A jet model for Galactic black-hole X-ray sources: Some constraining correlations

TL;DR

This paper presents a jet model that naturally explains observed correlations in the spectral and timing properties of Galactic black-hole X-ray sources in the hard state, supported by Monte Carlo simulations.

Contribution

The study introduces a jet-based model that accounts for key observational correlations without extra parameters, advancing understanding of black-hole X-ray emission.

Findings

Jet model reproduces spectral index and time lag correlations

Monte Carlo simulations support the model's predictions

No additional parameters needed for the correlations

Abstract

Some recent observational results impose significant constraints on all the models that have been proposed to explain the Galactic black-hole X-ray sources in the hard state. In particular, it has been found that during the hard state of Cyg X-1 the power-law photon number spectral index is correlated with the average time lag between hard and soft X-rays. Furthermore, the peak frequencies of the four Lorentzians that fit the observed power spectra are correlated with both the photon index and the time lag. We performed Monte Carlo simulations of Compton upscattering of soft, accretion-disk photons in the jet and computed the time lag between hard and soft photons and the power-law index of the resulting photon number spectra. We demonstrate that our jet model naturally explains the above correlations, with no additional requirements and no additional parameters.