Magnetic accretion flow explains the hysteresis q-diagram seen in outbursts of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Huang, Jiahui, Feng, Hua, Tao, Lian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Huang, Jiahui
Feng, Hua
Tao, Lian
author_facet Huang, Jiahui
Feng, Hua
Tao, Lian
contents Black hole low-mass X-ray binaries undergo quiescence-outburst cycles. During the outbursts, they typically go through a q-shaped pattern in the hardness-intensity diagram (HID), known as the hysteresis q-diagram, while the physical nature is still unknown. We argue that the hysteresis q-diagram can be well explained with a recently proposed magnetized accretion disk model. The model takes into account the saturated magnetic pressure and predicts that the standard Shakura-Sunyaev disk (SSD) has an inner truncation at relatively low accretion rates, filled with an optically thin, hot accretion flow that resembles the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) inside. Given a perturbation of accretion rate, the variation of the truncation radius can be derived as a result of thermal equilibrium by comparing the heating and cooling rates. We show that the truncation radius displays a hysteresis effect in response to the variation of mass accretion rate. As a result, the spectral hardness due to competition of the soft SSD and hard ADAF components is also hysteresis along with the rise and decay of the mass accretion rate or source intensity, leading to a q-shaped diagram in the HID.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_22661
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetic accretion flow explains the hysteresis q-diagram seen in outbursts of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries
Huang, Jiahui
Feng, Hua
Tao, Lian
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Black hole low-mass X-ray binaries undergo quiescence-outburst cycles. During the outbursts, they typically go through a q-shaped pattern in the hardness-intensity diagram (HID), known as the hysteresis q-diagram, while the physical nature is still unknown. We argue that the hysteresis q-diagram can be well explained with a recently proposed magnetized accretion disk model. The model takes into account the saturated magnetic pressure and predicts that the standard Shakura-Sunyaev disk (SSD) has an inner truncation at relatively low accretion rates, filled with an optically thin, hot accretion flow that resembles the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) inside. Given a perturbation of accretion rate, the variation of the truncation radius can be derived as a result of thermal equilibrium by comparing the heating and cooling rates. We show that the truncation radius displays a hysteresis effect in response to the variation of mass accretion rate. As a result, the spectral hardness due to competition of the soft SSD and hard ADAF components is also hysteresis along with the rise and decay of the mass accretion rate or source intensity, leading to a q-shaped diagram in the HID.
title Magnetic accretion flow explains the hysteresis q-diagram seen in outbursts of black hole low-mass X-ray binaries
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.22661