NGC 7793 P9: An Ultraluminous X-Ray Source Evolved from a Canonical Black Hole X-Ray Binary

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of a transient ULX, NGC 7793 P9, exhibiting both canonical and ultraluminous outbursts, revealing that typical black hole binaries can evolve into ULX states with supercritical accretion.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed observational evidence that a standard black hole X-ray binary can transition into a ULX, demonstrating the evolution of accretion states in such systems.

Findings

Detection of both sub-Eddington and super-Eddington outbursts from P9.

Spectral state transitions consistent with black hole accretion models.

Evidence supporting supercritical accretion and disk-corona interactions.

Abstract

Transient ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) provide an important link bridging transient low-mass X-ray binaries and ULXs. Here we report the first discovery of both a canonical sub-Eddington outburst and an ultraluminous super-Eddington outburst from an unusual transient ULX, NGC 7793 P9 with a variability factor higher than $10^3$. Its X-ray spectrum switches between the typical high/soft state and the steep power-law state during the canonical outburst. The inner radius of the accretion disk and the disk temperature--luminosity correlation suggest that P9 harbors a stellar-mass black hole (BH). At the beginning of the ultraluminous outburst, we observe a cool outer disk with a hard Comptonized spectrum, implying a transition to the ULX regime. When the luminosity increases to $L\gtrsim3\times10^{39}$ erg/s, P9 shows a significantly curved spectrum that can be described by either a slim disk or a strongly curved Comptonized corona. The phenomenological model suggests that the hot disk observed near the peak of the ultraluminous outburst is coincidentally consistent with the extension of the thermal track. Utilizing more physical Comptonized disk models, we suggest that the corona cools down and the apparent disk-like spectrum is dominated by soft Comptonization. The significant variability above 1 keV supports this two-component scenario. The spectral evolution can also be interpreted with the supercritical accretion model. All these indicate that a canonical black hole X-ray binary can show properties of a ULX.