A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62
We report the discovery of a candidate stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way globular cluster M62. We detected the black hole candidate, which we call M62-VLA1, in the core of the cluster using deep radio continuum imaging from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. M62-VLA1 is a faint source with...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc.
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4669 |
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| author | Chomiuk, L. Strader, J. Maccarone, T. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C. Noyola, E. Seth, A. Ransom, S. |
| author_facet | Chomiuk, L. Strader, J. Maccarone, T. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C. Noyola, E. Seth, A. Ransom, S. |
| author_sort | Chomiuk, L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We report the discovery of a candidate stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way globular cluster M62. We detected the black hole candidate, which we call M62-VLA1, in the core of the cluster using deep radio continuum imaging from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. M62-VLA1 is a faint source with a flux density of 18.7 ± 1.9 μJy at 6.2 GHz and a flat radio spectrum (α = –0.24 ± 0.42, for S ν = να). M62 is the second Milky Way cluster with a candidate stellar-mass black hole; unlike the two candidate black holes previously found in the cluster M22, M62-VLA1 is associated with a Chandra X-ray source, supporting its identification as a black hole X-ray binary. Measurements of its radio and X-ray luminosity, while not simultaneous, place M62-VLA1 squarely on the well-established radio-X-ray correlation for stellar-mass black holes. In archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging, M62-VLA1 is coincident with a star near the lower red giant branch. This possible optical counterpart shows a blue excess, Hα emission, and optical variability. The radio, X-ray, and optical properties of M62-VLA1 are very similar to those for V404 Cyg, one of the best-studied quiescent stellar-mass black holes. We cannot yet rule out alternative scenarios for the radio source, such as a flaring neutron star or background galaxy; future observations are necessary to determine whether M62-VLA1 is indeed an accreting stellar-mass black hole. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:03:44Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-4669 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:03:44Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-46692017-09-13T14:48:42Z A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 Chomiuk, L. Strader, J. Maccarone, T. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C. Noyola, E. Seth, A. Ransom, S. radio continuum: general X-rays: general globular clusters: individual: M62 black hole physics We report the discovery of a candidate stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way globular cluster M62. We detected the black hole candidate, which we call M62-VLA1, in the core of the cluster using deep radio continuum imaging from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. M62-VLA1 is a faint source with a flux density of 18.7 ± 1.9 μJy at 6.2 GHz and a flat radio spectrum (α = –0.24 ± 0.42, for S ν = να). M62 is the second Milky Way cluster with a candidate stellar-mass black hole; unlike the two candidate black holes previously found in the cluster M22, M62-VLA1 is associated with a Chandra X-ray source, supporting its identification as a black hole X-ray binary. Measurements of its radio and X-ray luminosity, while not simultaneous, place M62-VLA1 squarely on the well-established radio-X-ray correlation for stellar-mass black holes. In archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging, M62-VLA1 is coincident with a star near the lower red giant branch. This possible optical counterpart shows a blue excess, Hα emission, and optical variability. The radio, X-ray, and optical properties of M62-VLA1 are very similar to those for V404 Cyg, one of the best-studied quiescent stellar-mass black holes. We cannot yet rule out alternative scenarios for the radio source, such as a flaring neutron star or background galaxy; future observations are necessary to determine whether M62-VLA1 is indeed an accreting stellar-mass black hole. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4669 10.1088/0004-637X/777/1/69 Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc. fulltext |
| spellingShingle | radio continuum: general X-rays: general globular clusters: individual: M62 black hole physics Chomiuk, L. Strader, J. Maccarone, T. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C. Noyola, E. Seth, A. Ransom, S. A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title | A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title_full | A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title_fullStr | A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title_short | A Radio-selected Black Hole X-Ray Binary Candidate in the Milky Way Globular Cluster M62 |
| title_sort | radio-selected black hole x-ray binary candidate in the milky way globular cluster m62 |
| topic | radio continuum: general X-rays: general globular clusters: individual: M62 black hole physics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4669 |