The First Polarimetric View on Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in a Black Hole X-ray Binary

The First Polarimetric View on Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in a Black Hole X-ray Binary

Draft version January 18, 2024 | QING-CHANG ZHAO,1,2 LIAN TAO,1 HAN-CHENG LI,3 SHUANG-NAN ZHANG,1 HUA FENG,4 MING-YU GE,1 LONG JI,5 YA-NAN WANG,6 YUE HUANG,1 XIANG MA,1 LIANG ZHANG,1 JIN-LU QU,1 YAN-JUN XU,1 SHU ZHANG,1 QIAN-QING YIN,1 QING-CANG SHUI,1,2 RUI-CAN MA,1 SHU-JIE ZHAO,1 PAN-PING LI,1 ZI-XU YANG,7 HE-XIN LIU,1 AND WEI YU1
This study presents the first polarimetric analysis of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPO) in a black hole binary using data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE). The analysis focuses on Swift J1727.8–1613, a black hole binary that experienced a massive outburst observed across various wavelengths. The IXPE observation was conducted during the Hard-Intermediate state, where the polarization degree (PD) and polarization angle (PA) were measured at 4.28±0.20% and 1.9° ± 1.4°, respectively. Significant QPO signals were detected with a frequency of approximately 1.34 Hz and a fractional root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude of about 12.3%. A phase-resolved analysis using the Hilbert-Huang transform technique revealed that the photon index showed strong modulation with respect to the QPO phase, while the PD and PA exhibited no significant modulations. These findings are inconsistent with the Lense-Thirring precession model of the inner flow, suggesting the need for further theoretical studies to reconcile the observational results. The study highlights the importance of polarimetric measurements in understanding the physical mechanisms behind QPOs in black hole binaries.This study presents the first polarimetric analysis of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPO) in a black hole binary using data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE). The analysis focuses on Swift J1727.8–1613, a black hole binary that experienced a massive outburst observed across various wavelengths. The IXPE observation was conducted during the Hard-Intermediate state, where the polarization degree (PD) and polarization angle (PA) were measured at 4.28±0.20% and 1.9° ± 1.4°, respectively. Significant QPO signals were detected with a frequency of approximately 1.34 Hz and a fractional root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude of about 12.3%. A phase-resolved analysis using the Hilbert-Huang transform technique revealed that the photon index showed strong modulation with respect to the QPO phase, while the PD and PA exhibited no significant modulations. These findings are inconsistent with the Lense-Thirring precession model of the inner flow, suggesting the need for further theoretical studies to reconcile the observational results. The study highlights the importance of polarimetric measurements in understanding the physical mechanisms behind QPOs in black hole binaries.
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