Universal Behavior of X-Ray Flares from Black Hole Systems
Abstract
X-ray flares have been discovered in black hole systems such as gamma-ray bursts, the tidal disruption event Swift J1644+57, the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of our Galaxy, and some active galactic nuclei. Occurrences of X-ray flares are always accompanied by relativistic jets. However, it is still unknown whether or not there is a physical analogy among such X-ray flares produced in black hole systems spanning nine orders of magnitude in mass. Here, we report observed data of X-ray flares and show that they have three statistical properties similar to solar flares, including power-law distributions of their energies, durations, and waiting times, which can be explained by a fractal-diffusive, self-organized criticality model. These statistical similarities, together with the fact that solar flares are triggered by a magnetic reconnection process, suggest that all of the X-ray flares are consistent with magnetic reconnection events, implying that their concomitant relativistic jets may be magnetically dominated.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
- Pub Date:
- January 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0067-0049/216/1/8
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1411.4209
- Bibcode:
- 2015ApJS..216....8W
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- black hole physics;
- gamma-ray burst: general;
- radiation mechanisms: non-thermal;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Nonlinear Sciences - Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
- E-Print:
- 23 pages, 4 tables, 6 figures. Accepted for publication by ApJS