No Arabic abstract
We present the analysis of six {it Chandra} X-ray high-resolution observations of the black hole low-mass X-ray binary 4U~1630-47 taken during its 2012-2013 outburst. {rm Fe}~{sc XXVI} K$alpha$, K$beta$, {rm Fe}~{sc XXV} K$alpha$, K$beta$ and {rm Ca}~{sc XX} K$alpha$ blueshifted absorption lines were identified in the first four observations, which correspond to soft accretion states. The remaining observations, associated to intermediate and possibly hard accretion states, do not show significant absorption features down to equivalent width of 1 eV for both {rm Fe}~{sc XXVI} and {rm Fe}~{sc XXV}. We inferred wind launching radii between $1.2- 2.0$ ($10^{12}$ cm$/n$)$ times 10^{11}$~cm and column densities $N({rm H})> 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. In the first four observations we found that thermal pressure is likely to be the dominant launching mechanism for the wind, although such conclusions depend on the assumed density. We used the spectral energy distributions obtained from our continuum modeling to compute thermal stability curves for all observations using the {sc xstar} photoionization code. We found that the absence of lines in the transitional state cannot be attributed to an evolution of the plasma caused by thermal instabilities derived from the change in the continuum spectrum. In contrast, the disappearance of the wind could indicate an acceleration of the flow or that the plasma has been exhausted during the soft state.
We present the X-ray spectral and timing analysis of the transient black hole X-ray binary 4U 1630-47, observed with the AstroSat, Chandra and MAXI space missions during its soft X-ray outburst in 2016. The outburst, from the rising phase until the peak, is neither detected in hard X-rays (15-50 keV) by the Swift/BAT nor in radio. Such non-detection along with the source behavior in the hardness-intensity and color-color diagrams obtained using MAXI data confirm that both Chandra and AstroSat observations were performed during the high soft spectral state. The High Energy Grating (HEG) spectrum from the Chandra high-energy transmission grating spectrometer (HETGS) shows two strong, moderately blueshifted absorption lines at 6.705$_{-0.002}^{+0.002}$ keV and 6.974$_{-0.003}^{+0.004}$ keV, which are produced by Fe XXV and Fe XXVI in a low-velocity ionized disk wind. The corresponding outflow velocity is determined to be 366$pm$56 km/s. Separate spectral fits of Chandra/HEG, AstroSat/SXT+LAXPC and Chandra/HEG + AstroSat/SXT+LAXPC data show that the broadband continuum can be well described with a relativistic disk-blackbody model, with the disk flux fraction of $sim 0.97$. Based on the best-fit continuum spectral modeling of Chandra, AstroSat and Chandra+AstroSat joint spectra and using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations, we constrain the spectral hardening factor at 1.56$^{+0.14}_{-0.06}$ and the dimensionless black hole spin parameter at 0.92 $pm$ 0.04 within the 99.7% confidence interval. Our conclusion of a rapidly-spinning black hole in 4U 1630-47 using the continuum spectrum method is in agreement with a previous finding applying the reflection spectral fitting method.
Recent XMM-Newton observations of the black-hole candidate 4U 1630-47 during the 2012 outburst revealed three relativistically Doppler-shifted emission lines that were interpreted as arising from baryonic matter in the jet of this source. Here we reanalyse those data and find an alternative model that, with less free parameters than the model with Doppler-shifted emission lines, fits the data well. In our model we allow the abundance of S and Fe in the interstellar material along the line of sight to the source to be non solar. Among other things, this significantly impacts the emission predicted by the model at around 7.1 keV, where the edge of neutral Fe appears, and renders the lines unnecessary. The fits to all the 2012 XMM-Newton observations of this source require a moderately broad emission line at around 7 keV plus several absorption lines and edges due to highly ionised Fe and Ni, which reveal the presence of a highly-ionised absorber close to the source. Finally, our model also fits well the observations in which the lines were detected when we apply the most recent calibration files, whereas the model with the three Doppler-shifted emission lines does not.
We report the results from an X-ray and near-infrared observation of the Galactic black hole binary 4U 1630--47 in the very high state, performed with {it Suzaku} and IRSF around the peak of the 2012 September-October outburst. The X-ray spectrum is approximated by a steep power law, with photon index of 3.2, identifying the source as being in the very high state. A more detailed fit shows that the X-ray continuum is well described by a multi-color disc, together with thermal and non-thermal Comptonization. The inner disc appears slightly truncated by comparison with a previous high/soft state of this source, even taking into account energetic coupling between the disc and corona, although there are uncertainties due to the dust scattering correction. The near-infrared fluxes are higher than the extrapolated disc model, showing that there is a contribution from irradiation in the outer disk and/or the companion star at these wavelengths. Our X-ray spectra do not show the Doppler shifted iron emission lines indicating a baryonic jet which were seen four days previously in an XMM-Newton observation, despite the source being in a similar state. There are also no significant absorption lines from highly ionized irons as are seen in the previous high/soft state data. We show that the increased source luminosity is not enough on its own to make the wind so highly ionized as to be undetectable. This shows that the disc wind has changed in terms of its launch radius and/or density compared to the high/soft state.
The mechanisms that drive disk winds are a window into the physical processes that underlie the disk. Stellar-mass black holes are an ideal setting in which to explore these mechanisms, in part because their outbursts span a broad range in mass accretion rate. We performed a spectral analysis of the disk wind found in six Chandra/HETG observations of the black hole candidate 4U~1630$-$472, covering a range of luminosities over two distinct spectral states. We modeled both wind absorption and extended wind re-emission components using PION, a self-consistent photoionized absorption model. In all but one case, two photoionization zones were required in order to obtain acceptable fits. Two independent constraints on launching radii, obtained via the ionization parameter formalism and the dynamical broadening of the re-emission, helped characterize the geometry of the wind. The innermost wind components ($r simeq {10}^{2-3}$ $GM/{c}^{2}$) tend towards small volume filling factors, high ionization, densities up to $n simeq {10}^{15-16} {text{cm}}^{-3}$, and outflow velocities of $sim 0.003c$. These small launching radii and large densities require magnetic driving, as they are inconsistent with numerical and analytical treatments of thermally driven winds. Outer wind components ($r simeq {10}^{5}$ $GM/{c}^{2}$) are significantly less ionized and have filling factors near unity. Their larger launching radii, lower densities ($n simeq {10}^{12} {text{cm}}^{-3}$), and outflow velocities ($sim 0.0007c$) are nominally consistent with thermally driven winds. The overall wind structure suggests that these components may also be part of a broader MHD outflow and perhaps better described as magneto-thermal hybrid winds.
We have observed the Galactic black hole transient 4U 1630-47 during the decay of its 2016 outburst with Chandra and Swift to investigate the properties of the dust scattering halo created by the source. The scattering halo shows a structure that includes a bright ring between 80 and 240 surrounding the source, and a continuous distribution beyond 250. An analysis of the $^{12}$CO $J=1-0$ map and spectrum in the line of sight to the source indicate that a molecular cloud with a radial velocity of -79 km s$^{-1}$ (denoted MC -79) is the main scattering body that creates the bright ring. We found additional clouds in the line of sight, calculated their kinematic distances and resolved the well known near and far distance ambiguity for most of the clouds. At the favored far distance estimate of MC -79, the modeling of the surface brightness profile results in a distance to 4U 1630-47 of 11.5 $pm$ 0.3 kpc. If MC -79 is at the near distance, then 4U 1630-47 is at 4.7 $pm$ 0.3 kpc. Future Chandra, Swift, and sub-mm radio observations not only can resolve this ambiguity, but also would provide information regarding properties of dust and distribution of all molecular clouds along the line of sight. Using the results of this study we also discuss the nature of this source and the reasons for the anomalously low soft state observation observed during the 2010 decay.