A quantitative explanation of the type-B QPOs in GX 339-4

Abstract

Type-B quasi periodic oscillations (QPOs) in black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) are a class of low-frequency QPOs that are observed in the soft intermediate state in the rising and the declining phases of an outburst. They are suspected to result from the precession of the jet that is ejected from the source. The objective of the present work is to investigate in detail the emissivity of the jet in hard X-rays and to see whether the type-B QPOs from GX 339-4, which is the best studied black-hole transient, can be explained quantitatively with a precessing jet. We used our simple jet model, which invokes Comptonization in the jet, and examined the angular dependence of the upscattered photons that emerge from the jet and their energy distribution, which is a power law. Due to the elongation of the jet, assisted by the bulk motion of the electrons, the angular distribution of the emerging hard X-ray photons from the jet is not isotropic. More importantly, the photon-number spectral index, $\Gamma ,$ is an increasing function of the polar angle, $\theta ,$ with respect to the axis of the jet. If the jet is fixed, then an observer at infinity sees the photon index, $\Gamma ,$ which corresponds to this specific observational direction. However, if the jet is precessing, then the observer sees a periodic variation of $\Gamma$ with the precession period. Such a periodic variation of $\Gamma$ has been observed in GX 339-4 and in this work, we reproduce it quantitatively, using our model. Our jet model nicely explains through quantitative means the type-B QPOs seen in GX 339-4 as originating from a precessing jet. The given model has previously explained several observed correlations thus far.

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• A variable corona during the transition from type-C to type-B quasi-periodic oscillations in the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070
• NICER uncovers the transient nature of the type-B quasi-periodic oscillation in the black hole candidate MAXI J1348-630
• Dual-Corona Comptonization model for the Type-B Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in GX 339-4
• A study of natural frequencies in a dynamic corona-disk system
• Transitions and Origin of the Type-B Quasi-Periodic Oscillation in the Black Hole X-ray Binary MAXI~ J1348--630
• A NICER look at the jet-like corona of MAXI J1535-571 through type-B quasi-periodic oscillations
• Are Low-Frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillations seen in accretion flows the disk response to a jet instability?
• Illumination of the accretion disk in black hole binaries: An extended jet as the primary source of hard X-rays
• Fast transitions of X-ray variability in the black hole transient GX 339--4: comparison with MAXI J1820+070 and MAXI J1348-630
• Quasi-periodic oscillations in GX 339-4 during the 2021 Outburst observed with Insight-HXMT
• The X-ray corona in the black-hole binary GRO J1655--40 from the properties of non-harmonically related quasi-periodic oscillations
• Timing analysis of the black-hole candidate Swift J1727.8-1613: detection of a dip-like feature in the high-energy cross spectrum
• A quantitative explanation of the radio--X-ray correlation in black-hole X-ray binaries
• A journey from the hard to the soft state: How do QPOs evolve in the 2021 outburst of GX 339-4?
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• A Hidden Pulse: Uncovering a New Timing Signal in Cygnus X-1 with AstroSat
• Black-hole X-ray binary Swift J1727.8$-$1613 shows simultaneous Type-B and Type-C quasi-periodic oscillations across the hard-intermediate and soft-intermediate states