Radio flares and X-ray hardening embedded in the long soft state of 4U 1543−475

Open Access
Authors
  • Zuobin Zhang
  • Rob Fender
  • Jiachen Jiang
  • Payaswini Saikia
  • David M. Russell
  • Andrew Hughes
  • Honghui Liu
  • Francesco Carotenuto
  • James F. Steiner
  • Fraser J. Cowie
  • John A. Tomsick
  • Cosimo Bambi
  • Yimin Huang
  • Xian Zhang
  • Wenfei Yu
  • Yuexin Zhang
  • Rittick Roy
Publication date September 2026
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Article number stag1470
Volume | Issue number 551 | 2
Number of pages 15
Organisations
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API)
Abstract
We present a comprehensive multiwavelength study of the black hole X-ray binary 4U 1543−475 during its 2021 outburst, focusing on radio flaring episodes that are commonly interpreted as signatures of episodic jet production and are embedded within states when the X-ray emission was dominated by an accretion disc component. The radio monitoring reveals at least two discrete flares that coincide with periods of enhanced Comptonized X-ray emission. Broad-band spectral modelling shows a significant decrease in the reflection-to-disc flux ratio (by a factor of (Formula presented) ) during these episodes, consistent with a temporary change in the geometry of the inner accretion flow, although the data do not allow the causal sequence to be firmly established. Optical photometry exhibits variability that broadly tracks the reflection fraction, consistent with changes in the illuminating component. The accompanying spectral hardening indicates that the radio flares were associated with short-lived excursions toward a ‘harder’ state, departing from the soft state. X-ray timing analysis suggests that the radio flares may be associated with changes in the fractional rms variability; however, no consistent or unified pattern can be firmly established across different events. These results provide a multiwavelength observational example of radio flaring activity in a black hole binary and highlight the complex interplay between accretion flow geometry, coronal emission, and jet-related phenomena.
Document type Article
Language English
Published at
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1470 (Final published version)
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