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Broadband High-Energy Observations of the Superluminal Jet Source GRO J1655-40 During an OutburstThe X-ray/radio transient superluminal jet source GRO J1655-40 was recently suggested to contain a black hole from optical observations. Because it is a relatively close-by system (d approximately 3.2 kpc), it can likely provide us with rich information about the physics operating in both Galactic and extragalactic jet sources. We present the first simultaneous broadband high-energy observations of GRO J1655-40 during the 1995 July-August outburst by three instruments: ASCA, WATCH/Granat, and BATSE/CGRO, in the energy band from 1 keV to 2 MeV. Our observations strengthen the interpretation that GRO J1655-40 contains a black hole. We detected a two-component energy spectrum, commonly seen from other Galactic black hole binaries, but never detected from a neutron star system. Combining our results with the mass limits derived from optical radial velocity and orbital period measurements, we further constrain the mass of the central object to be between 3.3 and 5.8 solar mass, above the well-established mass upper limit of 3.2 solar mass for a neutron star (the optical mass function for GRO J1655-40 is 3.16 + 0.2 solar mass). This system is therefore the first Galactic superluminal jet source for which there is strong evidence that the system contains a stellar mass black hole. The inclination angle of the binary system is constrained to be between 76 deg and 87 deg, consistent with estimates obtained from optical light curves and radio jet kinematics.
Document ID
19970025131
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1086/303870
Authors
Zhang, S. N. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Ebisawa, K. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Sunyaev, R. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Astrophysik Garching, Germany)
Ueda, Y. (Kanagawa Univ. Japan)
Harmon, B. A. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Sazonov, S. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Astrophysik Garching, Germany)
Fishman, G. J. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Inoue, H. (Kanagawa Univ. Japan)
Paciesas, W. S. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Takahash, T. (Kanagawa Univ. Japan)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
April 10, 1997
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: The American Astronomical Society
Volume: 479
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.15:112525
NASA-TM-112525
Accession Number
97N24754
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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