Correlated radio: X-ray emission in the hard states of galactic microquasars

Abstract

We present results of our study of correlated radio and X-ray emission in two black hole candidates and Galactic microquasars GRS 1915+105 and Cyg X-1 in their steady long-term hard states, along with Cyg X-3 (using data obtained from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer all-sky monitor [RXTE-ASM], Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Burst and Transient Source Experiment [CGRO-BATSE], and Green Bank Interferometer [GBI]). We detect a pivotal behavior in the X-ray spectrum of GRS 1915+105, correlated to the radio emission. Similar to the results obtained for Cyg X-3, the flux of X-rays softer than the pivoting point correlates with the radio emission, while the corresponding harder X-ray flux anticorrelates with both the radio and the softer X-ray emission, in this state. We examine all the previously reported correlations of X-ray properties with the radio emission in Galactic microquasars and argue that these are consistent with a general picture where a spectral pivoting is a common feature in these sources with the shape of the spectrum determining the flux of radio emission, during the hard states. We also detect a general monotonic increase in the radio emission of these sources with the soft X-ray emission spanning about 5 orders of magnitude. We qualitatively explain these findings with a two-component advective flow model where the location of a boundary layer between the thin disk and the Comptonizing region determines the spectral shape and also the amount of outflow.