On the masses and evolutionary status of the black hole binary GX 339-4. A twin system of XTE J1550-564?

TL;DR

This study estimates the masses and evolutionary status of the black hole binary GX 339-4 using a K-correction and a 'stripped-giant' model, and applies the same approach to XTE J1550-564, providing new insights into their system parameters.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel application of the K-correction combined with a 'stripped-giant' evolutionary model to determine mass constraints in black hole binaries GX 339-4 and XTE J1550-564.

Findings

M_x > 6 Msun for GX 339-4

Companion mass M2 < 1.1 Msun, q < 0.125

Model reproduces observed parameters for both systems

Abstract

We apply the K-correction to the black hole LMXB GX 339-4 which implies Mx > 6 Msun by only assuming that the companion is more massive than ~0.17 Msun, the lower limit allowed by applying a 'stripped-giant' model. This evolutionary model successfully reproduces the observed properties of the system. We obtain a maximum mass for the companion of M2 < 1.1 Msun and an upper limit to the mass ratio of q(=M2/Mx)< 0.125. The high X-ray activity displayed by the source suggests a relatively large mass transfer rate which, according to the model, results in M2 > 0.3 Msun and Mx > 7 Msun. We have also applied this scenario to the black hole binary XTE J1550-564, which has a similar orbital period but the donor is detected spectroscopically. The model successfully reproduces the observed stellar parameters.