The observational signatures of black holes in x-ray binary systems depend on their masses, spins, accretion rate, and the misalignment angle between the black hole spin and the orbital angular ...momentum. We present optical polarimetric observations of the black hole x-ray binary MAXI J1820+070, from which we constrain the position angle of the binary orbital. Combining this with previous determinations of the relativistic jet orientation, which traces the black hole spin, and the inclination of the orbit, we determine a lower limit of 40° on the spin-orbit misalignment angle. The misalignment must originate from either the binary evolution or black hole formation stages. If other x-ray binaries have similarly large misalignments, these would bias measurements of black hole masses and spins from x-ray observations.
Aims. The optical emission of black hole transients increases by several magnitudes during the X-ray outbursts. Whether the extra light arises from the X-ray heated outer disc, from the inner hot ...accretion flow, or from the jet is currently debated. Optical polarisation measurements are able to distinguish the relative contributions of these components. Methods. We present the results of BVR polarisation measurements of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 during the period of March-April 2018. Results. We detect small, ∼0.7%, but statistically significant polarisation, part of which is of interstellar origin. Depending on the interstellar polarisation estimate, the intrinsic polarisation degree of the source is between ∼0.3% and 0.7%, and the polarisation position angle is between ∼10 ° −30°. We show that the polarisation increases after MJD 58222 (2018 April 14). The change is of the order of 0.1% and is most pronounced in the R band. The change of the source Stokes parameters occurs simultaneously with the drop of the observed V-band flux and a slow softening of the X-ray spectrum. The Stokes vectors of intrinsic polarisation before and after the drop are parallel, at least in the V and R filters. Conclusions. We suggest that the increased polarisation is due to the decreasing contribution of the non-polarized component, which we associate with the the hot flow or jet emission. The low polarisation can result from the tangled geometry of the magnetic field or from the Faraday rotation in the dense, ionised, and magnetised medium close to the black hole. The polarized optical emission is likely produced by the irradiated disc or by scattering of its radiation in the optically thin outflow.
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ABSTRACT
We describe the first complete polarimetric data set of the entire outburst of a low-mass black hole X-ray binary system and discuss the constraints for geometry and radiative mechanisms it ...imposes. During the decaying hard state, when the optical flux is dominated by the non-thermal component, the observed polarization is consistent with the interstellar values in all filters. During the soft state, the intrinsic polarization of the source is small, ∼0.15 per cent in B and V filters, and is likely produced in the irradiated disc. A much higher polarization, reaching ∼0.5 per cent in V and R filters, at a position angle of ∼25○ observed in the rising hard state coincides in time with the detection of winds in the system. This angle coincides with the position angle of the jet. The detected optical polarization is best explained by scattering of the non-thermal (hot flow or jet base) radiation in an equatorial wind.
Abstract
Our simultaneous three-colour (BVR) polarimetric observations of the low-mass black hole X-ray binary V404 Cyg show a small but statistically significant change of polarization degree ...(Δp ∼ 1 per cent) between the outburst in 2015 June and the quiescence. The polarization of V404 Cyg in the quiescent state agrees within the errors with that of the visually close (1.4 arcsec) companion (p
R
= 7.3 ± 0.1 per cent), indicating that it is predominantly of interstellar origin. The polarization pattern of the surrounding field stars supports this conclusion. From the observed variable polarization during the outburst, we show that the polarization degree of the intrinsic component peaks in the V band, p
V
= 1.1 ± 0.1 per cent, at the polarization position angle of θ
V
= −7° ± 2°, which is consistent in all three passbands. We detect significant variations in the position angle of the intrinsic polarization in the R band from −30° to ∼0° during the outburst peak. The observed wavelength dependence of the intrinsic polarization does not support non-thermal synchrotron emission from a jet as a plausible mechanism, but it is in better agreement with the combined effect of electron (Thomson) scattering and absorption in a flattened plasma envelope or outflow surrounding the illuminating source. Alternatively, the polarization signal can be produced by scattering of the disc radiation in a mildly relativistic polar outflow. The position angle of the intrinsic polarization, nearly parallel to the jet direction (i.e. perpendicular to the accretion disc plane), is in agreement with these interpretations.
We report the first multicolor polarimetric measurements (UBV bands) for the hot Jupiter HD189733b and confirm our previously reported detection of polarization in the B band. The wavelength ...dependence of polarization indicates the dominance of Rayleigh scattering with a peak in the blue B and U bands of ~10--4 ? 10--5 and at least a factor of two lower signal in the V band. The Rayleigh-like wavelength dependence, also detected in the transmitted light during transits, implies a rapid decrease of the polarization signal toward longer wavelengths. Therefore, the nondetection by Wiktorowicz, based on a measurement integrated within a broad passband covering the V band and partly covering the B and R bands, is inconclusive and consistent with our detection in B. We discuss possible sources of the polarization and demonstrate that effects of incomplete cancellation of stellar limb polarization due to starspots or tidal perturbations are negligible as compared with scattering polarization in the planetary atmosphere. We compare the observations with a Rayleigh-Lambert model and determine effective radii and geometrical albedos for different wavelengths. We find a close similarity of the wavelength-dependent geometrical albedo with that of the Neptune atmosphere, which is known to be strongly influenced by Rayleigh and Raman scattering. Our result establishes polarimetry as a reliable means for directly studying exoplanetary atmospheres.
Abstract We report the study of a huge optical intraday flare on 2021 November 12 at 2 a.m. UT in the blazar OJ 287. In the binary black hole model, it is associated with an impact of the secondary ...black hole on the accretion disk of the primary. Our multifrequency observing campaign was set up to search for such a signature of the impact based on a prediction made 8 yr earlier. The first I -band results of the flare have already been reported by Kishore et al. (2024). Here we combine these data with our monitoring in the R -band. There is a big change in the R – I spectral index by 1.0 ± 0.1 between the normal background and the flare, suggesting a new component of radiation. The polarization variation during the rise of the flare suggests the same. The limits on the source size place it most reasonably in the jet of the secondary BH. We then ask why we have not seen this phenomenon before. We show that OJ 287 was never before observed with sufficient sensitivity on the night when the flare should have happened according to the binary model. We also study the probability that this flare is just an oversized example of intraday variability using the Krakow data set of intense monitoring between 2015 and 2023. We find that the occurrence of a flare of this size and rapidity is unlikely. In machine-readable Tables 1 and 2, we give the full orbit-linked historical light curve of OJ 287 as well as the dense monitoring sample of Krakow.
Successful observations of the seven predicted bremsstrahlung flares from the unique bright blazar OJ 287 firmly point to the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive ...black hole (SMBH) binary central engine. We present arguments for the continued monitoring of the source in several electromagnetic windows to firmly establish various details of the SMBH binary central engine description for OJ 287. In this article, we explore what more can be known about this system, particularly with regard to accretion and outflows from its two accretion disks. We mainly concentrate on the expected impact of the secondary black hole on the disk of the primary on 3 December 2021 and the resulting electromagnetic signals in the following years. We also predict the times of exceptional fades, and outline their usefulness in the study of the host galaxy. A spectral survey has been carried out, and spectral lines from the secondary were searched for but were not found. The jet of the secondary has been studied and proposals to discover it in future VLBI observations are mentioned. In conclusion, the binary black hole model explains a large number of observations of different kinds in OJ 287. Carefully timed future observations will be able to provide further details of its central engine. Such multi-wavelength and multidisciplinary efforts will be required to pursue multi-messenger nanohertz GW astronomy with OJ 287 in the coming decades.
We report the first direct detection of an exoplanet in the visible polarized light. The transiting planet HD 189733b is one of the very hot Jupiters with shortest periods and, thus, smallest orbits, ...which makes them ideal candidates for polarimetric detections. We obtained polarimetric measurements of HD 189733 in the B band well distributed over the orbital period and detected two polarization maxima near planetary elongations with a peak amplitude of similar to 2 x 10 sub(-4). Assuming Rayleigh scattering, we estimated the effective size of the scattering atmosphere (Lambert sphere) to be 1.5 plus or minus 0.2 R sub(J), which is 30% larger than the radius of the opaque body previously inferred from transits. If the scattering matter fills the planetary Roche lobe, the lower limit of the geometrical albedo can be estimated as 0.14. The phase dependence of polarization indicates that the planetary orbit is oriented almost in a north-south direction with a longitude of ascending node Omega = (16 degree or 196 degree ) plus or minus 8 degree . We obtain independent estimates of the orbit inclination i = 98 degree plus or minus 8 degree and eccentricity e = 0.0 (with an uncertainty of 0.05), which are in excellent agreement with values determined previously from transits and radial velocities. Our findings clearly demonstrate the power of polarimetry and open a new dimension in exploring exoplanetary atmospheres even for systems without transits.
Polstar is a proposed NASA MIDEX mission that carries a high resolution UV spectropolarimeter capable of measure all four Stokes parameters onboard a 60 cm telescope. The mission has been designed to ...pioneer the field of time-domain UV spectropolarimetry. Time domain UV spectropolarimetry offers the best resource to determine the geometry and physical conditions of protoplanetary disks from the stellar surface to <5 AU.We detail two key objectives that a dedicated time domain UV
spectropolarimetry survey, such as that enabled by Polstar or a similar mission concept, could achieve: 1) Test the hypothesis that magneto-accretion operating in young planet-forming disks around lower-mass stars transitions to boundary layer accretion
in planet-forming disks around higher mass stars; and 2) Discriminate whether transient events in the innermost regions of planet-forming disks of intermediate mass stars are caused by inner disk misalignments or from stellar or disk emissions.
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Circular polarisation measurements of white dwarfs of various ages and spectral types are useful to understand the origin and evolution of the magnetic field in degenerate stars. In the latest stages ...of white dwarf evolution, when stars are so cool that spectral lines are no longer formed in the normal H- or He-dominated atmospheres, magnetic fields can be probed only by means of circular polarimetry of the continuum. The study of the fields of featureless DC white dwarfs may reveal whether Ohmic decay acts on magnetic white dwarfs, or if magnetic fields continue to be generated even several billion years after white dwarf formation. Compared to spectropolarimetry, broad-band circular polarisation measurements have the advantage of reaching a higher accuracy in the continuum, with the potential of detecting magnetic fields as weak as a fraction of a MG in DC stars, if the telescope size is adequate for the star’s magnitude. Here we present the results of a first (short) observing campaign with the DIPol-UF polarimeter, which we have used to measure broad-band circular polarisation of white dwarfs. Our observing run was in part aimed to fully characterise the instrument, and in part to study the relationship between magnetic field strength (when known from spectropolarimetry) and circular polarisation of the continuum. We also observed a small number of previously unexplored DC white dwarfs, and we present the discovery of two new magnetic white dwarfs of spectral class DC, probably the first discovery of this kind made with broad-band circular polarimetric techniques since the late 1970s. We also discuss the characteristics of our instrument, and predict the level of polarimetric accuracy that may be reached as a function of stellar magnitude, exposure time, and telescope size.
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