XTE J1118+480 is a low-mass X-ray binary in the constellation

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

. It is a soft X-ray transient that most likely contains a

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

and is probably a

microquasar A microquasar, the smaller version of a quasar, is a compact region surrounding a stellar black hole with a mass several times that of its companion star. The matter being pulled from the companion star forms an accretion disk around the black hol ...

Discovery

XTE J1118+480 was discovered using the All-Sky Monitor on the

Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) was a NASA satellite that observed the time variation of astronomical X-ray sources, named after physicist Bruno Rossi. The RXTE had three instruments — an All Sky Monitor, the High-Energy X-ray Timing ...

satellite after it detected an outburst from the system on March 29, 2000. XTE is the standard designation for objects discovered by this satellite. It is also catalogued as 2MASS J11181079+4802126 in the

Two-Micron All Sky Survey The Two Micron All-Sky Survey, or 2MASS, was an astronomical survey of the whole sky in infrared light. It took place between 1997 and 2001, in two different locations: at the U.S. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and ...

catalogue of

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

objects, and has been given the

variable star designation In astronomy, a variable star designation is a unique identifier given to variable stars. It uses a variation on the Bayer designation format, with an identifying label (as described below) preceding the Latin genitive of the name of the constell ...

KV Ursae Majoris.

April–June outburst

Much of what is known about XTE J1118+480 comes from data collected during the outburst in March 2000. The Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite observed a

quasi-periodic oscillation In X-ray astronomy, quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) is the manner in which the X-ray light from an astronomical object flickers about certain frequencies. In these situations, the X-rays are emitted near the inner edge of an accretion disk in ...

(QPO) from XTE J1118+480 as it evolved. The QPO is comparable to QPOs of other black-hole candidates.

Properties

The compact object in XTE J1118+480 has a mass greater than , so it is too massive to be a

neutron star A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. white ...

. The characteristics of radio emissions from XTE J1118+480 (Fender ''et al.'' 2001) suggest that it is a

. Strangely, the companion star has a metal-rich composition of various metals such as magnesium, aluminium, calcium, iron, and nickel. Because of this observation, the black hole most likely was not formed from direct collapse of a massive star, but rather from the

supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...

of a

metal-rich In astronomy, metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal physical matter in the Universe is either hydrogen or helium, and astronomers use the word ''"metals"'' as ...

star. The two objects in the

binary system A binary system is a system of two astronomical bodies which are close enough that their gravitational attraction causes them to orbit each other around a barycenter ''(also see animated examples)''. More restrictive definitions require that th ...

were probably not born together as a supernova would likely eject the companion from the system. The most likely theory as to how the black hole became part of the binary system is that XTE J1118+480 was formed in the central

galactic halo A galactic halo is an extended, roughly spherical component of a galaxy which extends beyond the main, visible component. Several distinct components of galaxies comprise the halo: * the stellar halo * the galactic corona (hot gas, i.e. a plasma) ...

. The black hole primary was the result of a "kick" from the supernova explosion of a massive star in the early galaxy and travelled through the galaxy and into the central galactic halo, becoming a binary system with its present-day companion. If this theory is true, it may help to explain the

mechanism. The black hole in XTE J1118+480 is one of the few known examples of a black hole kick.

References

{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System Ursa Major X-ray binaries Stellar black holes Ursae Majoris, KV J11181079+4802126

Discovery

April–June outburst

Properties

See also

References