The broad-band power spectra of X-ray binaries

Abstract

We analyzed the rapid aperiodic X-ray variability of different types of X-ray binaries (black hole candidates, atoll sources, the recently discovered millisecond X-ray pulsar, and Z sources) at their lowest inferred mass accretion rates. At these accretion rates, the power spectra of all sources are dominated by a strong band-limited noise component, which follows a power law with an index roughly 1 at high frequencies and breaks at a frequency between 0.02 and 32 Hz below which the spectrum is relatively flat. Superimposed on this, a broad bump (sometimes a quasi-periodic oscillation) is present with a 0.2-67 Hz centroid frequency that varies in good correlation with the frequency of the break. The black hole candidates and the low-luminosity neutron star systems (including the millisecond X-ray pulsar) have the same relation between the frequency of the bump and the frequency of the break. These similar characteristics strongly suggest that in all those different types of sources the band-limited noise and the bump are produced by the same physical mechanism. This mechanism cannot then depend on the presence or absence of either a small magnetosphere or a solid surface, so that it is most likely related to an instability in the flow in the accretion disk that modulates the accretion rate. The Z sources, which are more luminous than the other sources discussed here, follow a similar, but slightly shifted correlation between the break frequency and the frequency of the bump. The data suggest that the band-limited noise in Z sources is more complex than that in the other sources.

10 pages, 3 figures (of which one a color figure). Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Part 1

References in corpus (14)

• Temporal Properties of Cygnus X-1 During the Spectral Transitions
• Kilohertz QPO Peak Separation Is Not Constant in Scorpius X-1
• Strong Correlation Between Noise Features at Low Frequency and the Kilohertz QPOs in the X-Ray Binary 4U 1728-34
• KiloHertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in GX 17+2
• Discovery of KiloHertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Z source Cygnus X-2
• The broad-band power spectrum of SAX J1808.4-3658
• Discovery of KiloHertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Z source GX 5-1
• Discovery of kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in the Z source GX 340+0
• ``Canonical'' Black Hole States in the Superluminal Source GRO J1655-40
• The X-ray Spectrum of SAX J1808.4-3658
• Discovery of KiloHertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in 4U 1735-44
• Discovery of Kilohertz QPOs in the Atoll X-Ray Binary 4U 1705-44
• Rxte Observations of a New X-Ray Transient: GRS 1737-31
• Timing Noise Properties of GRO J0422+32

Cited by in corpus (209)

• Modelling the behaviour of accretion flows in X-ray binaries
• General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Magnetically Choked Accretion Flows around Black Holes
• Millisecond Oscillations in X-Ray Binaries
• A Unified Description of the Timing Features of Accreting X-ray Binaries
• Correlated X-ray Spectral and Timing Behavior of the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1550-564: A New Interpretation of Black Hole States
• Non-linear X-ray variability in X-ray binaries and active galaxies
• Low frequency QPO spectra and Lense-Thirring precession
• The ABC of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in Black-Hole Candidates: analogies with Z-sources
• A review of quasi-periodic oscillations from black hole X-ray binaries: observation and theory
• States and transitions in black-hole binaries
• Are There Three Peaks in the Power Spectra of GX 339-4 and Cyg X-1?
• A physical model for the continuum variability and QPO in accreting black holes
• Hard X-ray Emission From Low Mass X-ray Binaries
• Characterizing the QPO Behavior of the X-ray Nova XTE J1550--564
• Long Term Variability of Cyg X-1 I. X-ray spectral-temporal correlations in the hard state
• High-Frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in black-hole binaries
• Transient Black Hole Binaries
• High- and low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray light curves of the black hole transient H1743-322
• Black hole-like hysteresis and accretion states in neutron star low mass X-ray binaries
• Spectral Index and Quasi-Periodic Oscillation Frequency Correlation in Black Hole (BH) Sources: Observational Evidence of Two Phases and Phase Transition in BHs
• The Discovery of a State Dependent Hard Tail in the X-ray Spectrum of the Luminous Z-source GX 17+2
• X-ray emission from black-hole binaries
• An exact analytic treatment of propagating mass accretion rate fluctuations in X-ray binaries
• The atoll source states of 4U 1608-52
• A multi-Lorentzian timing study of the atoll sources 4U 0614+09 and 4U 1728-34
• Modelling variability in black hole binaries: linking simulations to observations
• The remarkable rapid X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, and IR variability in the black hole XTE J1118+480
• Rapid optical and X-ray timing observations of GX 339-4: multi-component optical variability in the low/hard state
• Coronal--Temporal Correlations in GX339-4: Hysteresis, Possible Reflection Changes, and Implications for ADAFs
• RXTE observations of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 17+2: correlated X-ray spectral and timing behavior
• A Precessing Ring Model for Low-Frequency Quasi-periodic Oscillations
• Relations Between Timing Features and Colors in the X-Ray Binary 4U 0614+09
• Quasi periodic oscillations in black hole binaries
• How Do Z and Atoll X-ray Binaries Differ?
• Challenging times: a re-analysis of NGC 5408 X-1
• INTEGRAL/RossiXTE high-energy observation of a state transition of GX 339-4
• Physics of accretion in the millisecond pulsar XTE J1751-305
• Black Hole Mass of the Ultraluminous X-ray source M82 X-1
• Variability of X-ray binaries from an oscillating hot corona
• Low-level accretion in neutron-star X-ray binaries
• The Amplitude of the Kilohertz Quasi-periodic Oscillations in 4U 1728-34, 4U 1608-52, and Aql X-1, as a Function of X-ray Intensity
• "Soft X-ray transient" outbursts which aren't soft
• Phase-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of the millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Relations Between Timing Features and Colors in Accreting Millisecond Pulsars
• Study of the Temporal Behavior of 4U 1728-34 as a Function of its Position in the Color-Color Diagram
• Fast variability from black-hole binaries
• On the Spectral Evolution of Cygnus X-2 along its Color-Color Diagram
• A two-component Comptonisation model for the type-B QPO in MAXI J1348-630
• Truncated disc versus extremely broad iron line in XTE J1650-500
• The power spectral properties of the Z-source GX 340+0
• A peculiar spectral state transition of 4U1705--44: when an Atoll looks like a Z
• Quenching of the accretion disk strong aperiodic variability at the magnetospheric boundary
• A unified Lense-Thirring precession model for optical and X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations in black hole binaries
• Low and high frequency variability as a function of spectral properties in the bright X-ray binary GX 5-1
• Simultaneous Measurements of X-Ray Luminosity and Kilohertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries
• Identification of black hole power spectral components across all canonical states
• Phase-resolved spectroscopy of low frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in GRS 1915+105
• Observational Signatures of Tilted Black Hole Accretion Disks from Simulations
• A physical interpretation of the variability power spectral components in accreting neutron stars
• On the Correlated Spectral and Timing Properties of 4U 1636-53: an Atoll Source at High Accretion Rates
• Evolution of the 0.01 - 25 Hz power spectral components in Cygnus X-1
• Discovery of kHz QPOs and shifted frequency correlations in the accreting millisecond pulsar XTE J1807--294
• The NICER "Reverberation Machine": A Systematic Study of Time Lags in Black Hole X-Ray Binaries
• Magnetic flares and the optical variability of the X-ray transient XTE J1118+480
• X-Ray Spectral and Timing Evolution During the Decay of the 1998 Outburst from the Recurrent X-Ray Transient 4U 1630-47
• Origin of the X-ray Quasi-Periodic Oscillations and Identification of a Transient Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in M82
• Simultaneous BeppoSAX and RXTE observations of the X-ray burst sources GX 3+1 and Ser X-1
• X-Ray Polarimetry with the Polarization Spectroscopic Telescope Array (PolSTAR)
• Time lags of the type-B QPO in MAXI J1348-630
• Is M82 X-1 Really An Intermediate-Mass Black Hole? X-ray Spectral and Timing Evidence
• X-ray temporal properties of XTE J1650-500 during outburst decay
• Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
• Weighing the black holes in ultraluminous X-ray sources through timing
• Fast Photometry of Quiescent Soft X-ray Transients with the Gemini-South Acquisition Camera
• Timing Spectroscopy of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Low-Mass X-ray Neutron Star Binaries
• Phase-resolved spectroscopy of a quasi-periodic oscillation in the black hole X-ray binary GRS 1915+105 with NICER and NuSTAR
• A full spectral-timing model to map the accretion flow in black hole binaries: the low/hard state of MAXI J1820+070
• A complex state transition from the black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127
• The effect of frame dragging on the iron K alpha line in X-ray binaries
• Quasi-periodic variability and the inner radii of thin accretion disks in galactic black-hole systems
• Links between quasi-periodic oscillations and accretion states in neutron star low mass X-ray binaries
• Multicolour observations of V404 Cyg with ULTRACAM
• Power-Colours: Simple X-ray Binary Variability Comparison
• SAX J1808.4-3658 and the origin of X-ray variability in X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei
• The balance of power: accretion and feedback in stellar mass black holes
• A timing study of MAXI J1820+070 based on Swift/XRT and NICER monitoring in 2018/19
• Discovery of Millisecond Variability in the Neutron-Star X-Ray Transient SAX J1750.8-2900
• The rapid X-ray variability of V4641 Sagittarii (SAX J1819.3-2525 = XTE J1819-254)
• Correlations in Horizontal Branch Oscillations and Break Components in XTE J1701-462 and GX 17+2
• Low Frequency (11 mHz) Oscillations in H1743-322: A New Class of Black Hole QPOs?
• Timing properties and spectral states in Aquila X-1
• Low-frequency QPO from the 11 Hz accreting pulsar in Terzan 5: not frame dragging
• Long-Term X-ray Monitoring of 1E 1740.7-2942 and GRS 1758-258
• Rapid spectral and timing variability of Be/X-ray binaries during type II outbursts
• Detection of Strong Short-Term Variability in NGC 6946 X-1
• Low-frequency oscillations in XTE J1550-564
• Chandra Observations of the Faintest Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
• Probing the temporal variability of Cygnus X-1 into the soft state
• An X-ray view of the very faint black hole X-ray transient Swift J1357.2-0933 during its 2011 outburst
• The Island state of the Atoll Source 4U 1820--30
• SWIFT J1910.2-0546: A possible black hole binary with a retrograde spin or truncated disk
• The evolution of the X-ray phase lags during the outbursts of the black hole candidate GX 339-4
• A Multi-epoch Timing and Spectral Study of the Ultraluminous X-Ray Source NGC 5408 X-1 with XMM-Newton
• Hard X-ray Flares Preceding Soft X-ray Outbursts in Aquila X-1: A Link between Neutron Star and Black Hole State Transitions
• A spectral and timing study of MAXI J1535-571, based on Swift/XRT, XMM-Newton and NICER observations obtained in fall 2017
• Variability and phase lags of the type-C quasi-periodic oscillation of MAXI J1348-630 with NICER
• 4U 1957+11: a persistent low-mass X-ray binary and black-hole candidate in the high state?
• Coupling between QPOs and broadband noise components in GRS 1915+105
• A quantitative explanation of the type-B QPOs in GX 339-4
• Deviations from the Flux-Recurrence Time Relationship in GS 1826-238: Potential Transient Spectral Changes
• Chandra observations of the millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J00291+5934 in quiescence
• Discovery of correlated optical/X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations in black hole binary SWIFT J1753.5-0127
• The X-ray fast-time variability of Sco X-2 (GX 349+2) with RXTE
• Modelling aperiodic X-ray variability in black hole binaries as propagating mass accretion rate fluctuations: a short review
• Correlated timing and spectral behavior of 4U 1705-44
• The Hard State of the Highly Absorbed High Inclination Black Hole Binary Candidate Swift J1658.2-4242 Observed by NuSTAR and Swift
• NuSTAR + XMM-Newton monitoring of the neutron star transient AX J1745.6-2901
• An Ultra-Fast X-ray Disk Wind in the Neutron Star Binary GX 340+0
• Spectral and temporal changes associated with flux enhancement in 4U 1626-67
• An accreting millisecond pulsar with black hole-like X-ray variability: IGR J00291+5934
• Testing evolution of LFQPOs with mass accretion rate in GRS 1915+105 with Insight-HXMT
• Canonical Timing and Spectral Behavior of LMC X-3 in the Low/Hard State
• X-Ray Observations of XTE J1550-564 During the Decay of the 2000 Outburst - II. Timing
• Ultraluminous X-ray sources with flat-topped noise and QPO
• Low-Frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the X-ray Nova MAXI J1535-571 at the Initial Stage of Its 2017 Outburst
• BeppoSAX Observations of the Power and Energy Spectral Evolution in the Black Hole Candidate XTE J1650-500
• The Evolution of Rapid Optical/X-ray Timing Correlations in the Initial Hard State of MAXI J1820+070
• Interplay of spectral components in timing properties of accreting compact objects
• Simultaneous BeppoSAX and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of 4U1812-12
• Testing the relativistic precession model using low frequency and kHz quasi-periodic oscillations in neutron star low mass X-ray binaries with known spin
• The aperiodic X-ray variability of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Looking for the underlying cause of black hole X-ray variability in GRMHD simulations
• An underlying clock in the extreme flip-flop state transitions of the black hole transient Swift J1658.2-4242
• Black-Hole Transients : From QPOs to Relativistic Jets
• The accretion flow geometry of MAXI J1820+070 through broadband noise research with Insight-HXMT
• AstroSat view of the newly discovered X-ray transient MAXI~J1803--298 in the Hard-intermediate state
• GMRT observations of the field of INTEGRAL X-ray sources- I
• Quasi-periodic oscillations and noise in neutron star and black-hole X-ray binaries
• Rapid X-ray variability properties during the unusual very hard state in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries
• Timing and spectral properties of the accreting millisecond pulsar SWIFT J1756.9-2508
• The new X-ray transient SAX J1711.6-3808: decoupling between its 3-20 keV luminosity and its state transitions
• Relativistic Effects in the Pulse Profile of the 2.5 msec X-Ray Pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• LMC X-2: The First Extragalactic Z-Source?
• Correlations between X-ray Spectral and Timing Characteristics in Cyg X-2
• RXTE observations of X-ray transients IGRJ17091-3624 and IGRJ18539+072
• Observations of the quiescent X-ray transients GRS 1124-684 (=GU Mus) and Cen X-4 (=V822 Cen) taken with ULTRACAM on the VLT
• Timing analysis of the black hole candidate EXO 1846-031 with Insight-HXMT monitoring
• A possible signature of Lense-Thirring precession in dipping and eclipsing neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries
• Discovery of a correlation between the frequency of the mHz quasi-periodic oscillations and the neutron-star temperature in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53
• On the Nature of the mHz X-Ray Quasi-periodic Oscillations from Ultraluminous X-Ray Source M82 X-1: Search for Timing-Spectral Correlations
• Simulating the shock dynamics of a neutron star accretion column
• RX J0042.3+4115: a stellar mass black hole binary identified in M31
• INTEGRAL high energy behaviour of 4U 1812-12
• Re-awakening of GRS 1716--249 after 23 years, observed by {\it Swift}/XRT and {\it NuSTAR}
• Quasi-periodic oscillations in GX 339-4 during the 2021 Outburst observed with Insight-HXMT
• Swift XRT Timing Observations of the Black-Hole Binary SWIFTJ1753.5-0127: Disk-Diluted Fluctuations in the Outburst Peak
• A NICER look at the Aql X-1 hard state
• A model-independent comparison of the variability of accreting neutron stars and black holes
• QPOs in Cataclysmic Variables and in X-ray Binaries
• Coupling Between Periodic and Aperiodic Variability in SAX J1808.4-3658
• On the geometric nature of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries
• Discovery of a 7 mHz X-Ray Quasi-periodic Oscillation from the most Massive Stellar-mass Black Hole IC 10 X-1
• Phase lags of quasi-periodic oscillations across source states in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53
• Aperiodic variability of low-mass X-ray binaries at very low frequencies
• Neutron Star QPOs from Oscillating, Precessing Hot, Thick Flow
• delta-invariant for Quasi-periodic Oscillations and Physical Parameters of 4U 0614+09 binary
• AstroSat observation of GX 5-1: Spectral and timing evolution
• Reversibility of time series: revealing the hidden messages in X-ray binaries and cataclysmic variables
• Discovery of Persistent Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in Accreting White Dwarfs: A New Link to X-ray Binaries
• Possible twin kHz Quasi Periodic Oscillations in the accreting millisecond X-ray Pulsar IGR J17511-3057
• Deviations from normal distributions in artificial and real time series: a false positive prescription
• A transient high-coherence oscillation in 4U 1820-30
• Why NS and BH mass distribition is bimodal?
• Reinstating the M31 X-ray system RX J0042.3+4115 as a black hole X-ray binary, and compelling evidence for an extended corona
• On the Change of the Inner Boundary of an Optically Thick Accretion Disk around White Dwarfs Using the Dwarf Nova SS Cyg as an Example
• On the X-ray fast-time variability of Sco X-2 (GX 349+2)
• Mass and spin measurements for the neutron star 4U1608-52 through the relativistic precession model
• On the high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from black holes
• NICER and Swift/XRT monitoring of the 2023 outburst of Swift J1727.7-1613
• Accretion Flow Properties of MAXI J1910-057/Swift J1910.2-0546 During Its 2012-13 Outburst
• X-Ray Views of Galactic Accreting Pulsars in High-Mass X-Ray Binaries
• The spectral-timing analysis of Cygnus X-1 with Insight-HXMT
• X-ray variability of transitional millisecond pulsars: a faint, stable and fluctuating disk
• Detection of low-frequency breaks in power density spectrum of GX 339-4 in faint low/hard state observations using AstroSat data
• Detection of a strong ~2.5 Hz modulation in the Newly Discovered Millisecond Pulsar MAXI J1816-195
• The aperiodic timing behaviour of the accretion-driven millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Characterising X-ray variability in light curves with complex sampling patterns: application to the eROSITA south ecliptic pole survey
• Mass Measurements of AGN from Multi-Lorentzian Models of X-ray Variability. I. Sampling Effects in Theoretical Models of the rms^2-M_BH Correlation
• Evolution of the Accretion Disk and Corona During the Outburst of the Neutron Star Transient MAXI J1807+132
• Testing the transition layer model of quasi-periodic oscillations in neutron star X-ray binarie
• Classification of Power Density Spectrum Features and Estimation of the Delta-Invariant Value for the Z Source GX 340+0
• Probing black-hole accretion through time variability
• The accretion rate independence of horizontal branch oscillation in XTE J1701-462
• Studying temporal variability of GRS1739-278 during the 2014 outburst
• A NuSTAR study of quasi-periodic oscillations from the ultraluminous X-ray sources in M82
• Broad-band noises in GX 339-4 during the 2021 outburst observed with Insight-HXMT and NICER
• Very low-frequency oscillations from the 11 Hz pulsar in Terzan 5: frame-dragging back on the table
• Long term variability of Swift J1753.5-0127]{Long term variability of Swift J1753.5-0127: X-ray spectral-temporal correlations during state transitions
• Black holes: accretion processes in X-ray binaries
• Low frequency QPOs and possible change in the accretion geometry during the outbursts of Aquila X$-$1
• Misalignment of the Lense-Thirring precession by an accretion torque
• Fast variability from X-ray binaries
• Application of the relativistic precession model to the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J17511-3057
• A Review of Disk-Corona Oscillations
• Noise components from black-hole binaries in our galaxy
• The stochastic X-ray variability of the accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J17062-6143
• Broadband variability study of MAXI J1631-479 in its Hard-Intermediate State observed with Insight-HXMT
• Identifying Two Newly Discovered Black Hole X-ray Transients in the Galactic Center
• Power spectral properties of the soft spectral states in four black hole transients