Reprocessing from Highly Ionized Gas in the Soft Spectral State of V4641 Sgr with NuSTAR

Abstract

V4641 Sgr is a low-mass black hole X-ray binary system with somewhat puzzling spectral characteristics during its soft state. Recent high-resolution spectroscopic studies of V4641 Sgr have revealed strong ionized emission-line features in both the optical and X-ray bands, including P-Cygni signatures, and an unusually low soft-state luminosity, indicating that the central engine is obscured. Here, we present an analysis of five Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observations of V4641 Sgr taken during its recent outburst in 2021, when the source was in the soft state. We identify highly ionized Fe K emission lines—consistent with a combination of the near-neutral 6.4 keV Fe Kα line and the H-like and He-like Fe Kα and Fe Kβ transitions found at 6.7–7 keV and ∼8 keV—and find no evidence for strong relativistic broadening. The line fluxes correlate linearly with the observed disk continuum flux, implying a direct connection between the central engine and the reprocessing region. Most interestingly, all five spectra also show a persistent highly ionized Fe K continuum edge feature at ∼9 keV with a stable optical depth, which is likely smeared, implying a localized reprocessing zone. We find tentative supporting evidence for obscuration of the inner accretion disk based on its unusually low intrinsic luminosity, although the NuSTAR spectra do not require obscuration from cold, optically thick gas.