QPOs in Microquasars: the Spin Problem

Abstract In Galactic microquasars with double-peak kHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), the ratio of the two frequencies is 3:2. This supports the suggestion that double-peak kHz QPOs are due to a non-linear resonance between two modes of accretion disk oscillations. For the microquasars with known mass, we briefly compare the black hole spin estimates based on the orbital resonance model with the recently reported spin predictions obtained by fitting the spectral continua. Results of these two approaches are not in good agreement. We stress that if the spectral fit estimates are accurate and can be taken as referential (which is still questionable), the disagreement between the predicted and referential values would represent a rather generic problem for any relativistic QPO model, as no spin influence would appear in the observed 1/ M scaling of the QPO frequencies. The epicyclic frequencies relevant in these models are often considered to be equal to those of a test particle motion. However modifications of the frequencies due to disc pressure or other non-geodesic effects may play an important role, and the inaccuracy introduced in the spin estimates by the test particle approximation could be crucial.

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