A broadband radio view of transient jet ejecta in the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571

Abstract

We present a broadband radio study of the transient jets ejected from the black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571, which underwent a prolonged outburst beginning on 2 September 2017. We monitored MAXI J1535-571 with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at frequencies from 119 to 186 MHz over six epochs from 20 September to 14 October 2017. The source was quasi-simultaneously observed over the frequency range 0.84-19 GHz by UTMOST (the upgraded Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and the Australian Long Baseline Array (LBA). Using the LBA observations from 23 September 2017, we measured the source size to be $34\pm 1$ mas. During the brightest radio flare on 21 September 2017, the source was detected down to 119 MHz by the MWA, and the radio spectrum indicates a turnover between 250 and 500 MHz, which is most likely due to synchrotron self-absorption (SSA). By fitting the radio spectrum with a SSA model and using the LBA size measurement, we determined various physical parameters of the jet knot (identified in ATCA data), including the jet opening angle (= $4.5\pm 1.2^{\circ }$) and the magnetic field strength (= $104_{-78}^{+80}$ mG). Our fitted magnetic field strength agrees reasonably well with that inferred from the standard equipartition approach, suggesting the jet knot to be close to equipartition. Our study highlights the capabilities of the Australian suite of radio telescopes to jointly probe radio jets in black hole X-ray binaries (BH-XRBs) via simultaneous observations over a broad frequency range, and with differing angular resolutions. This suite allows us to determine the physical properties of XRB jets. Finally, our study emphasizes the potential contributions that can be made by the low-frequency part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low) in the study of BH-XRBs.

arXiv commentThis article has been accepted for publication in PASA. This article has 16 pages, 7 figures and 1 table

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• The evolution of the corona in MAXI J1535-571 through type-C quasi-periodic oscillations with Insight-HXMT
• Time-dependent visibility modelling of a relativistic jet in the X-ray binary MAXI J1803-298
• Limits on long-time-scale radio transients at 150 MHz using the TGSS ADR1 and LoTSS DR2 catalogues
• MAXI J1535-571 2017 outburst Seen by INTEGRAL/SPI and Investigating the Origin of Its Hard Tail
• A possible jet and corona configuration for Swift J1727.8--1613 during the hard state
• Observational Biases and Improved Modelling of Off-axis Relativistic Jets