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arXiv · 1411.4209

Universal Behavior of X-ray Flares from Black Hole Systems

F. Y. Wang·Z. G. Dai·S. X. Yi·S. Q. Xi
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Abstract

X-ray flares have been discovered in black hole systems, such as gamma-ray bursts, the tidal disruption event Swift J1644+57, the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A$^*$ at the center of our Galaxy, and some active galactic nuclei. Their occurrences are always companied by relativistic jets. However, it is still unknown whether there is a physical analogy among such X-ray flares produced in black hole systems spanning nine orders of magnitude in mass. Here we report the observed data of X-ray flares, and show that they have three statistical properties similar to solar flares, including power-law distributions of energies, durations, and waiting times, which both can be explained by a fractal-diffusive self-organized criticality model. These statistical similarities, together with the fact that solar flares are triggered by a magnetic reconnection process, suggest that all of the X-ray flares are consistent with magnetic reconnection events, implying that their concomitant relativistic jets may be magnetically dominated.

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F. Y. Wang, Z. G. Dai, S. X. Yi, S. Q. Xi. 2014-11-16. Universal Behavior of X-ray Flares from Black Hole Systems. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049%2F216%2F1%2F8

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