC Hammer
• On the Absorption of X-rays in the Interstellar Medium
• X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
• Atomic Data for Astrophysics. II. New Analytic Fits for Photoionization Cross Sections of Atoms and Ions
• Towards a unified model for black hole X-ray binary jets
• Sources of Relativistic Jets in the Galaxy
• Broad-band gamma-ray and X-ray spectra of NGC 4151 and their implications for physical processes and geometry
• Magnetically Arrested Disk: An Energetically Efficient Accretion Flow
• Improved Reflection Models of Black-Hole Accretion Disks: Treating the Angular Distribution of X-rays
• Calibration of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array
• The May 1989 outburst of the Soft X-ray Transient GS 2023+338 (V404 Cyg)
• The Spin of the Near-Extreme Kerr Black Hole GRS 1915+105
• X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations
• The evolution of the timing properties of the black-hole transient GX 339-4 during its 2002/2003 outburst
• The evolution of black hole states
• Advection-Dominated Accretion and the Black Hole Event Horizon
• Radio / X-ray correlation in the low/hard state of GX 339--4
• Jets from black hole X-ray binaries: testing, refining and extending empirical models for the coupling to X-rays
• Plasma Ejection from Magnetic Flares and the X-ray Spectrum of Cygnus X-1
• The role of the reflection fraction in constraining black hole spin
• X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. I. Constant density atmospheres
• Simulations of Magnetized Disks Around Black Holes: Effects of Black Hole Spin, Disk Thickness, and Magnetic Field Geometry
• Radiative Processes, Spectral States and Variability of Black-Hole Binaries
• GX 339-4: the distance, state transitions, hysteresis and spectral correlations
• The corona contracts in a black-hole transient
• The Constant Inner-Disk Radius of LMC X-3: A Basis for Measuring Black Hole Spin
• Relativistic Accretion Disk Models of High State Black Hole X-ray Binary Spectra
• A Long, Hard Look at the Low-Hard State in Accreting Black Holes
• On the interpretation of the multicolour disc model for black hole candidates
• Dynamical Evidence for a Black Hole in GX 339-4
• Black hole accretion discs: reality confronts theory
• Testing Accretion Disk Theory in Black Hole X-ray Binaries
• X-ray Reflection Spectroscopy of the Black Hole GX 339-4: Exploring the Hard State with Unprecedented Sensitivity
• Normalizing a Relativistic Model of X-ray Reflection: The Definition of the Reflection Fraction and its Implementation in relxill
• X-ray spectra of accretion discs with dynamic coronae
• A systematic look at the Very High and Low/Hard state of GX 339-4: Constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model
• The EXOSAT data on GX 339-4: further evidence for an ``intermediate'' state
• The Distance and Interstellar Sight Line to GX339-4
• Accretion Discs with Strong Toroidal Magnetic Fields
• Evidence for Black Hole Spin in GX 339-4: XMM-Newton EPIC-pn and RXTE Spectroscopy of the Very High State
• NuSTAR and Suzaku observations of the hard state in Cygnus X-1: locating the inner accretion disk
• Truncation of the Inner Accretion Disk around a Black Hole at Low Luminosity
• NuSTAR and Swift observations of the very high state in GX 339-4: Weighing the black hole with X-rays
• Jet Power and Black Hole Spin: Testing an Empirical Relationship and Using it to Predict the Spins of Six Black Holes
• Radiative magnetic reconnection near accreting black holes
• A transient large-scale relativistic radio jet from GX 339-4
• X-ray Spectra from MHD Simulations of Accreting Black Holes
• Stellar Mass Black Holes and Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources
• The mass function of GX 339-4 from spectroscopic observations of its donor star
• The complex accretion geometry of GX 339-4 as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
• The Eye of the Storm: Light from the Inner Plunging Region of Black Hole Accretion Discs
• A Swift survey of accretion onto stellar-mass black holes
• A re--analysis of the iron line in the XMM-Newton data from the low/hard state in GX339--4
• The truncated and evolving inner accretion disc of the black hole GX 339-4
• Broadband X-ray Spectra of GX 339-4 and the Geometry of Accreting Black Holes in the Hard State
• Initial Measurements of Black Hole Spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku Spectroscopy
• The Comptonisation of accretion disc X-ray emission: Consequences for X-ray reflection and the geometry of AGN coronae
• High Density Reflection Spectroscopy I. A case study of GX~339-4
• Modeling the Jet Kinematics of the Black Hole Microquasar XTE J1550-564: A Constraint on Spin-Orbit Alignment
• Revealing accretion onto black holes: X-ray reflection throughout three outbursts of GX 339-4
• Spectral Hardening in Black Hole Accretion: Giving Spectral Modelers an f
• High accretion rates in magnetised Keplerian discs mediated by a Parker instability driven dynamo
• Spectral analysis of the XMM-Newton data of GX 339-4 in the low/hard state: disc truncation and reflection
• Constraining the size of the corona with fully relativistic calculations of spectra of extended corona. I - the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code
• Self-Consistent Black Hole Accretion Spectral Models and the Forgotten Role of Coronal Comptonization of Reflection Emission
• The evolution of GX 339-4 in the low-hard state as seen by NuSTAR and Swift
• On Relativistic Disk Spectroscopy in Compact Objects with X-ray CCD Cameras
• On the variation of black hole accretion disc radii as a function of state and accretion rate
• Spectral variability of GX 339-4 in a hard-to-soft state transition
• Reverberation Reveals the Truncated Disc in the Hard State of GX 339-4
• The effects of a comptonizing corona on the appearance of the reflection components in accreting black hole spectra
• The X-ray binary GX 339-4/V821 Ara: the distance, inclination, evolutionary status and mass transfer
• Optical Spectroscopy of GX339-4 during the High-Soft and Low-Hard States II: Line Ionisation and Emission Region
• The 2017 Failed Outburst of GX 339-4: Relativistic X-ray Reflection near the Black Hole Revealed by NuSTAR and Swift Spectroscopy
• An Empirical Method for Improving the Quality of RXTE PCA Spectra
• Spectral hardening as a viable alternative to disc truncation in black hole state transitions
• Advances in the RXTE Proportional Counter Array Calibration: Nearing the Statistical Limit
• The hard to soft spectral transition in LMXBs - affected by recondensation of gas into an inner disk
• The truncated disk from Suzaku data of GX 339-4 in the extreme very high state
• On the influence of resonant absorption on the iron emission line profiles from accreting black holes
• Magnetic inversion as a mechanism for the spectral transition of black hole binaries
• Stronger Reflection from Black Hole Accretion Disks in Soft X-ray States
• Testing the performance and accuracy of the RELXILL model for the relativistic X-ray reflection from accretion disks
• NuSTAR and Swift observations of the black hole candidate XTE J1908+094 during its 2013 outburst

Cited by in corpus (23)

• Periodic Fast Radio Bursts from Luminous X-ray Binaries
• Disk, Corona, Jet Connection in the Intermediate State of MAXI J1820+070 Revealed by NICER Spectral-Timing Analysis
• Reflection Modeling of the Black Hole Binary 4U~1630$-$47: the Disk Density and Returning Radiation
• Comptonization by Reconnection Plasmoids in Black Hole Coronae I: Magnetically Dominated Pair Plasma
• Evidence for Returning Disk Radiation in the Black Hole X-ray Binary XTE J1550-564
• A NICER look at the state transitions of the black hole candidate MAXI J1535-571 during its reflares
• Comptonization by Reconnection Plasmoids in Black Hole Coronae II: Electron-Ion Plasma
• The hard to soft transition of GX 339-4 as seen by Insight-HXMT
• Insight-HXMT Study of the Inner Accretion Disk in the Black Hole Candidate EXO 1846--031
• AstroSat view of the newly discovered X-ray transient MAXI~J1803--298 in the Hard-intermediate state
• Bulk Motions in the Black Hole Jet Sheath as a Candidate for the Comptonizing Corona
• Analysis of the reflection spectra of MAXI J1535-571 in the hard and intermediate states
• State transitions of GX 339-4 during its outburst rising phase
• Evolution of the truncated disc and inner hot-flow of GX 339-4
• Do stellar-mass and super-massive black holes have similar dining habits?
• X-ray spectral correlations in a sample of Low-mass black hole X-ray binaries in the hard state
• The spectral-timing analysis of Cygnus X-1 with Insight-HXMT
• Comptonization by Reconnection Plasmoids in Black Hole Coronae III: Dependence on the Guide Field in Pair Plasma
• Searching for quantum-gravity footprint around stellar-mass black holes
• A Minimal Time Scale for the Spectral States of GX 339-4
• Investigating the consistency of the shape and flux of X-ray reflection spectra in the hard state with an accretion disk reaching close to the black hole
• Interaction between disk and extended corona in a general relativistic framework
• Accretion Geometry of Black Hole X-ray Binaries: Insights from X-ray Observations