Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient

We present the first IXPE spectro-polarimetric observation of the black hole candidate MAXI J1744-294, a transient X-ray source observed during a bright 2025 outburst in the Galactic center region. The source has recently been identified as most likely a repeat outburst of the 2016 transient Swift J...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Marra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194X, Mikusincova, Romana|||0000-0001-7374-843X, Vincentelli, Federico M.|||0000-0002-1481-1870, Capitanio, Fiamma, Santo, Melania del|||0000-0002-1793-1050, Fabiani, Sergio, Mandel, Shifra|||0000-0002-6126-7409, Marco, Barbara de|||0000-0003-2743-6632
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:upcommonspor::128f702c5a27de2dfca86a1978c8b030
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/461188
https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae5488
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Polarimetry
X-ray astronomy
X-ray binary stars
Stellar mass black holes
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica::Radioastronomia
id ES_4841514f44de82d5d8eeeef06c03e359
oai_identifier_str oai:dnet:upcommonspor::128f702c5a27de2dfca86a1978c8b030
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
title Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
spellingShingle Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
Marra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194X
Polarimetry
X-ray astronomy
X-ray binary stars
Stellar mass black holes
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica::Radioastronomia
title_short Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
title_full Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
title_fullStr Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
title_full_unstemmed Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
title_sort Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transient
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Marra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194X
Mikusincova, Romana|||0000-0001-7374-843X
Vincentelli, Federico M.|||0000-0002-1481-1870
Capitanio, Fiamma
Santo, Melania del|||0000-0002-1793-1050
Fabiani, Sergio
Mandel, Shifra|||0000-0002-6126-7409
Marco, Barbara de|||0000-0003-2743-6632
author Marra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194X
author_facet Marra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194X
Mikusincova, Romana|||0000-0001-7374-843X
Vincentelli, Federico M.|||0000-0002-1481-1870
Capitanio, Fiamma
Santo, Melania del|||0000-0002-1793-1050
Fabiani, Sergio
Mandel, Shifra|||0000-0002-6126-7409
Marco, Barbara de|||0000-0003-2743-6632
author_role author
author2 Mikusincova, Romana|||0000-0001-7374-843X
Vincentelli, Federico M.|||0000-0002-1481-1870
Capitanio, Fiamma
Santo, Melania del|||0000-0002-1793-1050
Fabiani, Sergio
Mandel, Shifra|||0000-0002-6126-7409
Marco, Barbara de|||0000-0003-2743-6632
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Polarimetry
X-ray astronomy
X-ray binary stars
Stellar mass black holes
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica::Radioastronomia
topic Polarimetry
X-ray astronomy
X-ray binary stars
Stellar mass black holes
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica::Radioastronomia
description We present the first IXPE spectro-polarimetric observation of the black hole candidate MAXI J1744-294, a transient X-ray source observed during a bright 2025 outburst in the Galactic center region. The source has recently been identified as most likely a repeat outburst of the 2016 transient Swift J174540.2-290037. During the ~150 ks observation, the source was detected in the soft state, and its spectrum was well described by an absorbed multicolor disk with a minor high-energy tail. We did not detect any significant polarization from the source, and hence we derived a 3s upper limit on the polarization degree of 1.3% in the 2–8 keV energy band. This result is consistent with previous findings for soft-state black hole binaries observed at low to intermediate inclination angles. By comparing the polarization degree upper limit with theoretical predictions for standard accretion disk emission, we constrain the disk inclination to i ¿ 38°–72°, depending on the black hole spin and the disk atmosphere albedo, consistent with inclination estimates obtained during the 2016 outburst of Swift J174540.2-290037.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026-04-20
2026
2026-05-05
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2117/461188
https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae5488
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/461188
https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae5488
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Institute of Physics (IOP)
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Institute of Physics (IOP)
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
instname_str Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869407348224688128
spelling Exploring MAXI J1744-294: IXPE insights into a galactic center X-ray transientMarra, Lorenzo|||0009-0001-4644-194XMikusincova, Romana|||0000-0001-7374-843XVincentelli, Federico M.|||0000-0002-1481-1870Capitanio, FiammaSanto, Melania del|||0000-0002-1793-1050Fabiani, SergioMandel, Shifra|||0000-0002-6126-7409Marco, Barbara de|||0000-0003-2743-6632PolarimetryX-ray astronomyX-ray binary starsStellar mass black holesÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica::RadioastronomiaWe present the first IXPE spectro-polarimetric observation of the black hole candidate MAXI J1744-294, a transient X-ray source observed during a bright 2025 outburst in the Galactic center region. The source has recently been identified as most likely a repeat outburst of the 2016 transient Swift J174540.2-290037. During the ~150 ks observation, the source was detected in the soft state, and its spectrum was well described by an absorbed multicolor disk with a minor high-energy tail. We did not detect any significant polarization from the source, and hence we derived a 3s upper limit on the polarization degree of 1.3% in the 2–8 keV energy band. This result is consistent with previous findings for soft-state black hole binaries observed at low to intermediate inclination angles. By comparing the polarization degree upper limit with theoretical predictions for standard accretion disk emission, we constrain the disk inclination to i ¿ 38°–72°, depending on the black hole spin and the disk atmosphere albedo, consistent with inclination estimates obtained during the 2016 outburst of Swift J174540.2-290037.The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a joint US and Italian mission. The US contribution is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and led and managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), with industry partner Ball Aerospace (contract NNM15AA18C). The Italian contribution is supported by the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, ASI) through contract ASI-OHBI-2022-13-I.0, agreements ASI-INAF-2022-19-HH.0 and ASI-INFN-2017.13-H0, and its Space Science Data Center (SSDC) with agreements ASI-INAF-2022-14-HH.0 and ASI-INFN 2021-43-HH.0, and by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy. This research used data products provided by the IXPE Team (MSFC, SSDC, INAF, and INFN) and distributed with additional software tools by the High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). L.M., F.M., P.S., G.Matt, and R.T. acknowledge support from the project PRIN 2022–2022LWPEXW, “An X-Ray View of Compact Objects in Polarized Light,” European Union funding, Next Generation EU, Mission 4, Component 1, CUP C53D23001180006. F.M.V. is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101149685. F.C. and A.T. acknowledge financial support from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) grant No. 1.05.23.05.06, “Spin and Geometry in Accreting X-Ray Binaries: The First Multi-frequency Spectro-polarimetric Campaign.” M.D.S. and A.D. acknowledge ASI-INAF program I/004/11/6 (Swift) and funding from the European Union, Next Generation EU, Mission 4, Component 1, CUP C53D23001330006 (PRIN MUR 2022 SEAWIND project No. 2022Y2T94C). S.F. acknowledges financial support from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) grant No. 1.05.24.02.04: “A Multi-frequency Spectro-polarimetric Campaign to Explore Spin and Geometry in Low Mass X-Ray Binaries.” M.D., M.G., J.Pod., and J.S. thank GACR project 21-06825X for the support and institutional support from RVO:67985815. V.E.G. acknowledges funding under NASA contract 80NSSC24K1403. A.I. acknowledges support from the Royal Society. P.O.P. acknowledges financial support from the CNRS, “Action Thématique Processus Extrêmes et Multimessagers,” and from the CNES, the French Space Agency. A.V. acknowledges support from the Academy of Finland grant No. 355672. Nordita is supported in part by NordForsk. A.G. was supported by an appointment to the NASA Postdoctoral Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities under contract with NASA.Peer ReviewedLorenzo Marra, Romana Mikušincová, Federico M. Vincentelli, Fiamma Capitanio, Melania Del Santo, Sergio Fabiani, Shifra Mandel, Fabio Muleri, Maxime Parra, Paolo Soffitta, Antonella Tarana, M. Cristina Baglio, Stefano Bianchi, Stéphane Corbel, Enrico Costa, Antonino D’Aì, Barbara De Marco, Michal Dovčiak, Vittoria Elvezia Gianolli, Andrea Gnarini, Maitrayee Gupta, Adam Ingram, Guglielmo Mastroserio, Giorgio Matt, Kaya Mori, Pierre-Olivier Petrucci, Jakub Podgorný, Juri Poutanen, James F. Steiner, Jiří Svoboda, Roberto Taverna, Francesco Tombesi, Swati Ravi, Jérôme Rodriguez, Thomas D. Russell, Alexandra Veledina, and Shuo ZhangInstitute of Physics (IOP)20262026-04-2020262026-05-05journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/461188https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae5488reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:upcommonspor::128f702c5a27de2dfca86a1978c8b0302026-05-27T15:37:01Z
score 15.812429

Registos relacionados