| Name | 040089 |
| Title | X-rays from Quiescent Black Holes: Accretion or Jet Powered |
| URL | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0400890101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-wp6eozj |
| Author | Prof Wei Cui |
| Description | We propose to obtain X-ray spectra of transient black hole binaries (BHBs) in quiescence. The spectra are expected to provide a severe test of the Compton origin of X-rays from such sources, as expected from accretion-based models. At very low accretion rates, a Comptonized spectrum is expected to appear strongly curved in a log-log plot. However, there is already tentative evidence for the power-law shape of the quiescent X-ray spectrum. If confirmed, it would favor a jet origin of the X-ray emission. However, the quality of existing data is still quite poor. The deep observations proposed here will allow a detailed look at the roles of accretion flows and jets in quiescent BHBs and thus cast light on the issues of accretion-jet coupling and particle acceleration in such systems. |
| Publication | No observations found associated with the current proposal |
| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2007-02-22T15:32:57Z/2007-03-28T03:08:31Z |
| Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
| Mission Description | The European Space Agency's (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESA's second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earth's atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2009-02-09T00:00:00Z |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Prof Wei Cui, 2009, 040089, 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-wp6eozj |