Grupo de Astrofísica de Rayos X

Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (IAR-CONICET-CICPBA-UNLP)

RESEARCH TOPICS

X-ray binaries

high-mass and low-mass X-ray binaries; catalogs; accretion/ejection; variability; spectral-timing; quasi-periodic oscillations; highly-absorbed systems; microquasars

Supernova remnants

thermal emission; chemical abundances; shocks; particle-acceleration; synchrotron emission; radio continuum and gamma-ray emission.

Binary Evolution

formation and evolution of high-mass X-ray binaries; connection to sgHMXBs and SFXTs; neutron-star kicks; binary compact-objects progenitors; gravitational wave coalesces.

WHAT'S NEW?

A hidden quasi-periodic oscillation in Cygnus X-1 revealed by NICER

Fogantini, F. A. ; García, F. ; Méndez, M. ; König, O. ; Wilms, Jörn (A&A, accepted for publication, March 2025)

NICER observations of Cygnus X-1 reveal a previously undetected type-C QPO, mainly observable in the imaginary part of the cross-spectrum. This "imaginary QPO" appears exclusively in intermediate states, coinciding with the soft-to-hard decay transition seen in LMXB outbursts. It manifests as a coherence drop and a steep phase-lag increase at ~1–6 Hz, requiring a narrow Lorentzian with a large phase lag to explain. Its properties closely match confirmed type-C QPOs in the LMXBs MAXI J1348-630 and MAXI J1820+070, suggesting that such QPOs may be more frequent across accreting black holes than previously recognized. These results highlight the power of Fourier-domain techniques in uncovering hidden variability components and suggest a deeper connection between black holes in HMXBs and LMXBs.

During the soft-to-hard transition of MAXI J1820+070, we observe an abrupt change in the lags and a narrow drop in the coherence. At the same frequency, we detect an “imaginary” QPO that explains the observed features and whose properties resemble those of type-C QPOs. Hidden in the power spectra, this QPO is unveiled when analysing the cross-spectrum. The study of the evolution of the imaginary QPO provides new insights into this rarely observed BH state transition.

Simultaneous NICER and NuSTAR observations of the Ultraluminous source NGC 4190 ULX-1

Combi, Jorge A.; Fogantini, Federico A.; Saavedra, Enzo A.; Romero, Gustavo E.; Abaroa, Leandro a.; García, Federico; Luque Escamilla, Pedro L.; Martí, Josep; Cruz-Sanchez, Nelson (A&A, accepted for publication, March 2024)

We investigated NGC 4190 ULX-1, an ultraluminous X-ray source, using XMM-Newton, NICER, and NuSTAR. Through temporal and spectral analyses, we identified no pulsations. The ULX spectrum, resembling typical ULX emission, suggests a super-Eddington black hole, possibly obscured by a dense wind, with emission mechanisms explained by geometric beaming and Comptonization.

NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the binary 4FGL J1405.1-6119. A Gamma-ray emitting microquasar?

Saavedra, Enzo A. ; Fogantini, Federico A. ; Escobar, Gastón J. ; Romero, Gustavo E. ; Combi, Jorge A.; Marcel, Estefania (A&A 680, A88, December 2023)

We studied the binary 4FGL J1405.1-6119, a high-mass gamma-ray emitter, with NuSTAR and XMM-Newton. We use a parabolic and slightly relativistic lepto-hadronic jet scenario to explain the spectral energy distribution, suggesting that 4FGL J1405.1-6119 could be a supercritical microquasar similar to SS433.

Relativistic X-ray reflection and photoionized absorption in the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 13+1

Saavedra, Enzo A.; García, Federico; Fogantini, Federico A.; Méndez, Mariano ; Combi, Jorge A.; Luque-Escamilla, Pedro L. ; Martí, Josep (MNRAS 522, 3367, July 2023)

We studied the neutron-star binary GX 13+1 with NuSTAR, finding its transition from normal to flaring states. Spectral analysis revealed evidence of relativistic reflection, constraining inner disc radius and magnetic field strength. A hot wind with photo-ionised absorption of Fe and Ni was detected. The study suggests high electron densities in the accretion disk, challenging previous models and impacting our understanding of GX 13+1's physical conditions.

A NuSTAR view of SS433. Precessional evolution of the jet-disk system

Fogantini, Federico A.; García, Federico; Combi, Jorge A.; Chaty, Sylvain; Martí, Josep; Luque Escamilla, Pedro L. (A&A 669, A149, January 2023)

We studied the famous microquasar SS433 using 10 NuSTAR observations that span almost 2 precessional cycles of the system. Using a combination of a thermal leptonic jet and relativistic reflection from an accretion disk, we found that the precessional motion of the system successfully explains the modulation seen in several spectral parameters.

We introduce a dynamic Comptonization model, explaining low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in black hole LMXBs. Modeling the accretion disc as a multi-temperature blackbody, we compare it with a spherical blackbody model. Applying our model to BH LMXBs (e.g., MAXI J1438-630, GRS 1915 + 105) shows better fits and compatibility, affirming its ability to reproduce QPO characteristics.

The model is openly available on GitHub.

The evolving properties of the corona of GRS 1915+105: a spectral-timing perspective through variable-Comptonization modelling

García, Federico; Karpouzas, Konstantinos; Méndez, Mariano, Zhang, Liang; Zhang, Yuexin; Belloni, Tomaso; Altamirano, Diego (MNRAS 513, 4196, July 2022)

We explore the role of inverse Compton processes in shaping X-ray spectra in black hole low-mass X-ray binaries, focusing on GRS 1915+105. Our spectral-timing Comptonization model, applied to 398 observations, reveals consistent trends in corona properties over 15 years. Connecting with 15 GHz radio monitoring, we propose disc-corona interactions influencing the radio jet launch.