The Mass of the Black Hole in LMC X-3
Abstract
We analyze a large set of new and archival photometric and spectroscopic observations of LMC X-3 to arrive at a self-consistent dynamical model for the system. Using echelle spectra obtained with the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle instrument on the 6.5 m Magellan Clay telescope and the UVES instrument on the second 8.2 m Very Large Telescope, we find a velocity semiamplitude for the secondary star of K 2 = 241.1 ± 6.2 km s-1, where the uncertainty includes an estimate of the systematic error caused by X-ray heating. Using the spectra, we also find a projected rotational velocity of V rotsin i = 118.5 ± 6.6 km s-1. From an analysis of archival B and V light curves as well as new B and V light curves from the SMARTS 1.3 m telescope, we find an inclination of i = 69.°84 ± 0.°37 for models that do not include X-ray heating and an inclination of i = 69.°24 ± 0.°72 for models that incorporate X-ray heating. Adopting the latter inclination measurement, we find masses of 3.63 ± 0.57 M ⊙ and 6.98 ± 0.56 M ⊙ for the companion star and the black hole, respectively. We briefly compare our results with earlier work and discuss some of their implications.
Based on observations made with the Magellan 6.5 m Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Institution and on data products from observations made with ESO Telescopes at the Paranal Observatory under program ID 074.D-0143.- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/794/2/154
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1402.0085
- Bibcode:
- 2014ApJ...794..154O
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- stars: black holes;
- stars: variables: general;
- X-rays: binaries;
- X-rays: individual: LMC X-3;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 31 pages, 15 figures, substantial revisions, ApJ, accepted