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Register a new userX-ray spectral variability in the ultraluminous X-ray source Holmberg IX X-1
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We use XMM-Newton and Swift data to study spectral variability in the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), Holmberg IX X-1. The source luminosity varies by a factor 3-4, giving rise to corresponding spectral changes which are significant, but subtle, and not well tracked by a simple hardness ratio. Instead, we co-add the Swift data in intensity bins and do full spectral fitting with disc plus thermal Comptonisation models. All the data are well-fitted by a low temperature, optically thick Comptonising corona, and the variability can be roughly characterised by decreasing temperature and increasing optical depth as the source becomes brighter, as expected if the corona is becoming progressively mass loaded by material blown off the super-Eddington inner disc. This variability behaviour is seen in other ULX which have similar spectra, but is opposite to the trend seen in ULX with much softer spectra. This supports the idea that there are two distinct physical regimes in ULXs, where the spectra go from being dominated by a disc-corona to being dominated by a wind.
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Studies of X-ray continuum emission and flux variability have not conclusively revealed the nature of ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) at the high-luminosity end of the distribution (those with Lx > 1e40 erg/s). These are of particular interest because the luminosity requires either super-Eddington accretion onto a black hole of mass ~10 Msun, or more standard accretion onto an intermediate-mass black hole. Super-Eddington accretion models predict strong outflowing winds, making atomic absorption lines a key diagnostic of the nature of extreme ULXs. To search for such features, we have undertaken a long, 500 ks observing campaign on Holmberg IX X-1 with Suzaku. This is the most sensitive dataset in the iron K bandpass for a bright, isolated ULX to date, yet we find no statistically significant atomic features in either emission or absorption; any undetected narrow features must have equivalent widths less than 15-20 eV at 99% confidence. These limits are far below the >150 eV lines expected if observed trends between mass inflow and outflow rates extend into the super-Eddington regime, and in fact rule out the line strengths observed from disk winds in a variety of sub-Eddington black holes. We therefore cannot be viewing the central regions of Holmberg IX X-1 through any substantial column of material, ruling out models of spherical super-Eddington accretion. If Holmberg IX X-1 is a super-Eddington source, any associated outflow must have an anisotropic geometry. Finally, the lack of iron emission suggests that the stellar companion cannot be launching a strong wind, and that Holmberg IX X-1 must primarily accrete via roche-lobe overflow.
We investigate the long-term spectral variability in the ultra-luminous X-ray source Holmberg IX X--1. By analyzing the data from eight {it Suzaku} and 13 {it XMM-Newton} observations conducted between 2001 and 2015, we perform a detailed spectral modeling for all spectra with simple models and complex physical models. We find that the spectra can be well explained by a disc plus thermal Comptonization model. Applying this model, we unveil correlations between the X-ray luminosity ($L_{rm X}$) and the spectral parameters. Among the correlations, a particular one is the statistically significant positive correlation between $L_{rm X}$ and the photon index ($Gamma$), while at the high luminosities of $> 2times10^{40},{rm~erg s}^{-1}$, the source becomes marginally hard and that results a change in the slope of the $Gamma - L_{rm X}$ correlation. Similar variability behavior is observed in the optical depth of the source around $L_{rm X} sim 2times10^{40},{rm~erg s}^{-1}$ as the source becomes more optically thick. We consider the scenario that a corona covers the inner part of the disc, and the correlations can be explained as to be driven by the variability of seed photons from the disc input into the corona. On the basis of the disc-corona model, we discuss the physical processes that are possibly indicated by the variability of the spectral parameters. Our analysis reveals the complex variability behavior of Holmberg IX X--1 and the variability mechanism is likely related to the geometry of the X-ray emitting regions.
We present C and X-band radio observations of the famous utraluminous X-ray source (ULX) Holmberg IX X-1, previously discovered to be associated with an optical emission line nebula several hundred pc in extent. Our recent infrared study of the ULX suggested that a jet could be responsible for the infrared excess detected at the ULX position. The new radio observations, performed using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in B-configuration, reveal the presence of a radio counterpart to the nebula with a spectral slope of -0.56 similar to other ULXs. Importantly, we find no evidence for an unresolved radio source associated with the ULX itself, and we set an upper limit on any 5 GHz radio core emission of 6.6 $mu$Jy ($4.1times10^{32}$ erg s$^{-1}$). This is 20 times fainter than what we expect if the bubble is energized by a jet. If a jet exists its core component is unlikely to be responsible for the infrared excess unless it is variable. Strong winds which are expected in super-Eddington sources could also play an important role in inflating the radio bubble. We discuss possible interpretations of the radio/optical bubble and we prefer the jet+winds-blown bubble scenario similar to the microquasar SS 433.
We present results from four new broadband X-ray observations of the extreme ultraluminous X-ray source Holmberg IX X-1 ($L_{rm{X}} > 10^{40}$ erg/s), performed by $Suzaku$ and $NuSTAR$ in coordination. Combined with the archival data, we now have broadband observations of this remarkable source from six separate epochs. Two of these new observations probe lower fluxes than seen previously, allowing us to extend our knowledge of the broadband spectral variability exhibited. The spectra are well fit by two thermal blackbody components, which dominate the emission below 10 keV, as well as a steep ($Gamma sim 3.5$) powerlaw tail which dominates above $sim$15 keV. Remarkably, while the 0.3-10.0 keV flux varies by a factor of $sim$3 between all these epochs, the 15-40 keV flux varies by only $sim$20%. Although the spectral variability is strongest in the $sim$1-10 keV band, both of the thermal components are required to vary when all epochs are considered. We also re-visit the search for iron absorption features, leveraging the high-energy $NuSTAR$ data to improve our sensitivity to extreme velocity outflows in light of the ultra-fast outflow recently detected in NGC 1313 X-1. Iron absorption from a similar outflow along our line of sight can be ruled out in this case. We discuss these results in the context of super-Eddington accretion models that invoke a funnel-like geometry for the inner flow, and propose a scenario in which we have an almost face-on view of a funnel that expands to larger radii with increasing flux, resulting in an increasing degree of geometrical collimation for the emission from intermediate temperature regions.
We present mid-infrared (IR) light curves of the Ultraluminous X-ray Source (ULX) Holmberg II X-1 from observations taken between 2014 January 13 and 2017 January 5 with the textit{Spitzer Space Telescope} at 3.6 and 4.5 $mu$m in the textit{Spitzer} Infrared Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS). The mid-IR light curves, which reveal the first detection of mid-IR variability from a ULX, is determined to arise primarily from dust emission rather than from a jet or an accretion disk outflow. We derived the evolution of the dust temperature ($T_mathrm{d}sim600 - 800$ K), IR luminosity ($L_mathrm{IR}sim3times10^4$ $mathrm{L}_odot$), mass ($M_mathrm{d}sim1-3times10^{-6}$ $mathrm{M}_odot$), and equilibrium temperature radius ($R_mathrm{eq}sim10-20$ AU). A comparison of X-1 with a sample spectroscopically identified massive stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud on a mid-IR color-magnitude diagram suggests that the mass donor in X-1 is a supergiant (sg) B[e]-star. The sgB[e]-interpretation is consistent with the derived dust properties and the presence of the [Fe II] ($lambda=1.644$ $mu$m) emission line revealed from previous near-IR studies of X-1. We attribute the mid-IR variability of X-1 to increased heating of dust located in a circumbinary torus. It is unclear what physical processes are responsible for the increased dust heating; however, it does not appear to be associated with the X-ray flux from the ULX given the constant X-ray luminosities provided by serendipitous, near-contemporaneous X-ray observations around the first mid-IR variability event in 2014. Our results highlight the importance of mid-IR observations of luminous X-ray sources traditionally studied at X-ray and radio wavelengths.
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