Probing large-scale wind structures in Vela X-1 using off-states with INTEGRAL

Vela X-1 is the prototype of the class of wind-fed accreting pulsars in high mass X-ray binaries hosting a supergiant donor. We have analyzed in a systematic way ten years of INTEGRAL data of Vela X-1 (22-50 keV) and we found that when outside the X-ray eclipse, the source undergoes several luminosity drops where the hard X-rays luminosity goes below 3x10^35 erg/s, becoming undetected by INTEGRAL. These drops in the X-ray flux are usually referred to as "off-states" in the literature. We have investigated the distribution of these off-states along the Vela X-1 ~8.9 d orbit, finding that their orbital occurrence displays an asymmetric distribution, with a higher probability to observe an off-state near the pre-eclipse than during the post-eclipse. This asymmetry can be explained by scattering of hard X-rays in a region of ionized wind, able to reduce the source hard X-ray brightness preferentially near eclipse ingress. We associate this ionized large-scale wind structure with the photoionization wake produced by the interaction of the supergiant wind with the X-ray emission from the neutron star. We emphasize that this observational result could be obtained thanks to the accumulation of a decade of INTEGRAL data, with observations covering the whole orbit several times, allowing us to detect an asymmetric pattern in the orbital distribution of off-states in Vela X-1.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (5 pages, 3 figures). A few typos fixed to match the published versio

Probing the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in CoFeB ultrathin films using domain wall creep and Brillouin light spectroscopy

We have characterized the strength of the interfacial Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in ultrathin perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB/MgO films, grown on different underlayers of W, TaN, and Hf, using two experimental methods. First, we determined the effective DMI field from measurements of field-driven domain wall motion in the creep regime, where applied in-plane magnetic fields induce an anisotropy in the wall propagation that is correlated with the DMI strength. Second, Brillouin light spectroscopy was employed to quantify the frequency non-reciprocity of spin waves in the CoFeB layers, which yielded an independent measurement of the DMI. By combining these results, we show that DMI estimates from the different techniques only yield qualitative agreement, which suggests that open questions remain on the underlying models used to interpret these results.Comment: 8 page

Unidirectional Thermal Effects in Current-Induced Domain Wall Motion

We report experimental evidence of thermal effects on the displacement of vortex walls in NiFe nanostrips. With the use of nanosecond current pulses, a unidirectional motion of the magnetic domain walls towards the hotter part of the nanostrips is observed, in addition to current-induced domain wall motion. By tuning the heat dissipation in the samples and modeling the heat diffusion, we conclude that this unidirectional motion can only be explained by the presence of a temperature profile along the nanostrip. A quantitative analysis of the experiments shows that, on top of the classical thermodynamic pressure on the domain wall, another force, probably the magnonic spin Seebeck effect, is displacing the domain walls.Fil: Torrejon, J.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Malinowski, G.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Pelloux, M.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Weil, R.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Thiaville, A.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Curiale, Carlos Javier. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Lacour, D.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Montaigne, F.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Hehn, M.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Franci

The Eclipsing Binary BG Geminorum: Improved Constraints on the Orbit and the Structure of the Accretion Disk

We describe new optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the semi-detached eclipsing binary BG Geminorum. A large change in the amount of Mg I absorption at secondary maximum indicates the presence of cool material in the outer edge of the disk surrounding the unseen primary star. Detection of weak He I emission implies a hot radiation source at the inner edge of the disk. If the velocity variations in the Hbeta emission line track the orbital motion of the primary star, the primary star has an orbital semiamplitude of K1 = K(Hbeta) = 16.0 +- 4.6 km/sec. This result yields a mass ratio, q = 0.22 +- 0.07, consistent with the q = 0.1 derived from the large ellipsoidal variation. Despite this progress, the nature of the primary star - B-type star or black hole - remains uncertain.Comment: 9 pages of text, 3 tables, and 4 figures; to appear in AJ, August 200

On the apparent absence of WR+NS systems: the curious case of WR124

Among different types of massive stars in advanced evolutionary stages is the enigmatic WN8h type. There are only a few Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with this spectral type in our Galaxy. It has long been suggested that WN8h-type stars are the products of binary evolution that may harbor neutron stars (NS). One of the most intriguing WN8h stars is the runaway WR124 surrounded by its magnificent nebula M1-67. We test the presence of an accreting NS companion in WR124 using 100 ks long observations by the Chandra X-ray observatory. The hard X-ray emission from WR124 with a luminosity of $L_\mathrm{X}$= 10$^{31}$ erg s$^{-1}$ is marginally detected. We use the non-LTE stellar atmosphere code PoWR to estimate the WR wind opacity to the X-rays. The wind of a WN8-type star is effectively opaque for X-rays, hence the low X-ray luminosity of WR124 does not rule out the presence of an embedded compact object. We suggest that, in general, high opacity WR winds could prevent X-ray detections of embedded NS, and be an explanation for the apparent lack of WR+NS systems.Comment: 7 pages; 1 Table; 3 Figures; to appear in ApJ Letter

Magnetic and structural properties of fcc/hcp bi-crystalline multilayer Co nanowire arrays prepared by controlled electroplating

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)We report on the structural and magnetic properties of crystalline bi-phase Co nanowires, electrodeposited into the pores of anodized alumina membranes, as a function of their length. Co nanowires present two different coexistent crystalline structures (fcc and hcp) that can be controlled by the time of pulsed electrodeposition. The fcc crystalline phase grows at the early stage and is present at the bottom of all the nanowires, strongly influencing their magnetic behavior. Both structural and magnetic characterizations indicate that the length of the fcc phase is constant at around 260-270 nm. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed a strong preferential orientation (texture) in the (1 0-1 0) direction for the hcp phase, which increases the nanowire length as well as crystalline grain size, degree of orientation, and volume fraction of oriented material. The first-order reversal curve (FORC) method was used to infer both qualitatively and quantitatively the complex magnetization reversal of the nanowires. Under the application of a magnetic field parallel to the wires, the magnetization reversal of each region is clearly distinguishable; the fcc phase creates a high coercive contribution without an interaction field, while the hcp phase presents a smaller coercivity and undergoes a strong antiparallel interaction field from neighboring wires. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3553865]1098Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Guggenheim FellowshipFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq