Long-Term Temporal Studies of GX339-4 Hard X-Ray \\ Outbursts

Session 7 -- X-Ray Binaries and Gamma-Ray Binaries
Display presentation, Monday, 9:20-6:30, Heller Lounge Room

[7.09] Long-Term Temporal Studies of GX339-4 Hard X-Ray \\ Outbursts

B. A. Harmon, G. J. Fishman (NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center), M. H. Finger (Compton Observatory Science Support Center), C. Kouveliotou (Universities Space Research Association), W. S. Paciesas (Department of Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville)

Hard x-ray emission (20-320 keV) from the black hole candidate GX339-4 was studied using the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). The source was monitored on a daily basis during 120-day hard state outbursts in 1991 and 1992 using Earth occultation measurements of its energy spectrum and power density spectra of time-binned data (frequency range 0.005-0.5 Hz). We find considerable spectral evolution during the outbursts similar to other black hole candidates and at least two days where quasi-periodic oscillations are present in the power spectrum at 0.027 Hz (37 s). We examine the long-term behavior of the photon spectra of GX339-4 and integrated power spectra for possible correlations.

Monday program listing