XMM-Newton observations of two black hole X-ray transients in quiescence

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

6 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20021746

We report on XMM-Newton observations of GRO J1655-40 and GRS 1009-45, which are two black hole X-ray transients currently in their quiescent phase. GRO J1655-40 was detected with a 0.5 - 10 keV luminosity of 5.9 10^{31} erg/s. This luminosity is comparable to a previous Chandra measurement, but ten times lower than the 1996 ASCA value, most likely obtained when the source was not yet in a true quiescent state. Unfortunately, XMM-Newton failed to detect GRS 1009-45. A stringent upper limit of 8.9 10^{30} erg/s was derived by combining data from the EPIC-MOS and PN cameras. The X-ray spectrum of GRO J1655-40 is very hard as it can be fitted with a power law model of photon index ~ 1.3 +/- 0.4. Similarly hard spectra have been observed from other systems; these rule out coronal emission from the secondary or disk flares as the origin of the observed X-rays. On the other hand, our observations are consistent with the predictions of the disc instability model in the case that the accretion flow forms an advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF) at distances less than a fraction ~ 0.1 - 0.3) of the circularization radius. This distance corresponds to the greatest extent of the ADAF that is thought to be possible.

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

XMM-Newton observations of two black hole X-ray transients in quiescence 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 XMM-Newton observations of two black hole X-ray transients in quiescence, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and XMM-Newton observations of two black hole X-ray transients in quiescence will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-433447

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