Correlations in the Quasi-periodic Oscillation Frequencies of Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries and the Relativistic Precession Model

Stella, L.; Vietri, M.; Morsink, Sharon M.

doi:10.1086/312291

Cited by 436 publications

(410 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Although there is great debate as to the correct model for these oscillations, there is a general consensus that the high, stable frequencies point towards a direct relationship to the gravity of the black hole in the "strong field" regime of GR. The oscillations therefore may act as independent probes of black hole mass and spin [295][296][297][298][299]. It is hoped that models of variability can be combined with models of broadened lines to yield even tighter constraints on black hole mass and spin.…”

Section: Other Gbhc and Spectral Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

2003

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Section: Other Gbhc and Spectral Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

2003

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“…Also, based on the average power spectra of the background sky and a sample of accreting super-massive black holes monitored by the proportional counter array in the same epoch as M82, we rule out an instrumental origin for these oscillations 3 & 4). This leaves M82 X-1, persistently the brightest source in the field of view, as the most likely source associated with the 3:2 ratio quasi-periodic oscillation pair.We estimated M82 X-1's black hole mass, assuming the 1/M (mass) scaling of stellarmass black holes and the relativistic precession model 19,20 , to be 428±105 M ⊙ and 415±63M ⊙ , respectively (Fig. 2a,b).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We estimated M82 X-1's black hole mass, assuming the 1/M (mass) scaling of stellarmass black holes and the relativistic precession model 19,20 , to be 428±105 M ⊙ and 415±63…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A 400-solar-mass black hole in the galaxy M82

Pasham

Strohmayer

Mushotzky

2014

Nature

194

197

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The brightest X-ray source in M82 has been thought to be an intermediatemass black hole (10 2−4 solar masses, M ⊙ ) because of its extremely high luminosity and variability characteristics 1−6 , although some models suggest that its mass may be only ∼ 20 M ⊙ 3,7 . The previous mass estimates are based on scaling relations which use low-frequency characteristic timescales which have large intrinsic uncertainties 8,9 . In stellar-mass black holes we know that the high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations that occur in a 3:2 ratio (100-450 Hz) are stable and scale inversely with black hole mass with a reasonably small dispersion 10−15 . The discovery of such stable oscillations thus potentially offers an alternative and less ambiguous mass determination for intermediate-mass black holes, but has hitherto not been realized. Here, we report stable, twin-peak (3:2 frequency ratio) X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations from M82 X-1 at the frequencies of 3.32±0.06Hz and 5.07±0.06 Hz. Assuming that we can scale the stellar-mass relationship, we estimate its black hole mass to be 428±105 M ⊙ . In addition, we can estimate the mass using the relativistic precession model, from which we get a value ofOscillations arising from general relativistic effects should scale inversely with the black hole mass if they arise from orbital motion near the innermost stable circular orbit in the We detected two power spectral peaks at 3.32±0.06 Hz (coherence, Q = centroid frequency (ν)/width(∆ν) > 27) and 5.07±0.06 Hz (Q > 40) consistent with a 3:2 frequency ratio ( Fig. 1a, b). The combined statistical significance of the detection is greater than 4.7σ (see Methods for details).The proportional counter array's field of view (1 • ×1 • ) of M82 includes a number of accreting X-ray sources in addition to M82 X-1 18 . The remarkable stability of the two quasiperiodic oscillations on timescales of a few years (Movies 1 & 2), their 3:2 frequency ratio and their high oscillation luminosities strongly suggest they are not low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from a contaminating stellar-mass black hole (see Methods for details). Also a pulsar origin is very unlikely for several reasons. First, a pulsar signal would be much more coherent than that of the observed quasi-periodic oscillations, which clearly have a finite width. Second, based on the observed high quasi-periodic oscillation luminosities it is extremely implausible that they originate from a pulsar (see Methods for details). Finally, it would be highly coincidental to have two pulsars in the same field of view with spins in the 3:2 ratio. Also, based on the average power spectra of the background sky and a sample of accreting super-massive black holes monitored by the proportional counter array in the same epoch as M82, we rule out an instrumental origin for these oscillations 3 & 4). This leaves M82 X-1, persistently the brightest source in the field of view, as the most likely source associated with the 3:2 ratio quasi-periodic oscillation pair.We estimated M82 X-1's black hole ...

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“…Here we assume that the QPO observed in XTE J1118+480 is produced at a specific distance (R t = r t R S ) where a discontinuity of the flow occurs, as in Psaltis & Norman (2000). The QPO frequency must be essentially determined by the relativistic dynamical frequencies of the system (Psaltis & Norman 2000;Stella, Vietri & Morsink 1999). XTE J1118+480 observations offer the opportunity to track the QPO evolution over a long period of time (Wood et al 2000).…”

Section: The Qpo Viscous Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

XTE J1118+480: Clues on the Nature of the Accretion Flow from the Optical Variability

Merloni¹,

Matteo

Fabian³

2001

Microquasars

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Abstract. We show how the simultaneous presence of a strong quasi periodic oscillation (QPO) of period ∼10 seconds in the optical and X-ray lightcurves of the X-ray transient XTE J1118+480 can be used to obtain information about the nature of the accretion flow around the source. The unusually high optical-to-X-ray flux ratio and the QPO observed simultaneously in both energy bands suggest that a significant fraction of the optical flux might originate close to the central source, where most of the X-rays are produced and be indicative of a magnetically dominated corona. We also show how the temporal evolution of the QPO can provide us with information on both the inner radius and the viscous properties of the optically thick accretion disc.

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Correlations in the Quasi-periodic Oscillation Frequencies of Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries and the Relativistic Precession Model

Cited by 436 publications

References 29 publications

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

A 400-solar-mass black hole in the galaxy M82

XTE J1118+480: Clues on the Nature of the Accretion Flow from the Optical Variability

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