Optical and near-infrared polarization of the black hole X-ray binary A0620-00 in quiescence

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Auteurs principaux: Kravtsov, Vadim, Veledina, Alexandra, Berdyugin, Andrei V., Poutanen, Juri, Tsygankov, Sergey S., Shahbaz, Tariq, Torres, Manuel A. P., Jermak, Helen E., McCall, Callum, Steele, Iain A., Kajava, Jari J. E., Piirola, Vilppu, Sakanoi, Takeshi, Kagitani, Masato, Berdyugina, Svetlana V.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Kravtsov, Vadim
Veledina, Alexandra
Berdyugin, Andrei V.
Poutanen, Juri
Tsygankov, Sergey S.
Shahbaz, Tariq
Torres, Manuel A. P.
Jermak, Helen E.
McCall, Callum
Steele, Iain A.
Kajava, Jari J. E.
Piirola, Vilppu
Sakanoi, Takeshi
Kagitani, Masato
Berdyugina, Svetlana V.
author_facet Kravtsov, Vadim
Veledina, Alexandra
Berdyugin, Andrei V.
Poutanen, Juri
Tsygankov, Sergey S.
Shahbaz, Tariq
Torres, Manuel A. P.
Jermak, Helen E.
McCall, Callum
Steele, Iain A.
Kajava, Jari J. E.
Piirola, Vilppu
Sakanoi, Takeshi
Kagitani, Masato
Berdyugina, Svetlana V.
contents We present simultaneous high-precision optical polarimetric and near-infrared (NIR) to ultraviolet (UV) photometric observations of low-mass black hole X-ray binary A0620-00 in the quiescent state. Subtracting interstellar polarization, estimated from a sample of field stars, we derive the intrinsic polarization of A0620-00. We show that the intrinsic polarization degree (PD) is variable with the orbital period with the amplitude of $\sim0.3\%$ at least in the $R$ band, where the signal-to-noise ratio of our observations is the best. This implies that some fraction of the optical polarization is produced by a scattering of stellar radiation off the matter that follows the black hole in its orbital motion. In addition, we see a rotation of the orbit-average intrinsic polarization angle (PA) with the wavelength from $163°$ in the $R$ to $177°$ in the $B$ band. All of the above, combined with the historical NIR-to-optical polarimetric observations, demonstrates the complex behavior of the average intrinsic polarization of A0620-00: the PA continuously rotates from the infrared to the blue band by $\sim53°$ in total, while the PD of $\sim1\%$ remains nearly constant over the entire spectral range. The spectral dependence of the PA can be described by Faraday rotation with the rotation measure of RM=$-0.2$ rad $μ$m$^{-2}$, implying a few Gauss magnetic field in the plasma surrounding the black hole accretion disk. However, our preferred interpretation of the peculiar wavelength dependence is an interplay between two polarized components with different PAs. Polarimetric measurements in the UV range can help in distinguishing between these scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_07592
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optical and near-infrared polarization of the black hole X-ray binary A0620-00 in quiescence
Kravtsov, Vadim
Veledina, Alexandra
Berdyugin, Andrei V.
Poutanen, Juri
Tsygankov, Sergey S.
Shahbaz, Tariq
Torres, Manuel A. P.
Jermak, Helen E.
McCall, Callum
Steele, Iain A.
Kajava, Jari J. E.
Piirola, Vilppu
Sakanoi, Takeshi
Kagitani, Masato
Berdyugina, Svetlana V.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present simultaneous high-precision optical polarimetric and near-infrared (NIR) to ultraviolet (UV) photometric observations of low-mass black hole X-ray binary A0620-00 in the quiescent state. Subtracting interstellar polarization, estimated from a sample of field stars, we derive the intrinsic polarization of A0620-00. We show that the intrinsic polarization degree (PD) is variable with the orbital period with the amplitude of $\sim0.3\%$ at least in the $R$ band, where the signal-to-noise ratio of our observations is the best. This implies that some fraction of the optical polarization is produced by a scattering of stellar radiation off the matter that follows the black hole in its orbital motion. In addition, we see a rotation of the orbit-average intrinsic polarization angle (PA) with the wavelength from $163°$ in the $R$ to $177°$ in the $B$ band. All of the above, combined with the historical NIR-to-optical polarimetric observations, demonstrates the complex behavior of the average intrinsic polarization of A0620-00: the PA continuously rotates from the infrared to the blue band by $\sim53°$ in total, while the PD of $\sim1\%$ remains nearly constant over the entire spectral range. The spectral dependence of the PA can be described by Faraday rotation with the rotation measure of RM=$-0.2$ rad $μ$m$^{-2}$, implying a few Gauss magnetic field in the plasma surrounding the black hole accretion disk. However, our preferred interpretation of the peculiar wavelength dependence is an interplay between two polarized components with different PAs. Polarimetric measurements in the UV range can help in distinguishing between these scenarios.
title Optical and near-infrared polarization of the black hole X-ray binary A0620-00 in quiescence
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.07592