The accretion–ejection connection in the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820+070

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press 541:2 (2025) 1851-1865

Authors:

Joe S Bright, Rob Fender, David M Russell, Sara E Motta, Ethan Man, Jakob van den Eijnden, Kevin Alabarta, Justine Crook-Mansour, Maria C Baglio, David A Green, Ian Heywood, Fraser Lewis, Payaswini Saikia, Paul F Scott, David J Titterington

Abstract:

The black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1820070 began its first recorded outburst in March 2018, and remained an active radio, X-ray, and optical source for over 4 yr. Due to the low distance to the source and its intrinsically high luminosity MAXI J1820070 was observed extensively over this time period, resulting in high-cadence and quasi-simultaneous observations across the electromagnetic spectrum. These data sets provide the opportunity to probe the connection between accretion and the launch of jets in greater detail than for the majority of black hole X-ray binaries. In this work, we present radio (Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array, MeerKAT), X-ray (Swift), and optical (Las Cumbres Observatory) observations of MAXI J1820070 throughout its entire outburst, including its initial hard state, subsequent soft state, and further hard-state-only re-brightenings (covering March 2018 to August 2022). Due to the regularity and temporal density of our observational data we are able to create a Radio–X-ray–Optical activity plane where we find a high degree of correlation between the three wave bands during the hard states, and observe hysteresis as MAXI J1820070 enters and exits the soft state. Based on the morphology of the optical light curves we see evidence for optical jet contributions during the soft-to-hard state transition, as well as fading optical emission well before the hard to soft transition. We establish that the remarkably similar profiles of the re-brightening events are broadly consistent with modified disc instability models where irradiation from the inner accretion disc is included.

Cross-section measurements for the production of a W -boson in association with high-transverse-momentum jets in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The European Physical Journal C SpringerOpen 85:7 (2025) 738

Authors:

G Aad, E Aakvaag, B Abbott, S Abdelhameed, K Abeling, NJ Abicht, SH Abidi, M Aboelela, A Aboulhorma, H Abramowicz, Y Abulaiti, BS Acharya, A Ackermann, C Adam Bourdarios, L Adamczyk, SV Addepalli, MJ Addison, J Adelman, A Adiguzel, T Adye, AA Affolder, Y Afik, MN Agaras, A Aggarwal

Abstract:

A set of measurements for the production of a W-boson in association with high-transverse-momentum jets is presented using 140 fb-1 of proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed in final states in which the W-boson decays into an electron or muon plus a neutrino and is produced in association with jets with pTEMPTY>30 GeV, where the leading jet has pTEMPTY>500 GeV. The angular separation between the lepton and the closest jet with pTEMPTY>100 GeV is measured and used to define a collinear phase space, wherein measurements of kinematic properties of the W-boson and the associated jet are performed. The collinear phase space is populated by dijet events radiating a W-boson and events with a W-boson produced in association with several jets and it serves as an excellent data sample to probe higher-order theoretical predictions. Measured differential distributions are compared with predictions from state-of-the-art next-to-leading order multi-leg merged Monte Carlo event generators and a fixed-order calculation of the W+1-jet process computed at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant.

Differential cross-section measurements of D ± and D s ± meson production in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Journal of High Energy Physics Springer 2025:7 (2025) 86

Authors:

G Aad, E Aakvaag, B Abbott, S Abdelhameed, K Abeling, NJ Abicht, SH Abidi, M Aboelela, A Aboulhorma, H Abramowicz, H Abreu, Y Abulaiti, BS Acharya, A Ackermann, C Adam Bourdarios, L Adamczyk, SV Addepalli, MJ Addison, J Adelman, A Adiguzel, T Adye, AA Affolder, Y Afik, MN Agaras

Abstract:

The production of D± and Ds± charmed mesons is measured using the D±/Ds±→ ϕ(μμ)π± decay channel with 137 fb−1 of s = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2016–2018. The charmed mesons are reconstructed in the range of transverse momentum 12 < pT < 100 GeV and pseudorapidity |η| < 2.5. The differential cross-sections are measured as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity, respectively, and compared with next-to-leading- order QCD predictions. The predictions are found to be consistent with the measurements in the visible kinematic region within the large theoretical uncertainties.

Optical+Near-IR Analysis of a Newly Confirmed Einstein Ring at z ∼ 1 from the Kilo-Degree Survey: Dark Matter Fraction, Total and Dark Matter Density Slope, and Initial Mass Function * * Based on observations with OmegaCam@VST, VIRCAM@VISTA, HAWK-I, and XSHOOTER@VLT (Prog. ID: 107.22S8)

The Astrophysical Journal Letters American Astronomical Society 987:2 (2025) L31

Authors:

Rui Li, Nicola R Napolitano, Giuseppe D’Ago, Vyacheslav N Shalyapin, Kai Zhu, Xiaotong Guo, Ran Li, Léon VE Koopmans, Chiara Spiniello, Crescenzo Tortora, Francesco La Barbera, Haicheng Feng, Liang Gao, Zhiqi Huang, Koen Kuijken, Hui Li, Linghua Xie, Mario Radovich, Alexey Sergeyev

Abstract:

We report the spectroscopic confirmation of a bright blue Einstein ring in the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) footprint: the Einstein “blue eye.” Spectroscopic data from X-Shooter at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) show that the lens is a typical early-type galaxy (ETG) at zl = 0.9906, while the background source is a Lyα emitter at zs = 2.823. The reference lens modeling was performed on a high-resolution Y-band adaptive-optics image from HAWK-I at VLT. Assuming a singular isothermal ellipsoid total mass density profile, we inferred an Einstein radius REin = 10.47 ± 0.06 kpc. The average slope of the total mass density inside the Einstein radius, as determined by a joint analysis of lensing and isotropic Jeans equations, is γtot=2.14−0.07+0.06 , showing no systematic deviation from the slopes of lower-redshift galaxies. This can be the evidence of ETGs developing through dry mergers plus moderate dissipationless accretion. Stellar population analysis with eight-band (griZYJHKs) photometries from KiDS and VIKING shows that the total stellar mass of the lens is M* = (3.95 ± 0.35) × 1011 M⊙ (Salpeter initial mass function (IMF)), implying a dark matter fraction inside the effective radius of fDM = 0.307 ± 0.151. We finally explored the dark matter halo slope and found a strong degeneracy with the dynamic stellar mass. Dark matter adiabatic contraction is needed to explain the posterior distribution of the slope, unless an IMF heavier than Salpeter is assumed.

Joint Radiative and Kinematic Modelling of X-ray Binary Ejecta: Energy Estimate and Reverse Shock Detection

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) (2025) staf1085

Authors:

AJ Cooper, JH Matthews, F Carotenuto, R Fender, GP Lamb, TD Russell, N Sarin, K Savard, AA Zdziarski

Abstract:

Abstract Black hole X-ray binaries in outburst launch discrete, large-scale jet ejections which can propagate to parsec scales. The kinematics of these ejecta appear to be well described by relativistic blast wave models original devised for gamma-ray burst afterglows. In previous kinematic-only modelling, a crucial degeneracy prevented the initial ejecta energy and the interstellar medium density from being accurately determined. In this work, we present the first joint Bayesian modelling of the radiation and kinematics of a large-scale jet ejection from the X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571. We demonstrate that a reverse shock powers the bright, early ejecta emission. The joint model breaks the energetic degeneracy, and we find the ejecta has an initial energy of E0 ∼ 3 × 1043 erg, and propagates into a low density interstellar medium of nism ∼ 4 × 10−5 cm−3. The ejecta is consistent with being launched perpendicular to the disc and could be powered by an efficient conversion of available accretion power alone. This work lays the foundation for future parameter estimation studies using all available data of X-ray binary jet ejecta.