Faint Infrared Flares from the Microquasar GRS 1915+105

Abstract

We present simultaneous infrared and X-ray observations of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105 using the Palomar 5-m telescope and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer on July 10, 1998 UT. Over the course of 5 hours, we observed 6 faint infrared (IR) flares with peak amplitudes of $\sim 0.3-0.6$ mJy and durations of $\sim 500-600$ seconds. These flares are associated with X-ray soft-dip/soft-flare cycles, as opposed to the brighter IR flares associated with X-ray hard-dip/soft-flare cycles seen in August 1997 by Eikenberry et al. (1998). Interestingly, the IR flares begin {\it before} the X-ray oscillations, implying an ``outside-in'' origin of the IR/X-ray cycle. We also show that the quasi-steady IR excess in August 1997 is due to the pile-up of similar faint flares. We discuss the implications of this flaring behavior for understanding jet formation in microquasars.

arXiv comment10 pages, 4 figures Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (7)

• MERLIN observations of relativistic ejections from GRS 1915+105
• The variable radio emission from GRS 1915+105
• Evidence for a Disk-Jet Interaction in the Microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Rapid infrared flares in GRS 1915+105 : evidence for infrared synchrotron emission
• Infrared synchrotron oscillations in GRS 1915+105
• Spectroscopy of Infrared Flares from the Microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Time Evolution and the Nature of the Near-Infrared Jets in GRS1915+105

Cited by in corpus (25)

• Powerful jets from black hole X-ray binaries in Low/Hard X-ray states
• GRS 1915+105 and the Disc-Jet Coupling in Accreting Black Hole Systems
• Science with the Murchison Widefield Array
• Hard X-ray states and radio emission in GRS 1915+105
• Identification of the donor in the X-ray binary GRS 1915+105
• Probing Micro-quasars with TeV Neutrinos
• On the origin of the various types of radio emission in GRS 1915+105
• Giant repeated ejections from GRS 1915+105
• High-Energy Aspects of Astrophysical Jets
• Study of the Largest Multiwavelength Campaign of the Microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Spectral, polarisation and time-lag properties of GRS 1915+105 radio oscillations
• Long-term multi-wavelength studies of GRS 1915+105 I. A high-energy and mid-infrared focus with RXTE, INTEGRAL, and Spitzer
• Detection of a Series of X-ray Dips Associated with a Radio Flare in GRS 1915+105
• Disk-Jet Connection in the Microquasar GRS 1915+105 and IR and Radio Emission
• Comptonization and reflection of X-ray radiation and the X-ray-radio correlation in the chi-states of GRS 1915+105
• Connection between accretion disk and superluminal radio jets and the role of radio plateau state in GRS 1915+105
• A microquasar classification from a disk instability perspective
• Observations of Rapid Disk-Jet Interaction in the Microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Mid-Infrared observations of GRS 1915+105 during plateau and flaring states
• On the Mass-Donating Star in GRS 1915+105
• Fast X-Ray/IR cross-correlations and relativistic jet formation in GRS 1915+105
• QPO Frequency - Color Radius Connection in GRS 1915+105: a Possible Turnover supporting AEI predictions
• Does Low Frequency X-ray QPO Behavior in GRS 1915+105 Influence Subsequent X-ray and Infrared Evolution?
• HST/NICMOS Observations of Fast Infrared Flickering in the Microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Three modes of long wavelength flaring from GRS 1915+105: implications for jet formation