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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Astronomy & Astrophysics

Compelling evidence of a link between the lags of the quasi-periodic oscillations and the radio jet in the black-hole X-ray binary GRS 1915+105

  • Candela Bellavita1,2,3
  • Mariano Méndez3
  • Federico García1,2
  • Sara Motta4
  • Pengcheng Yang3
  • Wyncko Tonckens3
  • Liang Zhang5
  • Rob Fender6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CCT La Plata, CONICET; CICPBA; UNLP), C.C.5
  2. 2Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata
  3. 3Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen
  4. 4Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
  5. 5Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  6. 6Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford
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Abstract

GRS 1915+105 is one of the most studied black-hole X-ray binaries, known for its extreme variability and rich phenomenology. Previous studies of this source using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer reported a transition in the phase lags of type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs): from soft (where low-energy photons lag the high-energy ones) at QPO frequencies above ∼2 Hz to hard at frequencies below ∼2 Hz. The hard lags of the QPO coincide with episodes of strong radio emission. We analysed NICER observations of GRS 1915+105 obtained between 2018 and 2020, during a period in which the source flux decreased steadily, and performed a detailed spectral-timing study of the detected type-C QPOs. We identify a type-C QPO with frequencies ranging from ∼1.3 − 3.9 Hz that displays soft lags and, contrary to the RXTE observations, shows no evidence of hard phase lags at frequencies below 2 Hz. Quasi-simultaneous AMI-LA radio observations show consistently low radio flux (≲5 mJy) during this period. These results suggest that the hard QPO lags in GRS 1915+105 are linked to the presence of strong radio activity, implying that the relativistic jet may be responsible for the hard phase lags. This supports a scenario in which QPO phase lags trace changes in coronal geometry and accretion–ejection coupling in GRS 1915+105.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bellavita2026compelling,
  title = {{Compelling evidence of a link between the lags of the quasi-periodic oscillations and the radio jet in the black-hole X-ray binary GRS 1915+105}},
  author = {Candela Bellavita and Mariano Méndez and Federico García and Sara Motta and Pengcheng Yang and Wyncko Tonckens and Liang Zhang and Rob Fender},
  journal = {Astronomy \& Astrophysics},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202661476},
  url = {https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202661476},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Compelling evidence of a link between the lags of the quasi-periodic oscillations and the radio jet in the black-hole X-ray binary GRS 1915+105
AU  - Candela Bellavita
AU  - Mariano Méndez
AU  - Federico García
AU  - Sara Motta
AU  - Pengcheng Yang
AU  - Wyncko Tonckens
AU  - Liang Zhang
AU  - Rob Fender
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - Astronomy & Astrophysics
DO  - 10.1051/0004-6361/202661476
UR  - https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202661476
AB  - GRS 1915+105 is one of the most studied black-hole X-ray binaries, known for its extreme variability and rich phenomenology. Previous studies of this source using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer reported a transition in the phase lags of type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs): from soft (where low-energy photons lag the high-energy ones) at QPO frequencies above ∼2 Hz to hard at frequencies below ∼2 Hz. The hard lags of the QPO coincide with episodes of strong radio emission. We analysed NICER observations of GRS 1915+105 obtained between 2018 and 2020, during a period in which the source flux decreased steadily, and performed a detailed spectral-timing study of the detected type-C QPOs. We identify a type-C QPO with frequencies ranging from ∼1.3 − 3.9 Hz that displays soft lags and, contrary to the RXTE observations, shows no evidence of hard phase lags at frequencies below 2 Hz. Quasi-simultaneous AMI-LA radio observations show consistently low radio flux (≲5 mJy) during this period. These results suggest that the hard QPO lags in GRS 1915+105 are linked to the presence of strong radio activity, implying that the relativistic jet may be responsible for the hard phase lags. This supports a scenario in which QPO phase lags trace changes in coronal geometry and accretion–ejection coupling in GRS 1915+105.
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
ER  -