The X-ray Spectral Evolution of Galactic Black Hole X-ray Binaries Toward Quiescence

Abstract

Most transient black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) spend the bulk of their time in a quiescent state, where they accrete matter from their companion star at highly sub-Eddington luminosities (we define quiescence here as a normalized Eddington ratio l_x = L_{0.5-10 keV}}/L_{Edd} < 1e-5). Here, we present Chandra X-ray imaging spectroscopy for three BHXB systems (H 1743-322, MAXI J1659-152, and XTE J1752-223) as they fade into quiescence following an outburst. Multiple X-ray observations were taken within one month of each other, allowing us to track each individual system's X-ray spectral evolution during its decay. We compare these three systems to other BHXB systems. We confirm that quiescent BHXBs have softer X-ray spectra than low-hard state BHXBs, and that quiescent BHXB spectral properties show no dependence on the binary system's orbital parameters. However, the observed anti-correlation between X-ray photon index and l_x in the low-hard state does not continue once a BHXB enters quiescence. Instead, the photon index plateaus to an average value of 2.08+/-0.07 by the time l_x reaches approximately 1e-5. l_x~1e-5 is thus an observationally-motivated upper limit for the beginning of the quiescent spectral state. Our results are discussed in the context of different accretion flow models, and across the black hole mass scale.