Discovery of a Link Between Fe K-alpha Emission Line Strength and QPO Phase in a Black Hole

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

In stellar-mass Galactic black hole binaries, broad Fe K-alpha emission lines and X-ray QPOs are thought to be produced in the inner disk. We have found the first direct link between Fe K-alpha emission line strength and QPO phase in an black hole binary. Our analysis of two RXTE observations has revealed that the Fe K-alpha emission line commonly seen in spectra of GRS 1915+105 varies in flux and equivalent width with the phase of 1 Hz and 2 Hz QPOs. If these frequencies are only Keplerian frequencies, they correspond to 85 and 50 Schwarzschild radii; in this region, relativistic shaping of the Fe K-alpha line is inevitable. The Fe K -- QPO connection may be explained by precession at the inner disk (e.g. Lense-Thirring precession), which supports some theories for the origin of low-frequency QPOs in such systems. The Fe K -- QPO connection holds great promise for revealing the innermost environment around black holes in detail.

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