Massive Black-hole X-ray binaries: Accretion-wind interaction and evolutionary context

当双星系统中的两颗恒星都非常大(10个太阳质量)时，就会产生由黑洞(BH)、中子星(NS)和沃尔夫-瑞耶星(WR)组成的高度奇异的系统。这个项目试图对BH+WR系统中的质量进行全球修订，最终导致更准确的BH质量估计，并更好地理解BH的形成、BH的辐射场和WR风之间的复杂相互作用，以及BH+WR双星的总体演化。对最近在矮星系IC10中发现的BH+WR双星候选者群体也将进行类似的分析。这项工作将支持一名研究生和该团队的各种外联和教育活动。拟议的研究将结合BH-WR双星IC 10 X-1和NGC 300 X-1的手头光度和光谱，对发射线进行轨道相分辨分析，以模拟WR风的电离结构，并以更高的精度确定BH质量。以类似的方式，将对IC10中新发现的X射线双星进行观测和分析，这些候选X射线也显示出质量损失的迹象，以及IC10X-1的许多相同特征，以供比较。低金属丰度环境下增强的黑洞质量与质量最大的恒星黑洞的形成通道(S)之间的可能联系引起了人们的极大兴趣，因为它们对伽马射线暴前体、引力波源和超大质量黑洞的萌芽都有意义。研究小组目前正在对这些系统(例如，Chandra、XMM、NuStar、HST、Gemini、NOAO)进行多波长观测，以对抗模型预测。这些研究的目的是解释X射线日食光曲线的时间分辨结构，它的能量依赖性，并对红外和光学光曲线和线型做出预测，这些曲线和线型将在即将到来的和计划中的任务中进行测试，如JWST，雅典娜，XIPE和STROBE-X。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

When both stars in a binary system are very massive (10 solar masses), highly exotic systems comprised of black holes (BH), neutron stars (NS), and Wolf-Rayet stars (WR) can result. This project seeks a global revision of the masses in BH+WR systems, leading ultimately to more precise BH mass estimates and a better understanding of BH formation, the complex interaction between the BH's radiation field and the WR wind, and the evolution of BH+WR binaries in general. A similar analysis of a recently discovered population of BH+WR binary candidates in the dwarf galaxy IC 10 will also be undertaken. This work will support a graduate student and the team's various outreach and educational activities. The proposed research will combine in-hand photometry and spectroscopy of the BH-WR binaries IC 10 X-1 and NGC 300 X-1 to carry out an orbital phase resolved analysis of emission lines to model the ionization structure of the WR wind and determine BH masses with improved accuracy. In a similar manner, observations and analysis of newly discovered X-ray binary candidates in IC 10 that also show indications of mass loss plus many of the same features of IC 10 X-1 will be carried out for comparison. The possible connection between enhanced BH masses with low metallicity environments and the formation channel(s) for the most massive stellar BHs are both of great interest due to their implications for Gamma-ray burst progenitors, gravitational wave sources, and the seeds of supermassive BHs. The research team is currently conducting multi-wavelength observations of these systems (e.g., Chandra, XMM, NuStar, HST, Gemini, NOAO) to confront model predictions. The goal of these studies is to explain the time resolved structure of the X-ray eclipse light-curve, its energy dependence, and make predictions for the infrared and optical light-curves and line profiles that will be tested in upcoming and planned missions such as JWST, Athena, XIPE, and STROBE-X.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.