Precise mass and spin measurements for a stellar-mass black hole through X-ray timing: The case of GRO J1655-40

Abstract

We present a systematic analysis of the fast time variability properties of the transient black hole binary GRO J1655-40, based on the complete set of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations.We demonstrate that the frequencies of the quasi-periodic oscillations and of the broad-band noise components and their variations match accurately the strong field general relativistic frequencies of particle motion in the close vicinity of the innermost stable circular orbit, as predicted by the relativistic precession model.We obtain high-precision measurements of the black hole mass [M = (5.31 ± 0.07)M⊙, consistent with the value from optical/NIR observations] and spin (a = 0.290 ± 0.003), through the sole use of X-ray timing. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.