Long-term monitoring of the hard X-ray/gamma-ray emission from galactic black holes with batse
Abstract
The BATSE instrument aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory monitored numerous astronomical sources, including the Galactic black holes Cygnus X-1, GRO J0422+32, GRO J1719-24, GRS 1915+105, and GRO J1655-40, almost continuously from 1991 to 2000 in the energy range 23-1798 keV. We present results for these five black holes from the full nine-year BATSE earth occultation database using the JPL data analysis package EBOP (Enhanced BATSE Occultation Package). Light curves in four broad energy bands with 1-day resolution are presented showing flux histories for each source over the nine years. Spectra during the high flux/outburst states and low flux/quiescent states for these objects are also presented. The differences in the spectra suggest that there may two different classes of Galactic black holes. © 2008 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.