MeerKAT

Abstract:

The properties of the disk/jet coupling in quiescent black hole low mass X-ray binaries (BH LMXBs) are still largely unknown. In this paper we present the first quasi-simultaneous radio and X-ray detection in quiescence of the BH LMXB MAXI J1348–630, which is known to display a hybrid disk/jet connection that depends on the accretion rate. We performed deep X-ray and radio observations using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. MAXI J1348–630 is detected for the first time in quiescence at an X-ray luminosity LX = (7.5 ± 2.9) × 1030(D/2.2 kpc)2 erg s−1 : one of the lowest X-ray luminosities observed for a quiescent BH LMXB, possibly implying a short orbital period for the system. MAXI J1348–630 is also detected in radio at LR = (4.3 ± 0.9) × 1026(D/2.2 kpc)2 erg s−1 . These detections allow us to constrain the location of MAXI J1348–630 on the radio/X-ray diagram in quiescence, finding that the source belongs to the standard (radio-loud) track in this phase. This provides a strong confirmation that hybrid-correlation sources follow the standard track at low luminosities and down to quiescence, thus improving our knowledge of the disk/jet connection in BH LMXBs.

Abstract:

Recent MeerKAT radio continuum observations of the Galactic Centre at 20 cm show a large population of non-thermal radio filaments (NRFs) in the inner few hundred pc of the Galaxy. We have selected a sample of 57 radio sources, mainly compact objects, in the MeerKAT mosaic image that appear to be associated with NRFs. The selected sources are about four times the number of radio point sources associated with filaments than would be expected by random chance. Furthermore, an apparent correlation between bright IR stars and NRFs is inferred from their similar latitude distributions, suggesting that they both co-exist within the same region. To examine if compact radio sources are related to compact IR sources, we have used archival 2MASS, and Spitzer data to make spectral energy distribution of individual stellar sources coincident or close to radio sources. We provide a catalogue of radio and IR sources for future detailed observations to investigate a potential three-way physical association between NRFs, compact radio and IR stellar sources. This association is suggested by models in which NRFs are cometary tails produced by the interaction of a large-scale nuclear outflow with stellar wind bubbles in the Galactic Centre.