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The Faint "Heartbeats" of IGR J17091-3624: An Exceptional Black Hole CandidateWe report on the first 180 days of Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer observations of the outburst of the black hole candidate IGR Jl7091-3624. This source exhibits a broad variety of complex light curve patterns including periods of strong flares alternating with quiet intervals. Similar patterns in the X-ray light curves have been seen in the (up to now) unique black hole system GRS 1915+105. In the context of the variability classes defined by Belloni et al. for GRS 1915+105, we find that JGR J17091-3624 shows the nu, rho, alpha, lambda, Beta, and mu classes as well as quiet periods which resemble the chi class, all occurring at 2-60 keY count rate levels which can be 10-50 times lower than observed in GRS 1915+\05. The so-called rho class "heartbeats" occur as fast as every few seconds and as slow as approx 100 s, tracing a loop in the hardness-intensity diagram which resembles that previously seen in GRS 1915+\05. However, while GRS 1915+105 traverses this loop clockwise, IGR Jl7091-3624 does so in the opposite sense. We briefly discuss our findings in the context of the models proposed for GRS 1915+105 and find that either all models requiring near Eddington luminosities for GRS 1915+105-like variability fail, or IGR Il7091-3624 lies at a distance well in excess of 20 kpc, or it harbors one of the least massive black holes known( <3 solar M).
Document ID
20120016755
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Altamirano, D.
(Amsterdam Univ. Netherlands)
Belloni, T.
(Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera Merate, Italy)
Linares, M.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
VanDerKlis, M.
(Amsterdam Univ. Netherlands)
Wunands, R.
(Amsterdam Univ. Netherlands)
Curran, P. A.
(Saclay Research Centre Gif-sur-Yvette, France)
Kalamkar, M.
(Amsterdam Univ. Netherlands)
Stiele, H.
(Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera Merate, Italy)
Motta, S.
(Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera Merate, Italy)
Munoz-Darias, T.
(Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera Merate, Italy)
Casella, P.
(Southampton Univ. United Kingdom)
Krimm, H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
November 4, 2011
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Volume: 742
Subject Category
Astronomy
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.7281.2012
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: ITN215212
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG06GO90A
CONTRACT_GRANT: CSD2006-00070
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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