Einstein Probe Discovery of EP J182730.0-095633: A New Black Hole X-ray Binary Candidate in Faint Outburst?

TL;DR

The paper reports the discovery of a new faint black hole candidate in a low-mass X-ray binary system, detected during a brief, faint outburst by the Einstein Probe, highlighting the instrument's capability to find such elusive sources.

Contribution

This is the first detection of a faint black hole X-ray binary during a short outburst using the Einstein Probe, demonstrating its effectiveness in discovering faint transient sources.

Findings

Detected a faint X-ray transient lasting 20 days

Identified a black hole candidate with specific spectral and timing properties

Observed multi-wavelength counterparts supporting the black hole binary classification

Abstract

Black hole X-ray binaries (candidates) currently identified in our galaxy are mainly transient sources, with the majority discovered through the detection of their X-ray outbursts. Among these, only four were found during faint outbursts exhibiting peak X-ray luminosities $L_{\rm X}\lesssim10^{36}~{\rm erg~s^{-1}}$, likely due to the previous lack of sensitive, wide-field monitoring instruments in the X-ray band. In this Letter, we present the discovery of an intriguing X-ray transient, EP J182730.0-095633, via the Einstein Probe (EP) and subsequent multi-wavelength follow-up studies. This transient, located on the Galactic plane, experienced a faint and brief X-ray outburst lasting about 20 days. Its X-ray spectrum is non-thermal and consistent with a power-law model with a nearly constant photon index of $\Gamma \sim2$ throughout the outburst. A long-lasting millihertz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) signal was detected in its X-ray light curve, centered around a frequency of $\sim0.04$ Hz. A transient near-infrared source was identified as its counterpart, although no optical emission was detectable, likely due to significant extinction. A radio counterpart was also observed, displaying an inverted radio spectrum with $\alpha\sim0.45$. The X-ray spectral and temporal characteristics, along with the multi-wavelength properties, indicate that the source is a faint low-mass X-ray binary, with the compact object likely being a black hole. This work demonstrates the potential of the EP in discovering new X-ray binaries by capturing faint-level X-ray outbursts.