Optical polarization signatures of black hole X-ray binaries

Abstract

Polarimetry provides an avenue for probing the geometry and physical mechanisms producing optical radiation in many astrophysical objects, including stellar binary systems. We present the results of multiwavelength (BVR) polarimetric studies of a sample of historical black hole X-ray binaries, observed during their outbursts or in the quiescent (or near-quiescent) state. We surveyed both long- and short-period systems, located at different Galactic latitudes. We performed careful analysis of the interstellar polarization in the direction on the sources to reliably estimate the intrinsic source polarization. Intrinsic polarization was found to be small (< 0.2 per cent) in sources observed in bright soft states (MAXI J0637-430 and 4U 1957+115). It was found to be significant in the rising hard state of MAXI J1820+070 at the level of 0.5 per cent and negligible in the decaying hard state and during its failed outbursts, while Swift J1357.2-0933 showed its absence in the rising hard state. Three (XTE J1118+480, V4641 Sgr, V404 Cyg) sources observed during quiescence show no evidence of significant intrinsic polarization, while MAXI J1820+070 is the only black hole X-ray binary which showed substantial (> 5 per cent) intrinsic quiescent-state polarization with a blue spectrum. The absence of intrinsic polarization at the optical wavelengths puts constraints on the potential contribution of non-stellar (jet, hot flow, accretion disc) components to the total spectra of quiescent black hole X-ray binaries.

References in corpus (17)

• Revisiting the radio/X-ray flux correlation in the black hole V404 Cyg: from outburst to quiescence
• The binary mass ratio in the black hole transient MAXI J1820+070
• A Black Hole Nova Obscured by an Inner Disk Torus
• Repetitive Patterns in Rapid Optical Variations in the Nearby Black-hole Binary V404 Cygni
• Relativistic X-ray jets from the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070
• Black hole spin-orbit misalignment in the X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070
• A timing study of MAXI J1820+070 based on Swift/XRT and NICER monitoring in 2018/19
• High-energy gamma-ray observations of the accreting black hole V404 Cygni during its June 2015 outburst
• Time-resolved optical/near-IR polarimetry of V404 Cyg during its 2015 outburst
• The 2005 outburst of the halo black hole X-ray transient XTE J1118+480
• Multi-Wavelength Variability. Accretion and Ejection at the Fastest Timescales
• Polarized synchrotron emission in quiescent black hole X-ray transients
• NICER observations of the black hole candidate MAXI J0637$-$430 during the 2019-2020 Outburst
• The Donor of the Black-Hole X-Ray Binary MAXI J1820+070
• Disc and wind in black hole X-ray binary MAXIJ1820+070 observed through polarized light during its 2018 outburst
• Measurement of Interstellar Polarization and Estimation of Galactic Extinction for the Direction of X-ray Black Hole Binary V404 Cygni
• Simultaneous optical and near-IR photometry of 4U 1957+115 - a missing secondary star

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Variability of X-ray polarization of Cyg X-1
• Peering into the tilted heart of Cyg X-1 with high-precision optical polarimetry
• Modeling fast X-ray variability around an accreting black hole
• Science with a large field-of-view polarization survey: The Large Array Survey Telescope Polarization Node (LAST-P)
• Optical polarimetry of the accreting black hole X-ray binary Swift J1727.8$-$1613 over the state transition and radio ejections