James F. Steiner, Jeffrey E. McClintock, Mark J. Reid
During its 2003 outburst, the black-hole X-ray transient H1743-322 produced
two-sided radio and X-ray jets. Applying a simple and symmetric kinematic model
to the trajectories of these jets, we determine the source distance, 8.5\pm0.8
kpc, and the inclination angle of the jets, 75\pm3 degrees. Using these values,
we estimate the spin of the black hole by fitting its RXTE spectra, obtained
during the 2003 outburst, to a standard relativistic accretion-disk model. For
its spin, we find a* = 0.56(+0.16,-0.46; 68% limits); -0.23 < a* < 0.83 at 90%
confidence. We rule strongly against an extreme value of spin: a* < 0.95 at
99.7% confidence. Our result, which depends on an empirical distribution of
black hole masses, takes into account all known sources of measurement error.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.2388
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