Jet Parameters in the Black-Hole X-Ray Binary MAXI J1820+070

TL;DR

This study constrains key jet parameters in the black-hole binary MAXI J1820+070 using spectral and variability data, revealing insights into jet structure, power, and acceleration mechanisms, with implications for jet physics in accreting black holes.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed estimates of jet opening angle, emission start point, magnetic field, and power constraints, linking variability damping to jet travel time and pair production.

Findings

Jet opening angle approximately 1.5 degrees.

Emission starts at about 3 x 10^{10} cm from the black hole.

Jet power is less than accretion power, consistent with Blandford-Znajek powering.

Abstract

We study the jet in the hard state of the accreting black-hole binary MAXI J1820+070. From the available radio-to-optical spectral and variability data, we put strong constraints on the jet parameters. We find while it is not possible to uniquely determine the jet Lorentz factor from the spectral and variability properties alone, we can estimate the jet opening angle ($\approx 1.5\pm1^\circ$), the distance at which the jet starts emitting synchrotron radiation ($\sim 3 \times10^{10}$cm), and the magnetic field strength there ($\sim$10$^4$G), with relatively low uncertainty, as they depend weakly on the bulk Lorentz factor. We find the breaks in the variability power spectra from radio to sub-mm are consistent with variability damping over the time scale equal to the travel time along the jet at any Lorentz factor. This factor can still be constrained by the electron-positron pair production rate within the jet base, which we calculate based on the observed X-ray/soft gamma-ray spectrum, and the jet power, required to be less than the accretion power. The minimum ($\sim$1.5) and maximum ($\sim$4.5) Lorentz factors correspond to the dominance of pairs and ions, and the minimum and maximum jet power, respectively. We estimate the magnetic flux threading the black hole and find the jet can be powered by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism in a magnetically-arrested flow accretion flow. We point out the similarity of our derived formalism to that of core shifts, observed in extragalactic radio sources.