TY - JOUR
T1 - A Wildly Flickering Jet in the Black Hole X-Ray Binary MAXI J1535-571
AU - Cristina Baglio, Maria
AU - Russell, David M.
AU - Casella, Piergiorgio
AU - Al Noori, Hind
AU - Al Yazeedi, Aisha
AU - Belloni, Tomaso
AU - Buckley, David A.H.
AU - Cadolle Bel, Marion
AU - Ceccobello, Chiara
AU - Corbel, Stephane
AU - Coti Zelati, Francesco
AU - Díaz Trigo, Maria
AU - Fender, Rob P.
AU - Gallo, Elena
AU - Gandhi, Poshak
AU - Homan, Jeroen
AU - Koljonen, Karri I.I.
AU - Lewis, Fraser
AU - Maccarone, Thomas J.
AU - Malzac, Julien
AU - Markoff, Sera
AU - Miller-Jones, James C.A.
AU - O'Brien, Kieran
AU - Russell, Thomas D.
AU - Saikia, Payaswini
AU - Shahbaz, Tariq
AU - Sivakoff, Greg R.
AU - Soria, Roberto
AU - Testa, Vincenzo
AU - Tetarenko, Alexandra J.
AU - Van Den Ancker, Mario E.
AU - Vincentelli, Federico M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/11/10
Y1 - 2018/11/10
N2 - We report on the results of optical, near-infrared (NIR), and mid-infrared observations of the black hole X-ray binary candidate (BHB) MAXI J1535-571 during its 2017/2018 outburst. During the first part of the outburst (MJD 58004-58012), the source shows an optical-NIR spectrum that is consistent with an optically thin synchrotron power law from a jet. After MJD 58015, however, the source faded considerably, the drop in flux being much more evident at lower frequencies. Before the fading, we measure a dereddened flux density of 100 mJy in the mid-infrared, making MAXI J1535-571 one of the brightest mid-infrared BHBs known so far. A significant softening of the X-ray spectrum is evident contemporaneous with the infrared fade. We interpret it as being due to the suppression of the jet emission, similar to the accretion-ejection coupling seen in other BHBs. However, MAXI J1535-571 did not transition smoothly to the soft state, instead showing X-ray hardness deviations associated with infrared flaring. We also present the first mid-IR variability study of a BHB on minute timescales, with a fractional rms variability of the light curves of ∼15%-22%, which is similar to that expected from the internal shock jet model, and much higher than the optical fractional rms (≲7%). These results represent an excellent case of multiwavelength jet spectral timing and demonstrate how rich, multiwavelength time-resolved data of X-ray binaries over accretion state transitions can help in refining models of the disk-jet connection and jet launching in these systems.
AB - We report on the results of optical, near-infrared (NIR), and mid-infrared observations of the black hole X-ray binary candidate (BHB) MAXI J1535-571 during its 2017/2018 outburst. During the first part of the outburst (MJD 58004-58012), the source shows an optical-NIR spectrum that is consistent with an optically thin synchrotron power law from a jet. After MJD 58015, however, the source faded considerably, the drop in flux being much more evident at lower frequencies. Before the fading, we measure a dereddened flux density of 100 mJy in the mid-infrared, making MAXI J1535-571 one of the brightest mid-infrared BHBs known so far. A significant softening of the X-ray spectrum is evident contemporaneous with the infrared fade. We interpret it as being due to the suppression of the jet emission, similar to the accretion-ejection coupling seen in other BHBs. However, MAXI J1535-571 did not transition smoothly to the soft state, instead showing X-ray hardness deviations associated with infrared flaring. We also present the first mid-IR variability study of a BHB on minute timescales, with a fractional rms variability of the light curves of ∼15%-22%, which is similar to that expected from the internal shock jet model, and much higher than the optical fractional rms (≲7%). These results represent an excellent case of multiwavelength jet spectral timing and demonstrate how rich, multiwavelength time-resolved data of X-ray binaries over accretion state transitions can help in refining models of the disk-jet connection and jet launching in these systems.
KW - ISM: jets and outflows
KW - X-rays: binaries
KW - accretion, accretion disks
KW - black hole physics
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U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aae532
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aae532
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85056731216
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 867
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 114
ER -