The remarkable timing properties of a 'hypersoft' state in GRO J1655-40

Abstract

We report the identification and study of an unusual soft state of the black hole low-mass X-ray binary GRO J1655-40, observed during its 2005 outburst by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Chandra X-ray grating observations have revealed a high-mass-outflow accretion disc wind in this state, and we show that the broad-band X-ray spectrum is remarkably similar to that observed in the so-called hypersoft state of the high-mass X-ray binary Cyg X-3, which possesses a strong stellar wind from a Wolf-Rayet secondary. The power-spectral density (PSD) of GRO J1655-40 shows a bending power-law shape, similar to that of canonical soft states albeit with larger fractional rms. However, the characteristic bend frequency of the PSD is strongly correlated with the X-ray flux, such that the bend frequency increases by two decades for less than a factor 2 increase in flux. The strong evolution of PSD bend frequency for very little change in flux or X-ray spectral shape seems to rule out the suppression of high-frequency variability by scattering in the wind as the origin of the PSD bend. Instead, we suggest that the PSD shape is intrinsic to the variability process and may be linked to the evolution of the scaleheight in a slim disc. An alternative possibility is that variability is introduced by variable absorption and scattering in the wind. We further argue that the hypersoft state in GRO J1655-40 and Cyg X-3 is associated with accretion close to or above the Eddington limit.