# Similar Shot Noise in Cyg X-1, GRO J0422+32 and 1E 1724-3045

## 1 Introduction

The aperiodic X-ray variability of the black hole X-ray binary Cyg X-1 and other stellar black hole candidates has been described by the phenomenological “shot noise” models (e.g.   and references therein). Such rapid X-ray variability or flickering is more pronounced during their hard state . In hard states, the power density spectra show a flat top followed by a power law at a certain break frequency. The higher amplitude of the rapid variability is, the lower the break frequency is. This suggests that the shot properties vary with time in the hard states.

In the framework of “shot noise” models, the properties of the shots and superposed shot profiles in Cyg X-1 have been studied with data obtained from Uhuru, HEAO 1 A-2, EXOSAT/ME, Ginga, and RXTE/PCA (see  and references therein;). In summary, the shot properties are as follows: (1) The shot has nearly time symmetric rise and decay lasting for up to a few seconds; (2) The energy spectrum of the shot changes with time. (3) The shot duration changes with the states.

Recently, striking timing similarities of the power density spectra between the black hole candidate GRO J0422+32 (Nova Persei 1992)  and the X-ray burster 1E 1724-3045 were reported. In this paper, we show similar aperiodic variability in Cyg X-1 in hard state and compare the shot noise properties with those of GRO J0422+32 and 1E 1724-3045. We also present our results from the study of about $``$ 500 shots observed in Cyg X-1 with RXTE/PCA.

## 2 RXTE/PCA Observation of Cyg X-1

We analyze the data obtained from RXTE/PCA observations conducted on 1997 Jan 17 and 20. The entire PCA observation lasted for about 12.5 hours. The average count rates in the entire PCA band for the two days are 4330 and 3880 cps, respectively. High time resolution ($``$ 2<sup>-12</sup> s) Single-Bit mode data in the energy range 1.0-5.1 keV, 5.1-8.7 keV, 8.7-18.3 keV and 18.3-98.5 keV were used in studying the aperiodic variability. We combine the data in the 4 bands to calculate the average power density spectra (PDS). The average PDS of Jan 20 is plotted in Fig.1. The PDS displays a flat top below a low frequency break around 0.03 Hz, a peaked-noise component centered at 0.2 Hz with a FWHM $``$ 0.2 Hz and a second break frequency around 3 Hz.

Similar to the previous study of GRO J0422+32 and 1E 1724-3045, we apply a model consisting of two “shot noise” components characterized by two Lorentzian functions in the frequency range below 0.1 Hz and above 1.0 Hz (dashed line and dash-dot line), and fit the residual noise power in the frequency range 0.1–1.0 Hz with a model composed of a linear rise with an exponential decay (solid line in the inset panel). The model is shown as solid line in the Figure 1.

## 3 Comparison with Observations of GRO J0422+32 and 1E 1724-3045

The PDS of OSSE observation to GRO J0422+32 and the PDS of 1E 1724-3045 observed with RXTE/PCA can also be characterized by two “shot noise” components and one peaked-noise feature. The characteristic duration of the two “shot noise” components ($`\tau _1`$ or $`\tau _2`$) is represented by the Half Width of Half Maximum (HWHM) of each Lorentzian as

$$\tau _{1,2}=\frac{1}{2\pi HWHM}$$

The parameters of the noise components of the three sources are compared in Table 1.

## 4 X-ray Shots of Cyg X-1 in Hard State

To investigate the above interpretations in terms of “shot noise”, we study the X-ray shots observed with RXTE/PCA in the energy range $``$ 2–60 keV. The X-ray Shots were selected in the light curve. The criteria are that their peak X-ray counts in 0.125 s bin should be larger than 1250, and should be the maximum within the neighboring 5.0 s on both sides. In the entire observation, we have found 513 shots which meet the requirement.

### Shot Width

The width of each shot is derived from the auto-correlation coefficients of 10 s light curve around each shot, $`A(i)`$. They are defined as follows:

$$A(i)=\frac{_{k=0}^{Ni1}(X_k\overline{X})(X_{k+i}\overline{X})}{_{k=0}^{N1}(X_k\overline{X})^2}$$

where $`\delta t`$ is $``$ 2.44 ms, the time resolution of the light curves, and $`A(i)`$ ($`i=0,\mathrm{},N1`$) the auto-correlation coefficient at $`i\delta t`$. Then we define the average shot width as

$$T_{width}=2.0\times \sqrt{\frac{_{k=1}^Mk^2A(k)+(0.25)^2A(0)}{_{k=0}^MA(k)}}\delta t$$

where 0.25 represents the average time shift of the central bin A(0), and $`M`$ is the maximum of $`i`$ with $`A(i)`$ no less than 0.0 in the main peak of the auto-correlation function. In Fig.2, we show the profile of one of the brightest shot. The profile was obtained from the Standard 1 data mode. The corresponding auto-correlation coefficients are shown in Fig.3. They were obtained from Single-Bit  data and bined to a time resolution of $``$ 2.44 ms. The coefficients used in the calculation of shot width are shaded in the figure. The distribution of shot width for the 513 shots is shown in Fig.4.

### Peak-aligned Shot Profile and Spectral Variation

We superposed the 513 shots by aligning them at the center of their 0.125 s peak bins (combine all 4 energy channels). The time resolution used in the alignment is $``$ 2.44 ms. In the upper panel of Fig.5, we show the peak-aligned shot profiles of the soft band (channel 1+2) and the hard band (channel 3+4), respectively. They were normalized to their peak counts. In the lower panel of the same figure, we plot the residuals of the profile subtraction (3+4)–(1+2). In general, the peak-aligned profiles in Fig.5 shows: (1)The time scale of the shot rise in the hard band is smaller than that in the soft band; (2)The shot decay in the hard band is slower than the decay in the soft band; (3)There are more hard photons after the shot peak than those before the shot peak, indicating a spectral hardening.

Three factors would introduce the difference between the profiles in the soft band and those in the hard band and the observed residuals in the lower panel of Fig.5. One is the time lag of the shot rise between the soft band and the hard band. The other is the slower decay in the hard band compared with that of the soft band. The third is that the shot peak in the hard band is narrower than that in the soft band. To study the spectral variation, we plot the ratio between the peak-aligned profile in the hard band and that in the soft band in Fig.6. Both sides around the peak were fit to a 5-degree polynomial. The spectra after the shot peak is harder than that before the shot peak, as shown in Fig.6. This is consistent with Ginga results.

## 5 Summary

In summary, we have obtained the following results:

* We have found that the aperiodic X-ray variability in Cyg X-1 in hard state is similar to those observed in another black hole candidate GRO J0422+32 and a neutron star X-ray binary 1E 1724-3045. Based on the mass of companion star and the mass of the central object in the three X-ray binaries, we conclude that the generation mechanism of the X-ray shots is probably independent on the mass of the companion star, the mass of the central compact object (BH or NS), and the type of accretion.
* The spectral evolution around the shot peak could last for as long as a few seconds, and there is a spectral hardening after the shot peak. These are consistent with the previous study of the X-ray shots in Cyg X-1 observed with Ginga.
* The duration of $``$ 513 bright shots in Cyg X-1, defined from their auto-correlation coefficients, ranging from $``$ 0.1 s to $``$ 2.0 s, is not bimodally distributed. This does not support the assumption that there are two kinds of shots with different duration as inferred from the power spectra. Thus the attribution of each of the noise component to a group of shots with a certain characteristic duration is probably wrong.

## Acknowledgments

WY appreciate various supports and helpful discussions and comments by Prof. J. Van Paradijs, Dr. C. Kouveliotou and Dr. M. Finger at NASA/MSFC.

## References