4,198 research outputs found
The broad-band X-ray spectrum of the dipping Low Mass X-ray Binary EXO0748--676
We present results of a 0.1-100 keV BeppoSAX observation of the dipping LMXRB
EXO 0748-676 performed in 2000 November. During the observation the source
exhibited X-ray eclipses, type I X-ray bursts and dipping activity over a wide
range of orbital phases. The 0.1-100keV "dip-free"(ie. dipping and eclipsing
intervals excluded) spectrum is complex,especially at low-energies where a soft
excess is present. Two very different spectral models give satisfactory fits.
The first is the progressive covering model, consisting of separately absorbed
black body and cut-off power-law components.The second model is an absorbed
cut-off power-law together with a moderately ionized absorber with a sub-solar
abundance of Fe and a 2.13 keV absorption feature (tentatively identified with
Si xiii). This ionized absorber may be the same feature as seen by Chandra
during dips from EXO 0748-676.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, paper accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Timing and spectral changes of the Be X-ray transient EXO 0531-6609.2 through high and low state
We report on spectral and timing analysis of BeppoSAX data of the 13.6 s
period transient X-ray pulsar EXO 0531-6609.2. Observations were carried out in
March 1997 and October 1998, catching the source during a high and a low
emission state, respectively. Correspondingly, the X-ray luminosity is found at
a level of 4.2x10^37 erg/s and 1.5x10^36 erg/s in the two states. In the high
state the X-ray emission in the energy range 1-100 keV is well fitted by an
absorbed power-law with photon index Gamma ~1.7 plus a blackbody component with
a characteristic temperature of ~3.5 keV. Moreover, we find an evidence of an
iron emission at ~6.8 keV, typical feature in this class of sources but never
revealed before in the EXO 0531-6609.2 spectrum. In the low state an absorbed
power-law with Gamma ~0.4 is sufficient to fit the 1-10 keV data. During
BeppoSAX observations EXO 0531-6609.2 display variations of the pulse profile
with the X-ray flux: it showed single peaked and double peaked profiles in the
low and high state, respectively. Based on these two observations we infer a
spin-up period derivative of -(1.14+/-0.08)x10^-10 s/s. By comparing these with
other period measurements reported in literature we find an alternating spin-up
and spin-down behaviour that correlates well with the X-ray luminosity.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, A&
Non-equilibrium Thermodynamic Studies of Electrokinetic Effect: Part IX-Streaming Potentials During Flow of Acetonitrile & Acetonitrile-Methanol Mixtures Through Sintered Pyrex Glass
384-38
Strongly absorbed quiescent X-ray emission from the X-ray transient XTE J0421+56 (CI Cam) observed with XMM-Newton
We have observed the X-ray transient XTE J0421+56 in quiescence with
XMM-Newton. The observed spectrum is highly unusual being dominated by an
emission feature at ~6.5 keV. The spectrum can be fit using a partially covered
power-law and Gaussian line model, in which the emission is almost completely
covered (covering fraction of 0.98_{-0.06}^{+0.02}) by neutral material and is
strongly absorbed with an N_H of (5_{-2}^{+3}) x 10^{23} atom cm^{-2}. This
absorption is local and not interstellar. The Gaussian has a centroid energy of
6.4 +/- 0.1 keV, a width < 0.28 keV and an equivalent width of 940
^{+650}_{-460} eV. It can be interpreted as fluorescent emission line from
iron. Using this model and assuming XTE J0421+56 is at a distance of 5 kpc, its
0.5-10 keV luminosity is 3.5 x 10^{33} erg s^{-1}. The Optical Monitor onboard
XMM-Newton indicates a V magnitude of 11.86 +/- 0.03. The spectra of X-ray
transients in quiescence are normally modeled using advection dominated
accretion flows, power-laws, or by the thermal emission from a neutron star
surface. The strongly locally absorbed X-ray emission from XTE J0421+56 is
therefore highly unusual and could result from the compact object being
embedded within a dense circumstellar wind emitted from the supergiant B[e]
companion star. The uncovered and unabsorbed component observed below 5 keV
could be due either to X-ray emission from the supergiant B[e] star itself, or
to the scattering of high-energy X-ray photons in a wind or ionized corona,
such as observed in some low-mass X-ray binary systems.Comment: 8 pages, 4 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysic
A highly-ionized absorber as a new explanation for the spectral changes during dips from X-ray binaries
Until now, the spectral changes observed from persistent to dipping intervals
in dipping low-mass X-ray binaries were explained by invoking progressive and
partial covering of an extended emission region. Here, we propose a novel and
simpler way to explain these spectral changes, which does not require any
partial covering and hence any extended corona, and further has the advantage
of explaining self-consistently the spectral changes both in the continuum and
the narrow absorption lines that are now revealed by XMM-Newton. In 4U 1323-62,
we detect Fe XXV and Fe XXVI absorption lines and model them for the first time
by including a complete photo-ionized absorber model rather than individual
Gaussian profiles. We demonstrate that the spectral changes both in the
continuum and the lines can be simply modeled by variations in the properties
of the ionized absorber. From persistent to dipping the photo-ionization
parameter decreases while the equivalent hydrogen column density of the ionized
absorber increases. In a recent work (see Diaz Trigo et al. in these
proceedings), we show that our new approach can be successfully applied to all
the other dipping sources that have been observed by XMM-Newton.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The X-ray
Universe 2005", San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Spain), 26-30 September 200
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