Extremely fast orbital decay of the black hole X-ray binary Nova Muscae 1991

González Hernández, J. I.; Suárez-Andrés, L.; Rebolo, R.; Casares, J.
Referencia bibliográfica

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, Volume 465, Issue 1, p.L15-L19

Fecha de publicación:
2
2017
Número de autores
4
Número de autores del IAC
4
Número de citas
27
Número de citas referidas
23
Descripción
We present new medium-resolution spectroscopic observations of the black hole X-ray binary Nova Muscae 1991 taken with X-Shooter spectrograph installed at the 8.2-m VLT telescope. These observations allow us to measure the time of inferior conjunction of the secondary star with the black hole in this system that, together with previous measurements, yield an orbital period decay of dot{P}=-20.7± 12.7 ms yr-1 (-24.5 ± 15.1 μs per orbital cycle). This is significantly faster than those previously measured in the other black hole X-ray binaries A0620-00 and XTE J1118+480. No standard black hole X-ray binary evolutionary model is able to explain this extremely fast orbital decay. At this rate, the secondary star would reach the event horizon (as given by the Schwarzschild radius of about 32 km) in roughly 2.7 Myr. This result has dramatic implications on the evolution and lifetime of black hole X-ray binaries.
Proyectos relacionados
Agujero negro en erupción
Agujeros negros, estrellas de neutrones, enanas blancas y su entorno local
Los agujeros negros y estrellas de neutrones en binarias de rayos-X son laboratorios únicos para explorar la física de estos objetos compactos. No solo permiten confirmar la existencia de agujeros negros de origen estelar a través de mediciones dinámicas de sus masas, sino que también permiten investigar el comportamiento de la materia y la
Montserrat
Armas Padilla