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Dr Joe Bright

Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Sub department

  • Astrophysics
joe.bright@physics.ox.ac.uk
Telephone: 01865 (2)83125
Denys Wilkinson Building, room 781
  • About
  • Publications

The Black Hole Candidate Swift J1728.9-3613 and the Supernova Remnant G351.9-0.9

Astrophysical Journal 947:1 (2023)

Authors:

M Balakrishnan, PA Draghis, JM Miller, J Bright, R Fender, M Ng, E Cackett, A Fabian, K Kuntz, JCA Miller-Jones, D Proga, PS Ray, J Raymond, M Reynolds, A Zoghbi

Abstract:

A number of neutron stars have been observed within the remnants of the core-collapse supernova explosions that created them. In contrast, black holes are not yet clearly associated with supernova remnants (SNRs). Indeed, some observations suggest that black holes are “born in the dark,” i.e., without a supernova explosion. Herein, we present a multiwavelength analysis of the X-ray transient Swift J1728.9−3613, based on observations made with Chandra, ESO-VISTA, MeerKAT, NICER, NuSTAR, Swift, and XMM-Newton. Three independent diagnostics indicate that the system likely harbors a black hole primary. Infrared imaging signals a massive companion star that is broadly consistent with an A or B spectral type. Most importantly, the X-ray binary lies within the central region of the cataloged SNR G351.9−0.9. Our deep MeerKAT image at 1.28 GHz signals that the remnant is in the Sedov phase; this fact and the nondetection of the soft X-ray emission expected from such a remnant argue that it lies at a distance that could coincide with the black hole. Utilizing a formal measurement of the distance to Swift J1728.9−3613 (d = 8.4 ± 0.8 kpc), a lower limit on the distance to G351.9−0.9 (d ≥ 7.5 kpc), and the number and distribution of black holes and SNRs within the Milky Way, extensive simulations suggest that the probability of a chance superposition is <1.7% (99.7% credible interval). The discovery of a black hole within an SNR would support numerical simulations that produce black holes and remnants, and thus provide clear observational evidence of distinct black hole formation channels. We discuss the robustness of our analysis and some challenges to this interpretation.
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A Late-time Radio Flare Following a Possible Transition in Accretion State in the Tidal Disruption Event AT 2019azh

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 933:2 (2022) ARTN 176

Authors:

Itai Sfaradi, Assaf Horesh, Rob Fender, David A Green, David RA Williams, Joe Bright, Steve Schulze
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Radio observations of the Black Hole X-ray Binary EXO 1846-031 re-awakening from a 34-year slumber

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 517:2 (2022) 2801-2817

Authors:

DRA Williams, SE Motta, R Fender, JCA Miller-Jones, J Neilsen, JR Allison, J Bright, I Heywood, PFL Jacob, L Rhodes, E Tremou, PA Woudt, J van den Eijnden, F Carotenuto, DA Green, D Titterington, AJ van der Horst, P Saikia
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Search and identification of transient and variable radio sources using MeerKAT observations: a case study on the MAXI J1820+070 field

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 517:2 (2022) 2894-2911

Authors:

A Rowlinson, J Meijn, J Bright, AJ van der Horst, S Chastain, S Fijma, R Fender, I Heywood, RAMJ Wijers, PA Woudt, A Andersson, GR Sivakoff, E Tremou, LN Driessen
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Disk, corona, jet connection in the intermediate state of MAXI J1820+070 revealed by NICER spectral-timing analysis

Astrophysical Journal Letters IOP Science 910:1 (2021) L3

Authors:

Jingyi Wang, Guglielmo Mastroserio, Erin Kara, Javier A Garcia, Adam Ingram, Riley Connors, Michiel van der Klis, Thomas Dauser, James F Steiner, Douglas JK Buisson, Jeroen Homan, Matteo Lucchini, Andrew C Fabian, Joe Bright, Rob Fender, Edward M Cackett, Ron A Remillard

Abstract:

We analyze five epochs of Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) data of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070 during the bright hard-to-soft state transition in its 2018 outburst with both reflection spectroscopy and Fourier-resolved timing analysis. We confirm the previous discovery of reverberation lags in the hard state, and find that the frequency range where the (soft) reverberation lag dominates decreases with the reverberation lag amplitude increasing during the transition, suggesting an increasing X-ray emitting region, possibly due to an expanding corona. By jointly fitting the lag-energy spectra in a number of broad frequency ranges with the reverberation model reltrans, we find the increase in reverberation lag is best described by an increase in the X-ray coronal height. This result, along with the finding that the corona contracts in the hard state, suggests a close relationship between spatial extent of the X-ray corona and the radio jet. We find the corona expansion (as probed by reverberation) precedes a radio flare by ∼5 days, which may suggest that the hard-to-soft transition is marked by the corona expanding vertically and launching a jet knot that propagates along the jet stream at relativistic velocities.
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