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E. Caruso

Publications and source records attributed to E. Caruso.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

A highly ionised outflow in the X-ray binary 4U 1624-49 detected with XRISM

The origin of accretion disc winds remains disputed to date. High inclination, dipping, neutron star Low Mass X-Ray Binaries (LMXBs) provide an excellent testbed to study the launching mechanism of such winds due to being persistently accreting and showing a nearly ubiquitous presence of highly-ionised plasmas. We aim to establish or rule out the presence of a wind in the high inclination LMXB 4U 1624-49, for which a highly ionised plasma has been repeatedly observed in X-ray spectra by Chandra and XMM-Newton, and a thermal-radiative pressure wind is expected. We leverage the exquisite spectral resolution of XRISM to perform phase-resolved spectroscopy of the full binary orbit to characterise the highly ionised plasma at all phases except during absorption dips. An outflow is clearly detected via phase-resolved spectroscopy of the source with XRISM/Resolve. Based on analysis of the radial velocity curve we determine an average velocity of ~200-320 km/s and a column density above 10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. The line profiles are generally narrow, spanning from ~50 to ~100 km/s, depending on the orbital phase, pointing to a low velocity sheer or turbulence of the highly ionised outflow and a potential increase of turbulence as the absorption dip is approached, likely due to turbulent mixing. The line profiles, together with the derived launching radius and wind velocity are consistent with a wind being launched from the outskirts of the disc and without stratification, pointing to a thermal-radiative pressure origin.

astro-ph.HE

The omnipresent flux-dependent optical dips of the black hole transient Swift J1357.2-0933

Swift J1357.2-0933 is a black hole transient of particular interest due to the optical, recurrent dips found during its first two outbursts (in 2011 and 2017), with no obvious X-ray equivalent. We present fast optical photometry during its two most recent outbursts, in 2019 and 2021. Our observations reveal that the optical dips were present in every observed outburst of the source, although they were shallower and showed longer recurrence periods in the two most recent and fainter events. We perform a global study of the dips properties in the four outbursts, and find that they do not follow a common temporal evolution. In addition, we discover a correlation with the X-ray and optical fluxes, with dips being more profound and showing shorter recurrence periods for brighter stages. This trend seems to extend even to the faintest, quiescent states of the source. Finally, we discuss these results in the context of the possible connection between optical dips and outflows found in previous works.

astro-ph.HE