'Stable' QPOs and Black Hole Properties from Diskoseismology

Abstract

We compare our calculations of the frequencies of the fundamental g, c, and p--modes of relativistic thin accretion disks with recent observations of high frequency QPOs in X-ray binaries with black hole candidates. These classes of modes encompass all adiabatic perturbations of such disks. The frequencies of these modes depend mainly on only the mass and angular momentum of the black hole; their weak dependence on disk luminosity is also explicitly indicated. Identifying the recently discovered relatively stable QPO pairs with the fundamental g and c modes provides a determination of the mass and angular momentum of the black hole. For GRO J1655-40, $M=5.9\pm 1.0 M_\sun$, $J=(0.917\pm 0.024)GM^2/c$, in agreement with spectroscopic mass determinations. For GRS 1915+105, $M=42.4\pm 7.0 M_\sun$, $J=(0.926\pm 0.020)GM^2/c$ or (less favored) $M=18.2\pm 3.1 M_\sun$, $J=(0.701\pm 0.043)GM^2/c$. We briefly address the issues of the amplitude, frequency width, and energy dependence of these QPOs.