The 2005 outburst of the halo black hole X-ray transient XTE J1118+480

Abstract

We present optical and infrared monitoring of the 2005 outburst of the halo black hole X-ray transient XTE J1118+480. We measured a total outburst amplitude of ~5.7+-0.1 mag in the R band and ~5 mag in the infrared J, H and K_s bands. The hardness ratio HR2 (5-12 keV/3-5 keV) from the RXTE/ASM data is 1.53+-0.02 at the peak of the outburst indicating a hard spectrum. Both the shape of the light curve and the ratio L_X (1-10 keV)/L_opt resemble the mini-outbursts observed in GRO J0422+32 and XTE J1859+226. During early decline, we find a 0.02-mag amplitude variation consistent with a superhump modulation, like the one observed during the 2000 outburst. Similarly, XTE J1118+480 displayed a double-humped ellipsoidal modulation distorted by a superhump wave when settled into a near-quiescence level, suggesting that the disk expanded to the 3:1 resonance radius after outburst where it remained until early quiescence. The system reached quiescence at R=19.02+-0.03 about three months after the onset of the outburst. The optical rise preceded the X-ray rise by at most 4 days. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) at the different epochs during outburst are all quasi-power laws with F_nu proportional to nu^alpha increasing toward the blue. At the peak of the outburst we derived alpha=0.49+-0.04 for the optical data alone and alpha=0.1+-0.1 when fitting solely the infrared. This difference between the optical and the infrared SEDs suggests that the infrared is dominated by a different component (a jet?) whereas the optical is presumably showing the disk evolution.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

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• Overview of an Extensive Multi-wavelength Study of GX 339-4 during the 2010 Outburst
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• Constraints on Relativistic Jets in Quiescent Black Hole X-ray Binaries from Broadband Spectral Modeling
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• The Swift Bulge Survey: optical and near-IR follow-up featuring a likely symbiotic X-ray binary & a focused wind CV
• The Optical Orbital Light Curve of the Low-mass X-ray Binary V1408 Aquilae (= 4U 1957+115)
• $p\gamma$ interactions in Galactic jets as a plausible origin of the positron excess
• A misfired outburst in the neutron star X-ray binary Centaurus X-4
• Accretion Flow Properties of XTE J1118+480 During Its 2005 Outburst
• Optical emission of the black hole X-ray transient MAXI J1659-152 during quiescence
• Optical polarization signatures of black hole X-ray binaries
• A Study of the Variation of Geometry of Accretion Flows of Compact Objects through Timing and Spectral Analysis of Their Outbursts
• A Multi-wavelength Characterization of the 2023 Outburst of MAXI J1807+132: Manifestations of Disk Instability and Jet Emission
• Ubiquitous yet forgotten: broad absorptions in the optical spectra of low-mass X-ray binaries