Exotic optical variability in the black hole X-ray binary IGR J17091-3624

TL;DR

This study presents the first long-term optical monitoring of the black hole X-ray binary IGR J17091-3624, revealing a strong optical-X-ray flux correlation indicative of an X-ray-irradiated accretion disk and providing insights into its distance and optical variability.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive optical dataset for IGR J17091-3624, combining multi-epoch observations with X-ray data to analyze variability, correlations, and emission mechanisms in this exotic system.

Findings

Optical and X-ray fluxes are significantly correlated with a power-law index of 0.40.

Optical emission is dominated by an X-ray-irradiated accretion disk.

Estimated extinction toward the source is A_V = 4.3 to 6.6 mag.

Abstract

IGR J17091-3624 is a distinctive black hole X-ray binary exhibiting exotic variability, including complex "heartbeat" oscillations in its X-ray light curves, similar to those observed in GRS 1915+105, a system renowned for its structured, rapid X-ray variability but heavily obscured at optical wavelengths. In contrast, IGR J17091-3624 is less obscured, making it a more accessible target for optical investigations. Due to its weak radio emission, optical and infrared data are essential to probe the jet and outer disc behavior of IGR J17091-3624. This study presents the first long-term optical monitoring of IGR J17091-3624, using data from the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) over its 2011, 2016, and 2022 outbursts. We combine these observations with quasi-simultaneous X-ray data from Swift/XRT, RXTE, and NICER, employing light curve and variability analysis, spectral energy distributions, color-magnitude diagrams, and optical/X-ray correlations to investigate optical emission mechanisms. We find that the optical and X-ray fluxes are significantly correlated, following a power-law relation with the index 0.40\pm0.04, suggesting that the optical emission in IGR J17091-3624 is dominated by an X-ray-irradiated accretion disk. Based on optical spectral slope constraints, we estimate the extinction toward IGR J17091-3624 A_V = 4.3 to 6.6 mag. The global optical/X-ray correlation suggests a distance estimate of 8-17 kpc, in line with previous findings. High-cadence optical observations show tentative evidence of optical oscillations that may arise from reprocessed X-ray modulations, although confirming this will require higher time-resolution optical data.