Abstract
In X-ray binaries much of the optical/UV emission arises from X-rays reprocessed by material in the accretion disc, stream and the companion star. The resulting reprocessed variability will be delayed in time with respect to the X-ray variability by an amount depending on the position of the reprocessing regions. From this, we can determine a range of time-delays present in the system. This time-delay transfer function can be used to ‘echo-map’ the geometry of the reprocessing regions in the binary system.
We present our modeling of this transfer function and show results from our echomapping campaign using X-ray lightcurves from RXTE, simultaneous with HST. In the X-ray transient, GROJ1655-40, shortly after the 1996 outburst, we find evidence for reprocessing in the outer regions of a thick accretion disc.
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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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O’Brien, K., Horne, K. (2001). Echoes in X-ray Binaries: Mapping the Accretion Flow. In: Boffin, H.M., Cuypers, J., Steeghs, D. (eds) Astrotomography. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 573. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45339-3_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45339-3_28
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