The X-ray view of black-hole candidate Swift J1842.5-1124 during its 2008 outburst

TL;DR

This study analyzes Swift J1842.5-1124's 2008 outburst using spectral and timing data from Swift and RXTE, revealing correlations consistent with accretion models and insights into multi-wavelength emission sources.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive spectral and timing analysis of the 2008 outburst, exploring accretion physics and emission mechanisms in a black-hole X-ray binary.

Findings

Type-C QPOs observed during state transition

QPO frequency correlates with intensity and spectral index

U-band flux varies with X-ray flux, indicating reprocessing or jet contribution

Abstract

The spectral and temporal evolution during X-ray outbursts give important clues on the accretion process and radiation mechanism in black-hole X-ray binaries (BH XRBs). A set of Swift and RXTE observations were executed to monitor the 2008 outburst of the black-hole candidate Swift J1842.5-1124. We investigate these data to explore the accretion physics in BH XRBs. We carry out a comprehensive spectral and timing analysis on all the available pointing observations, including fitting both X-ray spectra and power density spectra, measuring the optical and near-ultraviolet flux density. We also search for correlations among the spectral and timing parameters. The observed properties of Swift J1842.5-1124 are similar to other BH XRBs in many respects, for example the hardness-intensity diagram and hardness-rms diagram. The type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) were observed as the source started to transit from the low-hard state to the high-soft state. The frequency of QPOs correlate with intensity and the hard component index, and anti-correlate with the hardness and the total fractional rms. These relations are consistent with the Lense-Thirring precession model. The estimated U-band flux changed with the X-ray flux, while the flux density at the V band remained 0.26 mJy. These results imply that the X-ray reprocessing or the tail of thermal emission from the outer disk contributes a significant fraction of the U-band radiation; alternatively, the companion star or the jet dominates the flux at longer wavelengths.