376 research outputs found
Faint galactic X-ray binaries
We present a short overview of the properties of faint Galactic Xâray binaries. We place emphasis on current classification scenarios. One of the important parameters for the faint sources is their intrinsic luminosity. In the case of lowâmass Xâray binaries it has recently been realised that besides a phase of radius expansion, the duration of type I Xâray bursts can be used as a primer for the source luminosity in some cases. Further, we show that a very low equivalent width of hydrogen and helium emission lines in the optical spectrum alone is not a tellâtale sign for an ultraâcompact system. Finally, we list and discuss some unusual sources that could be Xâray binaries
Phase resolved spectroscopy and Kepler photometry of the ultracompact AM CVn binary SDSS J190817.07+394036.4
{\it Kepler} satellite photometry and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the
ultracompact AM CVn type binary SDSS J190817.07+394036.4 are presented. The
average spectra reveal a variety of weak metal lines of different species,
including silicon, sulphur and magnesium as well as many lines of nitrogen,
beside the strong absorption lines of neutral helium. The phase-folded spectra
and the Doppler tomograms reveal an S-wave in emission in the core of the He I
4471 \AA\,absorption line at a period of \,sec
identifying this as the orbital period of the system. The Si II, Mg II and the
core of some He I lines show an S-wave in absorption with a phase offset of
compared to the S-wave in emission. The N II, Si III and some
helium lines do not show any phase variability at all. The spectroscopic
orbital period is in excellent agreement with a period at \,sec detected in the three year {\it Kepler} lightcurve. A
Fourier analysis of the Q6 to Q17 short cadence data obtained by {\it Kepler}
revealed a large number of frequencies above the noise level where the majority
shows a large variability in frequency and amplitude. In an O-C analysis we
measured a xs\,s for some of
the strongest variations and set a limit for the orbital period to be
s\,s. The shape of the phase folded
lightcurve on the orbital period indicates the motion of the bright spot.
Models of the system were constructed to see whether the phases of the radial
velocity curves and the lightcurve variation can be combined to a coherent
picture. However, from the measured phases neither the absorption nor the
emission can be explained to originate in the bright spot.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 15 pages, 14 figures, 5 table
Chandra observations of the millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J00291+5934 in quiescence
In this Paper we report on our analysis of three Chandra observations of the
accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J00291+5934 obtained during the
late stages of the 2004 outburst. We also report the serendipitous detection of
the source in quiescence by ROSAT during MJD 48830-48839. The detected 0.3-10
keV source count rates varied significantly between the Chandra observations
from (7.2+-1.2)x10^-3, (6.8+-0.9)x10^-3, and (1.4+-0.1)x10^-2 counts per second
for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Chandra observation, on MJD 53371.88, 53383.99, and
53407.57, respectively. The count rate for the 3rd observation is 2.0+-0.4
times as high as that of the average of the first two observations. The
unabsorbed 0.5-10 keV source flux for the best-fit power-law model to the
source spectrum was (7.9+-2.5)x10^-14, (7.3+-2.0)x10^-14, and
(1.17+-0.22)x10^-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Chandra
observation, respectively. We find that this source flux is consistent with
that found by ROSAT [~(5.4+-2.4)x10^-14 erg cm^-2 s^-1]. Under the assumption
that the interstellar extinction, N_H, does not vary between the observations,
we find that the blackbody temperature during the 2nd Chandra observation is
significantly higher than that during the 1st and 3rd observation. Furthermore,
the effective temperature of the neutron star derived from fitting an absorbed
blackbody or neutron star atmosphere model to the data is rather high in
comparison with many other neutron star soft X-ray transients in quiescence,
even during the 1st and 3rd observation. If we assume that the source quiescent
luminosity is similar to that measured for two other accretion powered
millisecond pulsars in quiescence, the distance to IGR J00291+5934 is 2.6-3.6
kpc.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Accurate X-ray position and multiwavelength observations of the isolated neutron star RBS 1774
We report on X-ray, optical, infrared and radio observations of the X-ray dim
isolated neutron star (XDINS) 1RXS J214303.7+065419 (also known as RBS 1774).
The X-ray observation was performed with the High Resolution Camera on board of
the Chandra X-ray Observatory, allowing us to derive the most accurate position
for this source (alpha = 21h43m3.38s, delta= +6deg54'17".53; 90% uncertainty of
0."6). Furthermore, we confirmed with a higher spatial accuracy the point-like
nature of this X-ray source. Optical and infrared observations were taken in B,
V, r', i', J, H and Ks filters using the Keck, VLT, Blanco and Magellan
telescopes, while radio observations were obtained from the ATNF Parkes single
dish at 2.9GHz and 708MHz. No plausible optical and/or infrared counterpart for
RBS 1774 was detected within the refined sub-arsecond Chandra X-ray error
circle. Present upper limits to the optical and infrared magnitudes are r'>25.7
and J>22.6 (5 sigma confidence level). Radio observations did not show evidence
for radio pulsations down to a luminosity at 1.4 GHz of L < 0.02 mJy kpc^2, the
deepest limit up to date for any XDINS, and lower than what expected for the
majority of radio pulsars. We can hence conclude that, if RBS 1774 is active as
radio pulsar, its non detection is more probably due to a geometrical bias
rather than to a luminosity bias. Furthermore, no convincing evidence for
RRAT-like radio bursts have been found. Our results on RBS 1774 are discussed
and compared with the known properties of other thermally emitting neutron
stars and of the radio pulsar population.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
Initial measurements of black hole spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku spectroscopy
We report on a deep Suzaku observation of the stellar-mass black hole GX 339-4 in outburst. A clear, strong, relativistically shaped iron emission line from the inner accretion disk is observed. The broadband disk reflection spectrum revealed is one of the most sensitive yet obtained from an accreting black hole. We fit the Suzaku spectra with a physically motivated disk reflection model, blurred by a new relativistic line function in which the black hole spin parameter is a variable. This procedure yielded a black hole spin parameter of a p. Joint modeling of these Suzaku spectra and prior XMM-Newton spectra obtained in two different 0.89 +/- 0.04 outburst phases yields a spin parameter of a = 0.93 +/- 0.01. The degree of consistency between these results suggests that disk reflection models allow for spin measurements that are not strongly biased by scattering effects. We suggest that the best value of the black hole spin parameter is a = 0.93 +/- 0.01 (statistical) +/- 0.04 (systematic). Although preliminary, these results represent the first direct measurement of nonzero spin in a stellar-mass black hole using relativistic line modeling
Tomographic approach to resolving the distribution of LISA Galactic binaries
The space based gravitational wave detector LISA is expected to observe a
large population of Galactic white dwarf binaries whose collective signal is
likely to dominate instrumental noise at observational frequencies in the range
10^{-4} to 10^{-3} Hz. The motion of LISA modulates the signal of each binary
in both frequency and amplitude, the exact modulation depending on the source
direction and frequency. Starting with the observed response of one LISA
interferometer and assuming only doppler modulation due to the orbital motion
of LISA, we show how the distribution of the entire binary population in
frequency and sky position can be reconstructed using a tomographic approach.
The method is linear and the reconstruction of a delta function distribution,
corresponding to an isolated binary, yields a point spread function (psf). An
arbitrary distribution and its reconstruction are related via smoothing with
this psf. Exploratory results are reported demonstrating the recovery of binary
sources, in the presence of white Gaussian noise.Comment: 13 Pages and 9 figures high resolution figures can be obtains from
http://www.phys.utb.edu/~rajesh/lisa_tomography.pd
Variability of Optical Counterparts in the Chandra Galactic Bulge Survey
We present optical lightcurves of variable stars consistent with the
positions of X-ray sources identified with the Chandra X-ray Observatory for
the Chandra Galactic Bulge Survey. Using data from the Mosaic-II instrument on
the Blanco 4m Telescope at CTIO, we gathered time-resolved photometric data on
timescales from hr to 8 days over the of the X-ray survey
containing sources from the initial GBS catalog. Among the lightcurve
morphologies we identify are flickering in interacting binaries, eclipsing
sources, dwarf nova outbursts, ellipsoidal variations, long period variables,
spotted stars, and flare stars. of X-ray sources have at least one
potential optical counterpart. of these candidate counterparts are
detectably variable; a much greater fraction than expected for randomly
selected field stars, which suggests that most of these variables are real
counterparts. We discuss individual sources of interest, provide variability
information on candidate counterparts, and discuss the characteristics of the
variable population.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement
The massive neutron star or low-mass black hole in 2S0921-630
We report on optical spectroscopy of the eclipsing Halo LMXB 2S0921-630, that
reveals the absorption line radial velocity curve of the K0III secondary star
with a semi-amplitude K_2=92.89 +/- 3.84 km/s, a systemic velocity
=34.9 +/- 3.3 \kms and an orbital period P_orb of 9.0035 +/- 0.0029 day
(1-sigma). Given the quality of the data, we find no evidence for the effects
of X-ray irradiation. Using the previously determined rotational broadening of
the mass donor, and applying conservative limits on the orbital inclination, we
constrain the compact object mass to be 2.0-4.3 Msolar (1-sigma), ruling out a
canonical neutron star at the 99% level. Since the nature of the compact object
is unclear, this mass range implies that the compact object is either a
low-mass black hole with a mass slightly higher than the maximum neutron star
mass (2.9 Msolar) or a massive neutron star. If the compact object is a black
hole, it confirms the prediction of the existence of low-mass black holes,
while if the object is a massive neutron star its high mass severely constrains
the equation of state of nuclear matter.Comment: Accepted by ApJ
SDSS J124058.03-015919.2: A new AM CVn star with a 37-minute orbital period
We present high time resolution VLT spectroscopy of SDSS J124058.03-015919.2,
a new helium-transferring binary star identified in the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey. We measure an orbital period of 37.355+/-0.002 minutes, confirming the
AM CVn nature of the system. From the velocity amplitudes of the accretor and
the accretion stream--disc impact, we derive a mass ratio q=0.039+/-0.010. Our
spectral coverage extends from 3700A--9500A and shows the presence of helium,
nitrogen, silicon and iron in the accretion disc, plus the redshifted,
low-velocity "central spikes" in the helium lines, known from the low-state AM
CVn stars GP Com and CE 315. Doppler tomography of the helium and silicon
emission lines reveals an unusual pattern of two bright emission sites in the
tomograms, instead of the usual one emission site identified with the impact of
the mass stream into the accretion disc. One of the two is preferred as the
conventional stream--disc impact point in velocity space, at the 3-sigma
confidence level. We speculate briefly on the origin of the second.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The Relationship Between X-ray Luminosity and Duty Cycle for Dwarf Novae and their Specific Frequency in the Inner Galaxy
We measure the duty cycles for an existing sample of well observed, nearby
dwarf novae using data from AAVSO, and present a quantitative empirical
relation between the duty cycle of dwarf novae outbursts and the X-ray
luminosity of the system in quiescence. We have found that , where
DC stands for duty cycle. We note that there is intrinsic scatter in this
relation greater than what is expected from purely statistical errors. Using
the dwarf nova X-ray luminosity functions from \citet{Pretorius12} and
\citet{Byckling10}, we compare this relation to the number of dwarf novae in
the Galactic Bulge Survey which were identified through optical outbursts
during an 8-day long monitoring campaign. We find a specific frequency of X-ray
bright () Cataclysmic Variables undergoing
Dwarf Novae outbursts in the direction of the Galactic Bulge of
. Such a specific frequency would give
a Solar neighborhood space density of long period CVs of
pc. We advocate the use of specific
frequency in future work, given that projects like LSST will detect DNe well
outside the distance range over which .Comment: 9 pagers, 4 figures Accepted for publication in MNRA
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