The stellar-mass black hole, part of the binary system Swift J1727.8-1613, was discovered in the summer of 2023 during an unusual flare event that briefly outshined almost all other X-ray sources. This is the first event of its kind to be observed by IXPE. start, Peakand The result of such X-ray bursts.
Swift is the subject of a series of new studies published in J1727. The Astrophysical Journal And Astronomy and Astrophysics. Scientists say the findings provide new insights into the behavior and evolution of black hole X-ray binary systems.
“The burst developed incredibly quickly,” said astrophysicist Alexandra Valdina, a permanent researcher at the University of Turku in Finland. “From our first outburst detection, it only took Swift J1727 a few days to reach its peak. By then, IXPE and several other telescopes and instruments were already collecting data. Through its return to inactivity It was exciting to witness the outrage all the way through.
As late as 2023, Swift J1727 was briefly brighter than the Crab Nebula, the standard X-ray “candle” that provided a baseline for X-ray luminosity units. Such explosions are not uncommon in binary star systems, but rarely are they so bright and so close to home — just 8,800 light-years from Earth. The binary system was named in honor of the name. Swift Gamma Ray Burst Mission which initially detected the burst with its Burst Alert telescope on August 24, 2023, leading to the discovery of the black hole.
X-ray binary systems typically consist of two nearby stars at different stages of their life cycles. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it explodes in a supernova, leaving one behind. Neutron star, White Dwarfor A black hole. In the case of Swift J1727, the powerful gravity of the resulting black hole stripped material from its companion star, heating the material to more than 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit and creating a massive emission of X-rays. This case created a The accretion disk And can add a superheated Corona. Matter at the poles of a black hole can also be relativistically ejected from a binary system. Jet planes.
IXPE, which has helped NASA and researchers study all of these phenomena, specializes in X-ray polarizationa feature of light that helps map the shape and structure of such extremely powerful energy sources, illuminating their inner workings even when they are too far away for us to see directly.
Alexandra Valdina
NASA astronomers
“Since light itself cannot escape their gravity, we cannot see black holes,” Valdina said. “We can only observe what’s going on around them and draw conclusions about the mechanisms and processes taking place there. IXPE is critical to this work.
Two studies based on the IXPE of Swift J1727, led by Valdina and Adam Ingram, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, focused on the early stages of the explosion. During the short period of months when the source became unusually bright, the corona was the main source of observed X-ray radiation.
“IXPE documented the polarization of X-ray radiation traveling along the expected direction of the black hole jet, so the hot plasma is extended in the plane of the accretion disk,” Valdina said. “Similar results were reported Persistent black hole in the binary Cygnus X-1so this finding helps to confirm that the geometry is the same in short-period eruption systems.”
The team further monitored how the polarization values changed during the peak explosion of Swift J1727. These results are similar to those obtained simultaneously during studies of other energy bands of electromagnetic radiation.
A third and fourth study, led by researchers Jerry Svoboda and Jakub Podgorny, both of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, focused on the X-ray polarization in the second part of Swift J1727 and its return to its most energetic state in months. For Podgorny’s previous efforts using IXPE data and black hole simulations, he was recently awarded the Czech Republic’s highest national prize for a Ph.D. Dissertation in Natural Sciences.
The polarization data indicated that the geometry of the corona did not change significantly between the start and end of the outbreak, although the system evolved during this time and the X-ray luminosity dropped dramatically in the later energetic state.
The results represent an important step forward in our understanding of the changing shapes and structures of accretion disks, coronas, and related structures in black holes in general. This study also demonstrates the value of IXPE as a tool to determine how all these elements of the system are connected, as well as its potential to collaborate with other observatories. Monitor sudden, dramatic changes in the universe..
“More observations of matter near black holes in binary systems are needed, but the successful first observation campaign of Swift J1727.8–1613 in different states is the best start of a new chapter we can imagine,” co-author Michal Dovčiak said. Series of papers and leader of the IXPE Working Group on Stellar Mass Black Holes, which also conducts research at the Czech Academy. of the sciences
More about IXPE
IXPE, which continues to provide unprecedented data to enable ground-based discoveries of celestial objects throughout the universe, is a joint mission of NASA and the Italian Space Agency with partners and science colleagues in 12 countries. IXPE is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations in conjunction with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at Boulder.
Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here:
Elizabeth Landau
NASA Headquarters
elizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov
202-358-0845
Lane Figueroa
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov