Probing the accretion geometry of black hole X-ray binaries: A multi-mission spectro-polarimetric and timing study

TL;DR

This study combines spectro-polarimetric and timing data from multiple missions to investigate the accretion geometries of twelve black hole X-ray binaries, revealing polarization properties, spectral-timing correlations, and insights into corona and disc structures.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive multi-mission spectro-polarimetric analysis of black hole binaries, linking polarization measurements with spectral and timing properties to constrain accretion geometries.

Findings

Detected significant polarization degrees in several sources.

Found correlations between polarization degree and spectral components.

Suggested extended corona within a truncated disc in multiple systems.

Abstract

We present a comprehensive spectro-polarimetric and timing analysis of twelve black hole X-ray binaries, namely Cyg X-1, 4U 1630-47, Cyg X-3, LMC X-1, 4U 1957+115, LMC X-3, Swift J1727.8-1613, GX 339-4, Swift J151857.0-572147, IGR J17091-3624, MAXI J1744-294 and GRS 1915+105, using quasi-simultaneous observations from {\it{IXPE}}, {\it{NICER}}, {\it{NuSTAR}}, and {\it{AstroSat}}. Timing analyses reveal type-B and type-C Quasi-periodic Oscillations across different spectral states, often associated with episodic radio ejections. Broadband ($0.7-60$ keV) spectral modeling, employing disc, Comptonization, and reflection components, reveals degeneracies in constraining disc-corona geometries. Polarimetric measurements in $2-8$ keV band detect significant polarization degrees (PDs) ranging from $3-20.6\%$ ($1.2-21.4\%$) in harder (softer) states, with moderate to strong energy dependence, except for LMC X$-1$, Swift J$151857.0-572147$, and MAXI J1744$-$294, where no significant polarization is detected. We report polarization detections of Cyg X$-3$ (PD $\sim 21.4\%$, SIMS), LMC X$-3$ (PD $\sim 2.4\%$, HSS) and IGR J$17091-3624$ (PD $\sim 9\%$, LHS) using recent {\it IXPE} observations. A positive correlation is found between PD and Comptonized photon fraction ($cov_{\rm frac}$), while an anti-correlation is observed with disc-to-Comptonized flux ratio ($F_{\rm ratio}$) across spectral states. Combined timing, spectral, and polarimetric results, together with constraints from radio jet observations, suggest a radially extended corona within a truncated disc for Cyg X$-1$, Swift J$1727.8-1613$, IGR J$17091-3624$, and GX $339-4$, whereas the disc-corona geometry remains poorly constrained for 4U $1957+115$, LMC X$-3$, and 4U $1630-47$. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding accretion geometries and highlight prospects for future X-ray polarimetric studies.