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THE ACCRETION DISK WIND IN THE BLACK HOLE GRS 1915+105

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Miller, JM 
Raymond, J 
Fabian, AC 
Gallo, E 
Kaastra, J 

Abstract

© 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. We report on a 120 ks Chandra/HETG spectrum of the black hole GRS 1915+105. The observation was made during an extended and bright soft state in 2015 June. An extremely rich disk wind absorption spectrum is detected, similar to that observed at lower sensitivity in 2007. The very high resolution of the third-order spectrum reveals four components to the disk wind in the Fe K band alone; the fastest has a blueshift of v = 0.03c. Broadened re-emission from the wind is also detected in the first-order spectrum, giving rise to clear accretion disk P Cygni profiles. Dynamical modeling of the re-emission spectrum gives wind launching radii of r ≃ 102-4 GM/c2. Wind density values of n ≃ 1013-16 cm-3 are then required by the ionization parameter formalism. The small launching radii, high density values, and inferred high mass outflow rates signal a role for magnetic driving. With simple, reasonable assumptions, the wind properties constrain the magnitude of the emergent magnetic field to be B ≃ 103-4 G if the wind is driven via magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure from within the disk and B ≃ 104-5 G if the wind is driven by magnetocentrifugal acceleration. The MHD estimates are below upper limits predicted by the canonical α-disk model. We discuss these results in terms of fundamental disk physics and black hole accretion modes.

Description

Keywords

accretion, accretion disks, black hole physics, X-rays: binaries

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal Letters

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-8205
2041-8213

Volume Title

821

Publisher

American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/K000985/1)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/N000927/1)