First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3
X-ray polarization is a powerful tool to investigate the geometry of accreting material around black holes, allowing independent measurements of the black hole spin and orientation of the innermost parts of the accretion disk. We perform X-ray spectropolarimetric analysis of an X-ray binary system i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0842 |
| _version_ | 1827579326373036032 |
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| author | Jiří Svoboda Michal Dovčiak James F. Steiner Fabio Muleri Adam Ingram Anastasiya Yilmaz Nicole Rodriguez Cavero Lorenzo Marra Juri Poutanen Alexandra Veledina Mehrnoosh Rahbardar Mojaver Stefano Bianchi Javier A. García Philip Kaaret Henric Krawczynski Giorgio Matt Jakub Podgorný Martin C. Weisskopf Fabian Kislat Pierre-Olivier Petrucci Maimouna Brigitte Michal Bursa Sergio Fabiani Kun Hu Sohee Chun Guglielmo Mastroserio Romana Mikus̆incová Ajay Ratheesh Roger W. Romani Paolo Soffitta Francesco Ursini Silvia Zane Iván Agudo Lucio A. Antonelli Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Wayne H. Baumgartner Ronaldo Bellazzini Stephen D. Bongiorno Raffaella Bonino Alessandro Brez Niccolò Bucciantini Fiamma Capitanio Simone Castellano Elisabetta Cavazzuti Chien-Ting Chen Stefano Ciprini Enrico Costa Alessandra De Rosa Ettore Del Monte Laura Di Gesu Niccolò Di Lalla Alessandro Di Marco Immacolata Donnarumma Victor Doroshenko Steven R. Ehlert Teruaki Enoto Yuri Evangelista Riccardo Ferrazzoli Shuichi Gunji Kiyoshi Hayashida Jeremy Heyl Wataru Iwakiri Svetlana G. Jorstad Vladimír Karas Takao Kitaguchi Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak Fabio La Monaca Luca Latronico Ioannis Liodakis Simone Maldera Alberto Manfreda Frédéric Marin Andrea Marinucci Alan P. Marscher Herman L. Marshall Francesco Massaro Ikuyuki Mitsuishi Tsunefumi Mizuno Michela Negro Chi-Yung Ng Stephen L. O’Dell Nicola Omodei Chiara Oppedisano Alessandro Papitto George G. Pavlov Abel L. Peirson Matteo Perri Melissa Pesce-Rollins Maura Pilia Andrea Possenti Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey John Rankin Oliver J. Roberts Carmelo Sgrò Patrick Slane Gloria Spandre Douglas A. Swartz Toru Tamagawa Fabrizio Tavecchio Roberto Taverna Yuzuru Tawara Allyn F. Tennant Nicholas E. Thomas Francesco Tombesi Alessio Trois Sergey S. Tsygankov Roberto Turolla Jacco Vink Kinwah Wu Fei Xie |
| author_facet | Jiří Svoboda Michal Dovčiak James F. Steiner Fabio Muleri Adam Ingram Anastasiya Yilmaz Nicole Rodriguez Cavero Lorenzo Marra Juri Poutanen Alexandra Veledina Mehrnoosh Rahbardar Mojaver Stefano Bianchi Javier A. García Philip Kaaret Henric Krawczynski Giorgio Matt Jakub Podgorný Martin C. Weisskopf Fabian Kislat Pierre-Olivier Petrucci Maimouna Brigitte Michal Bursa Sergio Fabiani Kun Hu Sohee Chun Guglielmo Mastroserio Romana Mikus̆incová Ajay Ratheesh Roger W. Romani Paolo Soffitta Francesco Ursini Silvia Zane Iván Agudo Lucio A. Antonelli Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Wayne H. Baumgartner Ronaldo Bellazzini Stephen D. Bongiorno Raffaella Bonino Alessandro Brez Niccolò Bucciantini Fiamma Capitanio Simone Castellano Elisabetta Cavazzuti Chien-Ting Chen Stefano Ciprini Enrico Costa Alessandra De Rosa Ettore Del Monte Laura Di Gesu Niccolò Di Lalla Alessandro Di Marco Immacolata Donnarumma Victor Doroshenko Steven R. Ehlert Teruaki Enoto Yuri Evangelista Riccardo Ferrazzoli Shuichi Gunji Kiyoshi Hayashida Jeremy Heyl Wataru Iwakiri Svetlana G. Jorstad Vladimír Karas Takao Kitaguchi Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak Fabio La Monaca Luca Latronico Ioannis Liodakis Simone Maldera Alberto Manfreda Frédéric Marin Andrea Marinucci Alan P. Marscher Herman L. Marshall Francesco Massaro Ikuyuki Mitsuishi Tsunefumi Mizuno Michela Negro Chi-Yung Ng Stephen L. O’Dell Nicola Omodei Chiara Oppedisano Alessandro Papitto George G. Pavlov Abel L. Peirson Matteo Perri Melissa Pesce-Rollins Maura Pilia Andrea Possenti Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey John Rankin Oliver J. Roberts Carmelo Sgrò Patrick Slane Gloria Spandre Douglas A. Swartz Toru Tamagawa Fabrizio Tavecchio Roberto Taverna Yuzuru Tawara Allyn F. Tennant Nicholas E. Thomas Francesco Tombesi Alessio Trois Sergey S. Tsygankov Roberto Turolla Jacco Vink Kinwah Wu Fei Xie |
| author_sort | Jiří Svoboda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | X-ray polarization is a powerful tool to investigate the geometry of accreting material around black holes, allowing independent measurements of the black hole spin and orientation of the innermost parts of the accretion disk. We perform X-ray spectropolarimetric analysis of an X-ray binary system in the Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC X-3, that hosts a stellar-mass black hole, known to be persistently accreting since its discovery. We report the first detection of the X-ray polarization in LMC X-3 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, and find the average polarization degree (PD) of 3.2% ± 0.6% and a constant polarization angle of −42° ± 6° over the 2–8 keV range. Using accompanying spectroscopic observations by NICER, NuSTAR, and the Neil Gehrels Swift observatories, we confirm previous measurements of the black hole spin via the X-ray continuum method, a ≈ 0.2. From polarization analysis only, we found consistent results with low black hole spin, with an upper limit of a < 0.7 at a 90% confidence level. A slight increase in the PD with energy, similar to other black hole X-ray binaries in the soft state, is suggested from the data but with a low statistical significance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:01:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6cdf1042da3947faae15024e8a40c49c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:01:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-6cdf1042da3947faae15024e8a40c49c2023-12-19T15:10:29ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-019601310.3847/1538-4357/ad0842First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3Jiří Svoboda0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2931-0742Michal Dovčiak1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0079-1239James F. Steiner2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5872-6061Fabio Muleri3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3331-3794Adam Ingram4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5311-9078Anastasiya Yilmaz5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1133-1684Nicole Rodriguez Cavero6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5256-0278Lorenzo Marra7https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4644-194XJuri Poutanen8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0983-0049Alexandra Veledina9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5767-7253Mehrnoosh Rahbardar Mojaver10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9633-0359Stefano Bianchi11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622-4240Javier A. García12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3828-2448Philip Kaaret13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3638-0637Henric Krawczynski14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1084-6507Giorgio Matt15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2152-0916Jakub Podgorný16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5418-291XMartin C. Weisskopf17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5270-4240Fabian Kislat18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7477-0380Pierre-Olivier Petrucci19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6061-3480Maimouna Brigitte20https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1197-5935Michal Bursa21https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0167-1888Sergio Fabiani22https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1533-0283Kun Hu23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9705-7948Sohee Chun24https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2488-5272Guglielmo Mastroserio25https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4216-7936Romana Mikus̆incová26https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7374-843XAjay Ratheesh27https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0411-4243Roger W. Romani28https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-3286Paolo Soffitta29https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7781-4104Francesco Ursini30https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9442-7897Silvia Zane31https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5326-880XIván Agudo32https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3777-6182Lucio A. Antonelli33https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5037-9034Matteo Bachetti34https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4576-9337Luca Baldini35https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9785-7726Wayne H. Baumgartner36https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5106-0463Ronaldo Bellazzini37https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2469-7063Stephen D. Bongiorno38https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0901-2097Raffaella Bonino39https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4264-1215Alessandro Brez40https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9460-1821Niccolò Bucciantini41https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8848-1392Fiamma Capitanio42https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6384-3027Simone Castellano43https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1111-4292Elisabetta Cavazzuti44https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7150-9638Chien-Ting Chen45https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4945-5079Stefano Ciprini46https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0712-2479Enrico Costa47https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4925-8523Alessandra De Rosa48https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-6863Ettore Del Monte49https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3013-6334Laura Di Gesu50https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5614-5028Niccolò Di Lalla51https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7574-1298Alessandro Di Marco52https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0331-3259Immacolata Donnarumma53https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4700-4549Victor Doroshenko54https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8162-1105Steven R. Ehlert55https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4420-2838Teruaki Enoto56https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1244-3100Yuri Evangelista57https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6096-6710Riccardo Ferrazzoli58https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1074-8605Shuichi Gunji59https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5881-2445Kiyoshi Hayashida60Jeremy Heyl61https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9739-367XWataru Iwakiri62https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0207-9010Svetlana G. Jorstad63https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6158-1708Vladimír Karas64https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5760-0459Takao Kitaguchi65Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak66https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0110-6136Fabio La Monaca67https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8916-4156Luca Latronico68https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0984-1856Ioannis Liodakis69https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9200-4006Simone Maldera70https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0698-4421Alberto Manfreda71https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0998-4953Frédéric Marin72https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4952-0835Andrea Marinucci73https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2055-4946Alan P. Marscher74https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7396-3332Herman L. Marshall75https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6492-1293Francesco Massaro76https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1704-9850Ikuyuki Mitsuishi77Tsunefumi Mizuno78https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7263-0296Michela Negro79https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6548-5622Chi-Yung Ng80https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5847-2612Stephen L. O’Dell81https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-8056Nicola Omodei82https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5448-7577Chiara Oppedisano83https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6194-4601Alessandro Papitto84https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6289-7413George G. Pavlov85https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7481-5259Abel L. Peirson86https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6292-1911Matteo Perri87https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3613-4409Melissa Pesce-Rollins88https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1790-8018Maura Pilia89https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7397-8091Andrea Possenti90https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5902-3731Simonetta Puccetti91https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2734-7835Brian D. Ramsey92https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1548-1524John Rankin93https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9774-0560Oliver J. Roberts94https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7150-9061Carmelo Sgrò95https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5676-6214Patrick Slane96https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6986-6756Gloria Spandre97https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0802-3453Douglas A. Swartz98https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2954-4461Toru Tamagawa99https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8801-6263Fabrizio Tavecchio100https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0256-0995Roberto Taverna101https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1768-618XYuzuru Tawara102Allyn F. Tennant103https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9443-6774Nicholas E. Thomas104https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0411-4606Francesco Tombesi105https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6562-8654Alessio Trois106https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3180-6002Sergey S. Tsygankov107https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-0793Roberto Turolla108https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3977-8760Jacco Vink109https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4708-4219Kinwah Wu110https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7568-8765Fei Xie111https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0105-5826Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech RepublicAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech RepublicCenter for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalySchool of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UKAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic; Astronomical Institute of Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University , V Holešovičkách 2, Prague 8, 180 00, Czech Republic; Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University , V Holešovickách 2, CZ-180 00 Praha 8, Czech RepublicPhysics Department, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, and Center for Quantum Leaps, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130, USADipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre , Via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, FI-20014 University of Turku , FinlandDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, FI-20014 University of Turku , Finland; Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University , Hannes Alfvéns väg 12, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenPhysics Department, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130, USADipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre , Via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma, ItalyCalifornia Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USANASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAPhysics Department and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130, USADipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre , Via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma, ItalyAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic; Université de Strasbourg , CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; Astronomical Institute, Charles University , V Holešovičkách 2, CZ-18000, Prague, Czech RepublicNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy and Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire , Durham, NH 03824, USAUniversité Grenoble Alpes , CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic; Astronomical Institute of Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University , V Holešovičkách 2, Prague 8, 180 00, Czech Republic; Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University , V Holešovickách 2, CZ-180 00 Praha 8, Czech RepublicAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech RepublicINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyPhysics Department, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, and Center for Quantum Leaps, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130, USAPhysics Department, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, and Center for Quantum Leaps, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, MO 63130, USAINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyDipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre , Via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyDipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre , Via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma, ItalyMullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London , Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UKInstituto de Astrofísicade Andalucía—CSIC , Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, E-18008 Granada, SpainINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy; Space Science Data Center , Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa , Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino , Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyINAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Largo Enrico Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze , Via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Firenze, Via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyScience and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association , Huntsville, AL 35805, USASpace Science Data Center , Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, Italy; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Roma ”Tor Vergata,” Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyInstitut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen , Sand 1, D-72076 Tübingen, GermanyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USARIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research , 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, JapanINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyYamagata University ,1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata-shi 990-8560, JapanOsaka University , 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, JapanUniversity of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, CanadaInternational Center for Hadron Astrophysics, Chiba University , Chiba 263-8522, JapanInstitute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University , 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Astrophysics, St. Petersburg State University , Universitetsky pr. 28, Petrodvoretz, 198504 St. Petersburg, RussiaAstronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech RepublicRIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research , 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, JapanNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, ItalyFinnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, FI-20014 University of Turku , FinlandIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Napoli, Strada Comunale Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli, ItalyUniversité de Strasbourg , CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, F-67000 Strasbourg, FranceAgenzia Spaziale Italiana , Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyInstitute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University , 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USAMIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino , Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, ItalyGraduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University , Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, JapanHiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University , 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, JapanDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USADepartment of Physics, University of Hong Kong , Pokfulam, Hong KongNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USADepartment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, ItalyINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), ItalyDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16801, USADepartment of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy; Space Science Data Center , Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalySpace Science Data Center , Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, I-00133 Roma, ItalyNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, ItalyScience and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association , Huntsville, AL 35805, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyCenter for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, ItalyScience and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association , Huntsville, AL 35805, USARIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research , 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, JapanINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera , via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC), ItalyDipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova , Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova, ItalyGraduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University , Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, JapanNASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USANASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, AL 35812, USAIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare , Sezione di Roma ”Tor Vergata,” Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata,” Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma, Italy; Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (CA), ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, FI-20014 University of Turku , FinlandMullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London , Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova , Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova, ItalyAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The NetherlandsMullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London , Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UKINAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy; Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University , Nanning 530004, People's Republic of ChinaX-ray polarization is a powerful tool to investigate the geometry of accreting material around black holes, allowing independent measurements of the black hole spin and orientation of the innermost parts of the accretion disk. We perform X-ray spectropolarimetric analysis of an X-ray binary system in the Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC X-3, that hosts a stellar-mass black hole, known to be persistently accreting since its discovery. We report the first detection of the X-ray polarization in LMC X-3 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, and find the average polarization degree (PD) of 3.2% ± 0.6% and a constant polarization angle of −42° ± 6° over the 2–8 keV range. Using accompanying spectroscopic observations by NICER, NuSTAR, and the Neil Gehrels Swift observatories, we confirm previous measurements of the black hole spin via the X-ray continuum method, a ≈ 0.2. From polarization analysis only, we found consistent results with low black hole spin, with an upper limit of a < 0.7 at a 90% confidence level. A slight increase in the PD with energy, similar to other black hole X-ray binaries in the soft state, is suggested from the data but with a low statistical significance.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0842X-ray binary starsX-ray observatoriesAccretionAstrophysical black holesBlack hole physicsSpectropolarimetry |
| spellingShingle | Jiří Svoboda Michal Dovčiak James F. Steiner Fabio Muleri Adam Ingram Anastasiya Yilmaz Nicole Rodriguez Cavero Lorenzo Marra Juri Poutanen Alexandra Veledina Mehrnoosh Rahbardar Mojaver Stefano Bianchi Javier A. García Philip Kaaret Henric Krawczynski Giorgio Matt Jakub Podgorný Martin C. Weisskopf Fabian Kislat Pierre-Olivier Petrucci Maimouna Brigitte Michal Bursa Sergio Fabiani Kun Hu Sohee Chun Guglielmo Mastroserio Romana Mikus̆incová Ajay Ratheesh Roger W. Romani Paolo Soffitta Francesco Ursini Silvia Zane Iván Agudo Lucio A. Antonelli Matteo Bachetti Luca Baldini Wayne H. Baumgartner Ronaldo Bellazzini Stephen D. Bongiorno Raffaella Bonino Alessandro Brez Niccolò Bucciantini Fiamma Capitanio Simone Castellano Elisabetta Cavazzuti Chien-Ting Chen Stefano Ciprini Enrico Costa Alessandra De Rosa Ettore Del Monte Laura Di Gesu Niccolò Di Lalla Alessandro Di Marco Immacolata Donnarumma Victor Doroshenko Steven R. Ehlert Teruaki Enoto Yuri Evangelista Riccardo Ferrazzoli Shuichi Gunji Kiyoshi Hayashida Jeremy Heyl Wataru Iwakiri Svetlana G. Jorstad Vladimír Karas Takao Kitaguchi Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak Fabio La Monaca Luca Latronico Ioannis Liodakis Simone Maldera Alberto Manfreda Frédéric Marin Andrea Marinucci Alan P. Marscher Herman L. Marshall Francesco Massaro Ikuyuki Mitsuishi Tsunefumi Mizuno Michela Negro Chi-Yung Ng Stephen L. O’Dell Nicola Omodei Chiara Oppedisano Alessandro Papitto George G. Pavlov Abel L. Peirson Matteo Perri Melissa Pesce-Rollins Maura Pilia Andrea Possenti Simonetta Puccetti Brian D. Ramsey John Rankin Oliver J. Roberts Carmelo Sgrò Patrick Slane Gloria Spandre Douglas A. Swartz Toru Tamagawa Fabrizio Tavecchio Roberto Taverna Yuzuru Tawara Allyn F. Tennant Nicholas E. Thomas Francesco Tombesi Alessio Trois Sergey S. Tsygankov Roberto Turolla Jacco Vink Kinwah Wu Fei Xie First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 The Astrophysical Journal X-ray binary stars X-ray observatories Accretion Astrophysical black holes Black hole physics Spectropolarimetry |
| title | First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 |
| title_full | First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 |
| title_fullStr | First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 |
| title_full_unstemmed | First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 |
| title_short | First X-Ray Polarization Measurement Confirms the Low Black Hole Spin in LMC X-3 |
| title_sort | first x ray polarization measurement confirms the low black hole spin in lmc x 3 |
| topic | X-ray binary stars X-ray observatories Accretion Astrophysical black holes Black hole physics Spectropolarimetry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0842 |
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