Combining timing characteristics with physical broadband spectral modelling of black hole X-ray binary GX~339$-$4. (arXiv:1902.10833v1 [astro-ph.HE])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Connors_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Riley M. T. Connors</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Eijnatten_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">David van Eijnatten</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Markoff_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Sera Markoff</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ceccobello_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Chiara Ceccobello</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Grinberg_V/0/1/0/all/0/1">Victoria Grinberg</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Heil_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">Lucy Heil</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kantzas_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">Dimitris Kantzas</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lucchini_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Matteo Lucchini</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Crumley_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Patrick Crumley</a>
GX~339$-$4 is a black hole X-ray binary that is a key focus of accretion
studies since it goes into outburst roughly every two-to-three years. Tracking
of its radio, IR and X-ray flux during multiple outbursts reveals tight
broadband correlations. The radio emission originates in a compact,
self-absorbed jet, however the origin of the X-ray emission is still debated:
jet base or corona? We fit 20 quasi-simultaneous radio, IR, optical and X-ray
observations of GX~339$-$4 covering three separate outbursts in 2005, 2007,
2010–2011, with a composite corona + jet model, where inverse Compton emission
from both regions contributes to the X-ray emission. Using a recently-proposed
identifier of the X-ray variability properties known as power-spectral hue, we
attempt to explain both the spectral and evolving timing characteristics, with
the model. We find the X-ray spectra are best fit by inverse Compton scattering
in a dominant hot corona ($kT_{rm e}sim$ hundreds of keV). However, radio and
IR-optical constraints imply a non-negligible contribution from inverse Compton
scattering off hotter electrons ($kT_{rm e} ge 511$~keV) in the base of the
jets, ranging from a few up to $sim50$% of the integrated 3–100~keV flux. We
also find that the physical properties of the jet show interesting correlations
with the shape of the broadband X-ray variability of the source, posing
intriguing suggestions for the connection between the jet and corona.
GX~339$-$4 is a black hole X-ray binary that is a key focus of accretion
studies since it goes into outburst roughly every two-to-three years. Tracking
of its radio, IR and X-ray flux during multiple outbursts reveals tight
broadband correlations. The radio emission originates in a compact,
self-absorbed jet, however the origin of the X-ray emission is still debated:
jet base or corona? We fit 20 quasi-simultaneous radio, IR, optical and X-ray
observations of GX~339$-$4 covering three separate outbursts in 2005, 2007,
2010–2011, with a composite corona + jet model, where inverse Compton emission
from both regions contributes to the X-ray emission. Using a recently-proposed
identifier of the X-ray variability properties known as power-spectral hue, we
attempt to explain both the spectral and evolving timing characteristics, with
the model. We find the X-ray spectra are best fit by inverse Compton scattering
in a dominant hot corona ($kT_{rm e}sim$ hundreds of keV). However, radio and
IR-optical constraints imply a non-negligible contribution from inverse Compton
scattering off hotter electrons ($kT_{rm e} ge 511$~keV) in the base of the
jets, ranging from a few up to $sim50$% of the integrated 3–100~keV flux. We
also find that the physical properties of the jet show interesting correlations
with the shape of the broadband X-ray variability of the source, posing
intriguing suggestions for the connection between the jet and corona.
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