High-density reflection spectroscopy: I. A case study of GX 339-4

2019/01/07 by Jiachen Jiang, Andrew C. Fabian, A. C. Fabian +8 · 86 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Atomic physics #Binary number #Flux (metallurgy) #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Reflection (computer programming) #Spectral line #Spectroscopy #astro-ph.HE

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/stz095

published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 484(2), 1972-1982 (Oxford University Press) · Accepted by MNRAS

arxiv created 2019/01/07 · openalex publication_date 2019/01/09 · arxiv updated 2019/01/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We present a broad-band spectral analysis of the black hole binary GX 339-4 with NuSTAR and Swift using high-density reflection model. The observations were taken when the source was in low-flux (LF) hard states during the outbursts in 2013 and 2015, and in a very high-flux (HF) soft state in 2015. The high-density reflection model can explain its LF spectra with no requirement for an additional low temperature thermal component. This model enables us to constrain the density in the disc surface of GX 339-4 in different flux states. The disc density in the LF state is log (ne/ cm−3) ≈ 21, 100 times higher than the density in the HF state (log (ne/ cm|^-3)=18.93^+0.12_-0.16|⁠). A close-to-solar iron abundance is obtained by modelling the LF and HF broad-band spectra with variable density reflection model (⁠|Z_{\rm Fe}=1.50^+0.12_-0.04Z_\odot| and |Z_{\rm Fe}=1.05^+0.17_-0.15Z_{\odot ,}|⁠, respectively).

Citations

• Dynamical Evidence for a Black Hole in GX 339−4
• A Long, Hard Look at the Low/Hard State in Accreting Black Holes
• Advection-dominated accretion and the black hole event horizon
• Vertical Structure of Gas Pressure–dominated Accretion Disks with Local Dissipation of Turbulence and Radiative Transport
• Gravitational Field of a Spinning Mass as an Example of Algebraically Special Metrics
• Initial Measurements of Black Hole Spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku Spectroscopy
• Multitemperature Blackbody Spectrum of a Thin Accretion Disk around a Kerr Black Hole: Model Computations and Comparison with Observations
• The MAXI Mission on the ISS: Science and Instruments for Monitoring All-Sky X-Ray Images
• A systematic look at the very high and lowhard state of GX3394: constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model
• NuSTAR AND SWIFT OBSERVATIONS OF THE VERY HIGH STATE IN GX 339-4: WEIGHING THE BLACK HOLE WITH X-RAYS

Cited by

• High Density Reflection Spectroscopy: II. the Density of the Inner Black Hole Accretion Disc in AGN
• A full characterization of the supermassive black hole in IRAS 09149–6206
• Testing the Kerr Black Hole Hypothesis with GX 339–4 by a Combined Analysis of Its Thermal Spectrum and Reflection Features
• The spin measurement of the black hole SLX 1746-331 using Insight-HXMT observations

Related

• A systematic look at the very high and lowhard state of GX3394: constraining the black hole spin with a new reflection model
• Accretion Geometry of GX 339-4 in the Hard State: AstroSat View
• Next Generation Accretion Disk Reflection Model: High-Density Plasma Effects
• Spectral Properties of GX~339--4 in the Intermediate State Using AstroSat Observation
• The Problem of the High Iron Abundance in Accretion Disks around Black Holes