Accounting for varying accretion flows in X-Ray Transient Binary Black Hole Systems
Abstract
One way to find, observe and learn about stellar massive black holes is by finding binary X-Ray transient (BHXT) systems. The X-Ray transient attribute of these systems helps us home in on possible black hole candidates. When in outburst these systems become magnitudes brighter in a manner of days and fade back to regular magnitude (quiescence) just as fast. By observing the companion star over a period of one orbit, you will find a distinctive sinusoidal pattern referred to as a light curve. This pattern is caused by the tidal effects on the companion star from the black hole. From this light curve you can derive a plethora of information. The accession from the companion star to the black hole can impact the flux of the system and will vary from observation to observation. This may impact the derived information from the light curve and needs to be accounted for. I have been observing a system called XTE J1118 +480 for the last year. This system has an orbital period around 4 hours and a low accretion rate. These attributes make this system ideal to work with in order to find a way to correct for the flux. By looking at light curves taken at different parts of the year we can compare them to determine the effect of the accretion disk. We are using a developed eclipsing light curve (ELC) code. This code simulates possible light curves when given parameters and creates optimized parameters when observed data of a light curve is given. We have found that there is variation in the apparent light curves from night to night due to the change in accretion flow.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #235
- Pub Date:
- January 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AAS...23517024B