Characterizing the Broadband Reflection Spectrum of MAXI J1803-298 During its 2021 Outburst with NuSTAR and NICER

TL;DR

This study analyzes NuSTAR and NICER X-ray observations of MAXI J1803-298 during its 2021 outburst, revealing a rapidly spinning black hole, disk winds, and state transitions characterized by spectral and flux changes.

Contribution

It provides detailed reflection spectroscopy of MAXI J1803-298, including black hole spin, disk wind detection, and insights into state transition mechanisms, which are novel for this source.

Findings

Black hole spin measured as a*=0.990±0.001

Detection of disk winds with moderate to extreme velocities

Identification of state transition associated with inner disk filling

Abstract

MAXI J1803-298 is a transient black hole candidate discovered in May of 2021 during an outburst that lasted several months. Multiple X-ray observations reveal recurring "dipping" intervals in several of its light curves, particularly during the hard/intermediate states, with a typical recurrence period of $\sim7\,\mathrm{hours}$. We report analysis of four NuSTAR observations of the source, supplemented with NICER data where available, over the duration of the outburst evolution covering the hard, intermediate and the soft states. Reflection spectroscopy reveals the black hole to be rapidly spinning ($a_*=0.990\pm{0.001}$) with a near edge-on viewing angle ($i=70\pm{1}\deg$). Additionally, we show that the light-curve dips are caused by photo-electric absorption from a moderately ionized absorber whose origin is not fully understood, although it is likely linked to material from the companion star impacting the outer edges of the accretion disk. We further detect absorption lines in some of the spectra, potentially associated with Fe XXV and Fe XXVI, indicative of disk winds with moderate to extreme velocities. During the intermediate state and just before transitioning into the soft state, the source showed a sudden flux increase which we found to be dominated by soft disk photons and consistent with the filling of the inner accretion disk, at the onset of state transition. In the soft state, we show that models of disk self-irradiation provide a better fit and a preferred explanation to the broadband reflection spectrum, consistent with previous studies of other accreting sources.