# A variable-frequency HFQPO in GRS 1915+105 as observed with Astrosat

## TL;DR

This study reports the detection of a variable-frequency high-frequency QPO in GRS 1915+105, showing correlations with spectral properties and phase lags, providing new insights into the source's accretion processes.

## Contribution

First observation of correlated small variations in HFQPO frequency and phase lags with spectral properties in GRS 1915+105.

## Key findings

- HFQPO frequency varies between 67.4 and 72.3 Hz
- HFQPO frequency correlates with spectral hardness
- Phase lags indicate high-energy variability lags at lower energies

## Abstract

From the analysis of more than 92 ks of data obtained with the laxpc instrument on board Astrosat we have detected a clear high-frequency QPO whose frequency varies between 67.4 and 72.3 Hz. In the classification of variability classes of GRS 1915+105, at the start of the observation period the source was in class omega and at the end the variability was that of class mu: both classes are characterized by the absence of hard intervals and correspond to disk-dominated spectra. After normalization to take into account time variations of the spectral properties as measured by X-ray hardness, the QPO centroid frequency is observed to vary along the hardness-intensity diagram, increasing with hardness. We also measure phase lags that indicate that HFQPO variability at high energies lags that at lower energies and detect systematic variations with the position on the hardness-intensity diagram. This is the first time that (small) variations of the HFQPO frequency and lags are observed to correlate with other properties of the source. We discuss the results in the framework of existing models, although the small (7%) variability observed is too small to draw firm conclusions.