Wideband Study of the Brightest Black Hole X-ray Binary 4U 1543-47 in the 2021 Outburst: Signature of Disk-Wind Regulated Accretion

Authors: Geethu Prabhakar (Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology), Samir Mandal (Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology), Bhuvana G. R. (Department of Physics, Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru, India), Anuj Nandi (Space Astronomy Group, ISITE Campus, U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, India)

arXiv: 2301.13711v1 - DOI (astro-ph.HE)

Abstract: A comprehensive wideband spectral analysis of the brightest black hole X-ray binary 4U $1543-47$ during its 2021 outburst is carried out for the first time using NICER, NuSTAR, and AstroSat observations by phenomenological and reflection modelling. The source attains a super-Eddington peak luminosity and remains in the soft state, with a small fraction ($< 3\%$) of the inverse-Comptonized photons. The spectral modelling reveals a steep photon index ($\Gamma \sim 2-2.6$) and relatively high inner disk temperature ($T_{in}\sim 0.9-1.27$ keV). The line-of-sight column density varies between ($0.45-0.54$)$\times10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$. Reflection modelling using the RELXILL model suggests that 4U $1543-47$ is a low-inclination system ($\theta \sim 32^\circ - 40^\circ$). The accretion disk is highly ionized (log $\xi$ > 3) and has super solar abundance (3.6$-$10 $A_{Fe,\odot}$) over the entire period of study. We detected a prominent dynamic absorption feature between $\sim 8-11$ keV in the spectra throughout the outburst. This detection is the first of its kind for X-ray binaries. We infer that the absorption of the primary X-ray photons by the highly ionized, fast-moving disk-winds can produce the observed absorption feature. The phenomenological spectral modelling also shows the presence of a neutral absorption feature $\sim 7.1 - 7.4$ keV, and both ionized and neutral absorption components follow each other with a delay of a typical viscous timescale of $10-15$ days.

Submitted to arXiv on 31 Jan. 2023

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