Observations of Rapid Disk-Jet Interaction in GRS 1915+105

Abstract

We present evidence that ~ 30 minute episodes of jet formation in GRS 1915+105 may sometimes be a superposition of smaller, faster phenomena. Based on observations in 2002 July using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and the Palomar 5 meter telescope, we show that GRS 1915+105 sometimes produces ~ 30 minute infrared flares that can entirely be explained as a combination of small (~ 150 second) flares, one for each oscillation in the accompanying X-ray light curve. We discuss the differences between these observations and similar ones in 1997 August and conclude that an X-ray "trigger spike" seen during each cycle in 1997 is a key ingredient for large ejections to occur on ~ 30 minute timescales in this source.