The outburst duration and duty-cycle of GRS 1915+105

Understand

The extraordinarily long outburst of GRS 1915+105 makes it one of the most remarkable low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs).

• It has been in a state of constant outburst since its discovery in 1992, an eruption which has persisted ~100 times longer than those of more typical LXMBs.
• The long orbital period of GRS 1915+105 implies that it contains large and massive accretion disc which is able to fuel its extreme outburst.
• In this paper, we address the longevity of the outburst and quiescence phases of GRS 1915+105 using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of its accretion disc through many outburst cycles.