The Homogeneous MeerKAT and Swift/XRT X-ray Binary Radio:X-ray Plane

TL;DR

This study presents the largest homogeneous radio:X-ray luminosity data set for X-ray binaries, revealing complex correlations and jet behaviors across different spectral states, based on five years of MeerKAT and Swift/XRT observations.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive, uniform observational dataset of X-ray binary radio and X-ray emissions, enabling better understanding of accretion-jet connections and source diversity.

Findings

Frequent detection of unresolved radio emission during soft states.

Constructed the largest homogeneous radio:X-ray plane to date.

Identified complex, non-standard correlations and jet behaviors.

Abstract

During the hard and quiescent spectral states in X-ray binaries, a non-linear correlation is observed between radio and X-ray luminosities, providing a valuable tool to probe the connection between accretion and jet production. This relation was originally thought to define a single 'standard' correlation spanning several orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity, and was extended to active galactic nuclei by including a mass term. However, subsequent studies revealed a more complex picture, with some sources deviating from the standard correlation and instead populating distinct tracks. To date, all large studies of the radio:X-ray plane have combined data from multiple telescopes, introducing uncertainties due to differing instrument systematics and flux conversions between observing frequencies, thereby complicating comparisons and limiting constraints. ThunderKAT was a five-year programme on the MeerKAT radio telescope that monitored X-ray binaries in outburst, and ran alongside SwiftKAT which provided quasi-simultaneous Swift/XRT X-ray coverage. We present the full set of light curves from these programmes, comprising 948 radio and 1029 X-ray data points. An important finding is the frequent detection of unresolved radio emission during the soft state, likely dominated by previously launched jet ejecta. Using these data, we construct the largest, observationally homogeneous X-ray binary radio:X-ray plane to date. We relate these results to the physical mechanisms proposed to drive inter-source diversity, and outline directions for future observational and theoretical work. This paper is accompanied by a public data release of the ThunderKAT and SwiftKAT measurements and a compiled radio:X-ray plane, available through an interactive website.