Dramatic Drop in the X-Ray Polarization of Swift J1727.8-1613 in the Soft Spectral State
: Svoboda Jiří, Dovčiak Michal, Steiner James F., Kaaret Philip, Podgorný Jakub, Poutanen Juri, Veledina Alexandra, Muleri Fabio, Taverna Roberto, Krawczynski Henric, Brigitte Maimouna, Datta Sudeb Ranjan, Bianchi Stefano, Munoz-Darias Teo, Negro Michela, Cavero Nicole Rodriguez, Segura Noel Castro, Bollemeijer Niek, Garcia Javier A., Ingram Adam, Matt Giorgio, Nathan Edward, Weisskopf Martin C., Altamirano Diego, Baldini Luca, Capitanio Fiamma, Egron Elise, Emami Razieh, Hu Kun, Marra Lorenzo, Mastroserio Guglielmo, Petrucci Pierre-Olivier, Ratheesh Ajay, Soffitta Paolo, Tombesi Francesco, Yang Yi-Jung, Zhang Yuexin
Publisher: IOP Publishing Ltd
: 2024
: Astrophysical Journal Letters
: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
: ARTN L35
: 966
: 2
: 2041-8205
: 2041-8213
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad402e
: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad402e
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/404690963
Black hole X-ray binaries exhibit different spectral and timing properties in different accretion states. The X-ray outburst of a recently discovered and extraordinarily bright source, Swift J1727.8-1613, has enabled the first investigation of how the X-ray polarization properties of a source evolve with spectral state. The 2-8 keV polarization degree was previously measured by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to be approximate to 4% in the hard and hard intermediate states. Here we present new IXPE results taken in the soft state, with the X-ray flux dominated by the thermal accretion disk emission. We find that the polarization degree has dropped dramatically to less than or similar to 1%. This result indicates that the measured X-ray polarization is largely sensitive to the accretion state and the polarization fraction is significantly higher in the hard state when the X-ray emission is dominated by upscattered radiation in the X-ray corona. The combined polarization measurements in the soft and hard states disfavor a very high or low inclination of the system.