The Spectral Evolution along the Z track of the Bright Neutron Star X-ray Binary GX 17+2

Z sources are bright neutron-star X-ray binaries, accreting at around the Eddington limit. We analyze the 68 RXTE observations (270 ks) of Sco-like Z source GX 17+2 made between 1999 October 3-12, covering a complete Z track. We create and fit color-resolved spectra with a model consisting of a thermal multicolor disk, a single-temperature-blackbody boundary layer and a weak Comptonized component. We find that, similar to what was observed for XTE J1701-462 in its Sco-like Z phase, the branches of GX 17+2 can be explained by three processes operating at a constant accretion rate Mdot into the disk: increase of Comptonization up the horizontal branch, transition from a standard thin disk to a slim disk up the normal branch, and temporary fast decrease of the inner disk radius up the flaring branch. We also model the Comptonization in an empirically self-consistent way, with its seed photons tied to the thermal disk component and corrected for to recover the pre-Comptonized thermal disk emission. This allows us to show a constant Mdot along the entire Z track based on the thermal disk component. We also measure the upper kHz QPO frequency and find it to depend on the apparent inner disk radius R_in (prior to Compton scattering) approximately as frequency \propto R_in^(-3/2), supporting the idenfitication of it as the Keplerian frequency at R_in. The horizontal branch oscillation is probably related to the dynamics in the inner disk as well, as both its frequency and R_in vary significantly on the horizontal branch but become relatively constant on the normal branch.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Hard X-ray Emission from the M87 AGN Detected with NuSTAR

M87 hosts a 3-6 billion solar mass black hole with a remarkable relativistic jet that has been regularly monitored in radio to TeV bands. However, hard X-ray emission \gtrsim 10keV, which would be expected to primarily come from the jet or the accretion flow, had never been detected from its unresolved X-ray core. We report NuSTAR detection up to 40 keV from the the central regions of M87. Together with simultaneous Chandra observations, we have constrained the dominant hard X-ray emission to be from its unresolved X-ray core, presumably in its quiescent state. The core spectrum is well fitted by a power law with photon index Gamma=2.11 (+0.15 -0.11). The measured flux density at 40 keV is consistent with a jet origin, although emission from the advection-dominated accretion flow cannot be completely ruled out. The detected hard X-ray emission is significantly lower than that predicted by synchrotron self-Compton models introduced to explain emission above a GeV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, updated to better match the published version in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. A minor typo in the published version (angular scale should be 1 arcsec = 78 pc instead, no result of the paper is affected) is fixed her

The accretion process in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2009.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-221).There had been long-standing fundamental problems in the spectral studies of accreting neutron stars (NSs) in low-mass X-ray binaries involving the X-ray spectral decomposition, the relations between subtypes (mainly atoll and Z sources), and the origins of different X- ray states. Atoll sources are less luminous and have both hard and soft spectral states, while Z sources have three distinct branches (horizontal(HB)/normal(NB)/flaring(FB)) whose spectra are mostly soft. I analyzed more than twelve-year RXTE observations (~ 2500 in total) of four atoll sources Aql X-1, 4U 1608-522, 4U 1705-44, and 4U 1636-536. I developed a hybrid spec- tral model for accreting NSs. In this model, atoll hard-state spectra are described by a single-temperature blackbody (BB), presumed to model emission from the boundary layer where the accreted material impacts the NS surface, and a strong Comptonized compo- nent, modeled by a cutoffpl power law (CPL). Atoll soft-state spectra are described by two thermal components, i.e., a multicolor disk (MCD) and a BB, with additional weak Comp- tonized component, modeled by a single power law. I found that the accretion disk in most of the soft state is truncated at a constant value, most probably at the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO), predicted by general relativity. This allows us to derive upper limits of magnetic fields on the NS surface of the above four atoll sources. The apparent emission area of the boundary layer is small, ~1/16 of the whole NS surface, but is fairly constant, spanning the hard and soft states. All this was not seen if the classical models for thermal emission plus high Comptonization were used instead. By tracking the accretion rate onto the NS surface, I inferred a strong mass jet in the hard state. My study of 4U 1705-44 using broadband spectra from Suzaku and BeppoSAX supported the above results. From my spectral study of the above four atoll sources, I also found that in a part of the soft state with frequent occurrences of kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs), the accretion disk appears to be truncated at larger radii than in other parts of the soft state where the disk is presumably truncated at the ISCO. Thus the production of kHz QPOs in accreting NSs should be closely related to the behavior of the accretion disk. It is well known that the kHz QPO amplitude spectrum tracks the BB, even though we see no changes in the BB spectral evolution track when kHz QPOs are present. The simplest interpretation is that accretion oscillations are imparted in the inner disk and then seen as the waves impact the NS surface in the boundary layer. The transient XTE J1701-462 (2006-2007) is the only source known to exhibit properties of both the Z and atoll types. I carried out the state/branch classifications of all the ~900 RXTE observations. The Z-source branches evolved substantially in the X-ray color-color diagram during this outburst. In the decay, the HB, NB and FB disappeared successively, with the NB/FB transition evolving to the atoll-source soft state. Spectral analyses using my new spectral model show that the inner disk radius maintains at a nearly constant value, presumably at ISCO, when the source behaves as an atoll source in the soft state, but increases with accretion rates when the source behaves as a Z source at high luminosity. We interpreted this as local Eddington limit effects and advection domination in the accretion disk. The disks in the two Z vertices probably represent two stable accretion configurations, and we speculate that the lower (NB/FB) vertex represents a standard thin disk and the upper (HB/NB) vertex a slim disk. The changes in the accretion rate are responsible for movement of Z-source branches and the evolution from one source type to another. However, the three Z-source branches are caused by three mechanisms that operate at a roughly constant accretion rate. The FB is an instability tied to the Eddington limit. It is formed as the inner disk radius temporarily decreases toward the ISCO. The NB is traced out mostly due to changes in the boundary layer emission area, as a result of the system transiting from a standard thin disk to a slim disk. The HB is formed with the increase in Comptonization, consistent with strong radio emission detected from this branch.by Dacheng Lin.Ph.D

SPECTRAL STATES OF XTE J1701 – 462: LINK BETWEEN Z AND ATOLL SOURCES

We have analyzed 866 Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the 2006–2007 outburst of the accreting neutron star XTE J1701 −462, during which the source evolves from super-Eddington luminosities to quiescence. The X-ray color evolution first resembles the Cyg X-2 subgroup of Z sources, with frequent excursions on the horizontal and normal branches (HB/NB). The source then decays and evolves to the Sco X-1 subgroup, with increasing focus on the flaring branch (FB) and the lower vertex of the "Z." Finally, the FB subsides, and the source transforms into an atoll source, with the lower vertex evolving to the atoll soft state. Spectral analyses suggest that the atoll stage is characterized by a constant inner disk radius, while the Z stages exhibit a luminosity-dependent expansion of the inner disk, which we interpret as effects related to the local Eddington limit. Contrary to the view that the mass accretion rate ([dot over m]) changes along the Z, we find that changes in [dot over m] are instead responsible for the secular evolution of the Z and the subclasses. Motion along the Z branches appears to be caused by three different mechanisms that may operate at roughly constant . For the Sco X-1-like Z stage, we find that the FB is an instability track that proceeds off the lower vertex when the inner disk radius shrinks from the value set by the X-ray luminosity toward the value measured for the atoll soft state. Excursions up the NB occur when the apparent size of the boundary layer increases while the disk exhibits little change. The HB is associated with Comptonization of the disk emission. The Z branches for the Cyg X-2-like stage are more complicated, and their origin is unclear. Finally, our spectral results lead us to hypothesize that the lower and upper Z vertices correspond to a standard thin disk and a slim disk, respectively.High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (Goddard Space Flight Center