A UV flux drop preceding the X-ray hard-to-soft state transition during the 2010 outburst of GX 339-4

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

5 pages, 3 figures, revised with the latest Swift calibration files

Scientific paper

The black hole X-ray transient GX 339$-$4 was observed with the XRT and the UVOT onboard the {\it Swift} satellite across the hard-to-soft state transition during its 2010 outburst. The ultraviolet (UV) flux measured with the filter UVW2 started to drop nearly 10 days before the drop in the hard X-ray flux when the hard-to-soft state transition started. The UV flux $F_\mathrm{UV}$ correlated with the X-ray flux $F_\mathrm{X}$ as $F_\mathrm{UV}\propto F_\mathrm{X}^{0.50\pm0.04}$ before the drop in the UV flux. During the UV drop lasting about 16 days, the X-ray flux in 0.4--10 keV was increasing. We suggest that the UV emission during the bright hard state before the state transition was probably dominated by the self-absorbed synchrotron emission from a compact steady jet. The drop in the UV flux then indicates that the quenching of the jet occurred well before the hard-to-soft state transition seen in the X-rays. If confirmed with observations of future outbursts or in other sources, a drop in the UV flux then may be an indicator of a coming hard-to-soft state transition.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A UV flux drop preceding the X-ray hard-to-soft state transition during the 2010 outburst of GX 339-4 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A UV flux drop preceding the X-ray hard-to-soft state transition during the 2010 outburst of GX 339-4, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A UV flux drop preceding the X-ray hard-to-soft state transition during the 2010 outburst of GX 339-4 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-166866

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.