258 research outputs found
Broadband observations of the X-ray burster 4U 1705-44 with BeppoSAX
4U 1705-44 is one of the most-studied type I X-ray burster and Atoll sources.
This source represents a perfect candidate to test different models proposed to
self-consistently track the physical changes occurring between different
spectral states because it shows clear spectral state transitions. The
broadband coverage, the sensitivity and energy resolution of the BeppoSAX
satellite offers the opportunity to disentangle the components that form the
total X-ray spectrum and to study their changes according to the spectral
state. Using two BeppoSAX observations carried out in August and October 2000,
respectively, for a total effective exposure time of about 100 ks, we study the
spectral evolution of the source from a soft to hard state. Energy spectra are
selected according to the source position in the color-color diagram (CCD)
Results. We succeeded in modeling the spectra of the source using a physical
self-consistent scenario for both the island and banana branches (the double
Comptonization scenario). The components observed are the soft Comptonization
and hard Comptonization, the blackbody, and a reflection component with a broad
iron line. When the source moves from the banana state to the island state, the
parameters of the two Comptonization components change significantly and the
blackbody component becomes too weak to be detected. We interpret the soft
Comptonization component as emission from the hot plasma surrounding the
neutron star, hard Comptonization as emission from the disk region, and the
blackbody component as emission from the inner accretion disk. The broad
feature in the iron line region is compatible with reflection from the inner
accretion disk.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication by A&
Testing reflection features in 4U 1705-44 with XMM-Newton, BeppoSAX and RXTE in the hard and soft state
We use data of the bright atoll source 4U 1705-44 taken with XMM-Newton,
BeppoSAX and RXTE both in the hard and in the soft state to perform a
self-consistent study of the reflection component in this source. Although the
data from these X-ray observatories are not simultaneous, the spectral
decomposition is shown to be consistent among the different observations, when
the source flux is similar. We therefore select observations performed at
similar flux levels in the hard and soft state in order to study the spectral
shape in these two states in a broad band (0.1-200 keV) energy range, with good
energy resolution, and using self-consistent reflection models. These
reflection models provide a good fit for the X-ray spectrum both in the hard
and in the soft state in the whole spectral range. We discuss the differences
in the main spectral parameters we find in the hard and the soft state,
respectively, providing evidence that the inner radius of the optically thick
disk slightly recedes in the hard state.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 20 pages, 12 figure
A relativistic iron emission line from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 3+1
We present the results of a spectroscopic study of the Fe K{\alpha} emission
of the persistent neutron-star atoll low-mass X-ray binary and type I X-ray
burster GX 3+1 with the EPIC-PN on board XMM-Newton. The source shows a flux
modulation over several years and we observed it during its fainter phase,
which corresponds to an X-ray luminosity of Lx~10^37 ergs/s. When fitted with a
two-component model, the X-ray spectrum shows broad residuals at \sim6-7 keV
that can be ascribed to an iron K{\alpha} fluorescence line. In addition, lower
energy features are observed at \sim3.3 keV, \sim3.9 keV and might originate
from Ar XVIII and Ca XIX. The broad iron line feature is well fitted with a
relativistically smeared profile. This result is robust against possible
systematics caused by instrumental pile-up effects. Assuming that the line is
produced by reflection from the inner accretion disk, we infer an inner disk
radius of \sim25 Rg and a disk inclination of 35{\deg} < i < 44{\deg}.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
The reflection component in NS LMXBs
Thanks to the good spectral resolution and large effective area of the EPIC/PN instrument on board of XMM-Newton, we have at hand a large number of observations of accreting low-mass X-ray binaries, that allow for the fist time a comprehensive view on the characteristics of the reflection component at different accretion regimes and to probe the effects of a magnetosphere on its formation. We focus here on a comparative analysis of the reflection component from a series of spectroscopic studies on selected sources: 4U 1705-44, observed both in the soft and hard state, the pulsating ms pulsars SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J17511-3057, and the intermittent pulsar HETE J1900-2455. Although the sources can present very similar accretion rates and continuum shapes, the reflection parameters do not generally result the same, moreover the effect of a magnetosphere on the formation of the reflection component appears elusive. \ua9 2014 Owned by the authors
X-ray bursts and burst oscillations from the slowly spinning X-ray pulsar IGR J17480-2446 (Terzan 5)
The newly discovered 11 Hz accreting pulsar, IGR J17480-2446, located in the
globular cluster Terzan 5, has shown several bursts with a recurrence time as
short as few minutes. The source shows the shortest recurrence time ever
observed from a neutron star. Here we present a study of the morphological,
spectral and temporal properties of 107 of the bursts observed by the Rossi
X-ray Timing Explorer. The recurrence time and the fluence of the bursts
clearly anticorrelate with the increase of the persistent X-ray flux. The ratio
between the energy generated by the accretion of mass and that liberated during
bursts indicate that Helium is ignited in a Hydrogen rich layer. Therefore we
conclude that all the bursts shown by IGR J17480-2446 are Type-I X-Ray bursts.
Pulsations could be detected in all the brightest bursts and no drifts of the
frequency are observed within 0.25 Hz of the spin frequency of the neutron
star. These are also phase locked with respect to the pulsations observed
during the persistent emission and no rise of the rms associated to the pulse
frequency is observed during the burst. This behavior would favor a scenario
where the flash is ignited within a region which is consistent to be as large
as the neutron star surface.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures and 2 tables. Accepted by MNRAS 2011 February 06.
Received 2011 January 07 ; in original form 2010 November 2
The pulse profile and spin evolution of the accreting pulsar in Terzan 5, IGR J17480−2446, during its 2010 outburst
We analyse the spectral and pulse properties of the 11 Hz transient accreting pulsar, IGR J17480−2446, in the globular cluster Terzan 5, considering all the available Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, Swift and INTEGRAL observations performed during the outburst shown between 2010 October and November. By measuring the pulse phase evolution we conclude that the neutron star (NS) spun up at an average rate of Hz s−1, compatible with the accretion of the Keplerian angular momentum of matter at the inner disc boundary. This confirms the trend previously observed by Papitto et al., who considered only the first few weeks of the outburst. Similar to other accreting pulsars, the stability of the pulse phases determined by using the second harmonic component is higher than that of the phases based on the fundamental frequency. Under the assumption that the second harmonic is a good tracer of the NS spin frequency, we successfully model its evolution in terms of a luminosity-dependent accretion torque. If the NS accretes the specific Keplerian angular momentum of the in-flowing matter, we estimate the inner disc radius to lie between 47 and 93 km when the luminosity attains its peak value. Smaller values are obtained if the interaction between the magnetic field lines and the plasma in the disc is considered. The phase-averaged spectrum is described by thermal Comptonization of photons with energy of ≈1 keV. A hard to soft state transition is observed during the outburst rise. The Comptonized spectrum evolves from a Comptonizing cloud at an electron temperature of ≈20 keV towards an optically denser cloud at kTe≈ 3 keV. At the same time, the pulse amplitude decreases from 27 per cent to few per cent, as already noted by Papitto et al., and becomes strongly energy dependent. We discuss various possibilities to explain such a behaviour, proposing that at large accretion luminosities a significant fraction of the in-falling matter is not channelled towards the magnetic poles, but rather accretes more evenly on to the NS surfac
Where Have All the Submillisecond Pulsars Gone?
The existence of pulsars with spin period below one millisecond is expected,
though they have not been detected up to now. Their formation depends on the
quantity of matter accreted from the companion which, in turn, is limited by
the mechanism of mass ejection from the binary. Mass ejection must be
efficient, at least in some cases, in order to produce the observed population
of moderately fast spinning millisecond pulsars. First we demonstrate, in the
framework of the widely accepted recycling scenario, using a population
synthesis approach, that a significant number of pulsars with spin period below
one millisecond is expected. Then we propose that significant variations in the
mass-transfer rate may cause, in systems with orbital periods larger than 1 hr,
the switch-on of a radio pulsar whose radiation pressure is capable of ejecting
out of the system most of the matter transferred by the companion and prevent
any further accretion. We show how this mechanism could dramatically alter the
binary evolution since the mechanism that drives mass overflow from the inner
Lagrangian point is still active while the accretion is inhibited. Moreover we
demonstrate that the persistency of this ``radio ejection'' phase depends on
the binary orbital period, demonstrating that close systems (orbital periods
lower than 1 hr) are the only possible hosts for ultra fast spinning neutron
stars. This could explain why submillisecond pulsars have not been detected so
far, as current radio surveys are hampered by computational limitations with
respect to the detection of very short spin period pulsars in short orbital
period binaries.Comment: 15 pages including 5 figures. To appear in Evolution of Binary and
Multiple Stars, Procs. Conf. in Bormio, Italy, June 2000, eds. P.
Podsiadlowski, S. Rappaport, A. King, F. D'Antona, and L. Burderi (San
Francisco: ASP
The spin and orbit of the newly discovered pulsar IGR J17480-2446
We present an analysis of the spin and orbital properties of the newly
discovered accreting pulsar IGR J17480-2446, located in the globular cluster
Terzan 5. Considering the pulses detected by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer at
a period of 90.539645(2) ms, we derive a solution for the 21.27454(8) hr binary
system. The binary mass function is estimated to be 0.021275(5) Msun,
indicating a companion star with a mass larger than 0.4 Msun. The X-ray pulsar
spins up while accreting at a rate of between 1.2 and 1.7E-12 Hz/s, in
agreement with the accretion of disc matter angular momentum given the observed
luminosity.
We also report the detection of pulsations at the spin period of the source
during a Swift observation performed ~2 d before the beginning of the RXTE
coverage. Assuming that the inner disc radius lies in between the neutron star
radius and the corotation radius while the source shows pulsations, we estimate
the magnetic field of the neutron star to be within ~2E8 G and ~2.4E10 G. From
this estimate, the value of the spin period and of the observed spin-up rate,
we associate this source with the still poorly sampled population of slow,
mildly recycled, accreting pulsars.Comment: 5 pages, accepted by A&A Letters on 2010 Nov 30. Timing solution
derived on a longer time interval with respect to the previous versio
Disappearance of Hard X-ray Emission in the Last BeppoSAX Observation of the Z Source GX 349+2
We report on the results from two BeppoSAX observations of the Z source GX
349+2 performed in February 2001 and covering the broad energy range 0.12-200
keV. The light curve obtained from these observations shows a large flaring
activity, the count rate varying from ~130 to ~260 counts/s, indicating that
the source was in the flaring branch during these observations. The average
spectrum is well described by a soft blackbody and a Comptonized component. To
well fit the energy spectrum three gaussian lines are needed at 1.2 keV, 2.6
keV, and 6.7 keV with corresponding equivalent widths of 13 eV, 10 eV, and 39
eV, probably associated to L-shell emission of Fe XXIV, Ly-alpha S XVI, and Fe
XXV, respectively. These lines may be produced at different distances from the
neutron star, which increase when the count rate of the source increases. An
absorption edge is also needed at 9 keV with an optical depth of ~3 10^{-2}.
From the Color-Color Diagram (CD) we selected five zones from which we
extracted the corresponding energy spectra. The temperatures of the blackbody
and of the Comptonized component tend to increase when the intensity of the
source increases. We discuss our results comparing them to those obtained from
a previous BeppoSAX observation, performed in March 2000, during which the
source was a similar position of its Z-track. In particular we find that,
although the source showed similar spectral states in the 2000 and the 2001
observations, a hard tail, that was significantly detected in March 2000, is
not observed in these recent observations.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
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