Measuring the Motion of the Black Hole in GRO J1655–40

We report optical spectroscopic observations of the low-mass X-ray binary GRO J1655-40 during outbursts in 1994 August-September and in 1996 June. The spectra show emission and absorption lines from the accretion disk surrounding the X-ray source, which have enabled us to measure the motion of the black hole candidate in this system. It is the first time among black hole candidates that an emission-line radial velocity curve is seen in phase with the expected motion of the primary. The projected radial velocity semiamplitude determined for the primary (KX = 76.2±7.5 km s-1), combined with estimates of the projected radial velocity semiamplitude of the companion star from previous observations (KC=228.2±3.0 km s-2), yields a 95% confidence limit, derived purely from kinematics, of MX > 5.1 M☉ for the mass of the compact object in GRO J1655-40, confirming its black hole nature.

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