Radio polarimetry as a probe of unresolved jets: the 2013 outburst of XTE J1908+094
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Curran, P. A.
•
Miller-Jones, J. C. A.
•
Rushton, A. P.
•
Pawar, D. D.
•
Anderson, G. E.
•
Altamirano, D.
•
Krimm, H. A.
•
Broderick, J. W.
•
•
Fender, R. P.
•
Körding, E. G.
•
Maitra, D.
•
Markoff, S.
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Migliari, S.
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Rumsey, C.
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Rupen, M. P.
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Russell, D. M.
•
Russell, T. D.
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Sarazin, C. L.
•
Sivakoff, G. R.
•
•
Tetarenko, A. J.
•
Titterington, D.
•
Tudose, V.
Description
We thank the anonymous referee for constructive comments. We also thank T. J. Maccarone for useful discussions and A. M. M. Scaife for valuable input on the AMI-LA data. This work was supported by Australian Research Council grant DP120102393. DA acknowledges support from the Royal Society. GRS is supported in part by an NSERC Discovery Grant. SM is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant AYA2013-47447-C03-1-P). This work was also supported in part by European Research Council Advanced Grant 267697 ‘4 Pi Sky: Extreme Astrophysics with Revolutionary Radio Telescopes’. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. We thank the staff of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory for their invaluable assistance in the operation of AMI-LA. LOFAR, the Low-Frequency Array designed and constructed by ASTRON, has facilities in several countries, that are owned by various parties (each with their own funding sources), and that are collectively operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation under a joint scientific policy. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System. Swift /XRT data were supplied by the UK Swift Science Data Centre at the University of Leicester, and Swift /BAT transient monitor results were provided by the Swift /BAT team.
Abstract
XTE J1908+094 is an X-ray transient black hole candidate in the Galactic plane that was observed in outburst in 2002 and 2013. Here we present multifrequency radio and X-ray data, including radio polarimetry, spanning the entire period of the 2013 outburst. We find that the X-ray behaviour of XTE J1908+094 traces the standard black hole hardness-intensity path, evolving from a hard state, through a soft state, before returning to a hard state and quiescence. Its radio behaviour is typical of a compact jet that becomes quenched before discrete ejecta are launched during the late stages of X-ray softening. The radio and X-ray fluxes, as well as the light-curve morphologies, are consistent with those observed during the 2002 outburst of this source. The polarization angle during the rise of the outburst infers a jet orientation in agreement with resolved observations but also displays a gradual drift, which we associate with observed changes in the structure of the discrete ejecta. We also observe an unexpected 90° rotation of the polarization angle associated with a second component.
Volume
451
Issue
4
Start page
3975
Issn Identifier
0035-8711
Ads BibCode
2015MNRAS.451.3975C
Rights
open.access
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