Orbital Decay and Evidence of Disk Formation in the X-ray Binary Pulsar OAO 1657-415

OAO 1657-415 is an eclipsing X-ray binary wind-fed pulsar that has exhibited smooth spin-up/spin-down episodes and has undergone several torque reversals throughout its long history of observation. We present a frequency history spanning nearly 19 years of observations from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (CGRO/BATSE) and from the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (Fermi/GBM). The analysis suggests two modes of accretion: one resulting in steady spin-up during which we believe a stable accretion disk is present and one that results in what appears to be a random walk in spin frequency where an unstable accretion disk forms alternating in direction ("flip flop"). Orbital elements of the pulsar system are determined at several intervals throughout this history. With these ephemerides, statistically significant orbital decay ($\dot{P}/P =(-3.40 \pm0.15)\times10^{-6} \mathrm{yr^{-1}}$) is established suggesting a transition between wind-fed and disk-mediated accretion

4U 1626-67 as seen by Suzaku before and after the 2008 torque reversal

Aims. The accretion-powered pulsar 4U 1626-67 experienced a new torque reversal at the beginning of 2008, after about 18 years of steadily spinning down. The main goal of the present work is to study this recent torque reversal that occurred in 2008 February. Methods. We present a spectral analysis of this source using two pointed observations performed by Suzaku in 2006 March and in 2010 September. Results. We confirm with Suzaku the presence of a strong emission-line complex centered on 1 keV, with the strongest line being the hydrogen-like Ne Ly-alpha at 1.025(3) keV. We were able to resolve this complex with up to seven emission lines. A dramatic increase of the intensity of the Ne Ly-alpha line after the 2008 torque reversal occurred, with the equivalent width of this line reaching almost the same value measured by ASCA in 1993. We also report on the detection of a cyclotron line feature centered at ~37 keV. In spite of the fact that an increase of the X-ray luminosity (0.5-100 keV) of a factor of ~2.8 occurred between these two observations, no significant change in the energy of the cyclotron line feature was observed. However, the intensity of the ~1 keV line complex increased by an overall factor of ~8. Conclusions. Our results favor a scenario in which the neutron star in 4U 1626-67 accretes material from a geometrically thin disk during both the spin-up and spin-down phases.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures and 2 tables. Accepted in A&

Earth Occultation Imaging of the Low Energy Gamma-Ray Sky with GBM

The Earth Occultation Technique (EOT) has been applied to Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) to perform all-sky monitoring for a predetermined catalog of hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray sources. In order to search for sources not in the catalog, thus completing the catalog and reducing a source of systematic error in EOT, an imaging method has been developed -- Imaging with a Differential filter using the Earth Occultation Method (IDEOM). IDEOM is a tomographic imaging method that takes advantage of the orbital precession of the Fermi satellite. Using IDEOM, all-sky reconstructions have been generated for ~sim 4 years of GBM data in the 12-50 keV, 50-100 keV and 100-300 keV energy bands in search of sources otherwise unmodeled by the GBM occultation analysis. IDEOM analysis resulted in the detection of 57 sources in the 12-50 keV energy band, 23 sources in the 50-100 keV energy band, and 7 sources in the 100-300 keV energy band. Seventeen sources were not present in the original GBM-EOT catalog and have now been added. We also present the first joined averaged spectra for four persistent sources detected by GBM using EOT and by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi: NGC 1275, 3C 273, Cen A, and the Crab

The pre-outburst flare of the A 0535+26 August/September 2005 outburst

We study the spectral and temporal behavior of the High Mass X-ray Binary A 0535+26 during a `pre-outburst flare' which took place ~5 d before the peak of a normal (type I) outburst in August/September 2005. We compare the studied behavior with that observed during the outburst. We analyse RXTE observations that monitored A 0535+26 during the outburst. We complete spectral and timing analyses of the data. We study the evolution of the pulse period, present energy-dependent pulse profiles both at the initial pre-outburst flare and close to outburst maximum, and measure how the cyclotron resonance-scattering feature (hereafter CRSF) evolves. We present three main results: a constant period P=103.3960(5)s is measured until periastron passage, followed by a spin-up with a decreasing period derivative of Pdot=(-1.69+/-0.04)x10^(-8)s/s at MJD 53618, and P remains constant again at the end of the main outburst. The spin-up provides evidence for the existence of an accretion disk during the normal outburst. We measure a CRSF energy of Ecyc~50kev during the pre-outburst flare, and Ecyc~46kev during the main outburst. The pulse shape, which varies significantly during both pre-outburst flare and main outburst, evolves strongly with photon energy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters. To be published in parallel to Postnov et al. 200