681 research outputs found
The Broad Band Spectrum of MXB 1728-34 Observed by BeppoSAX
We report on the results of a broad band (0.1-100 keV) spectral analysis of
the bursting atoll source MXB 1728-34 observed by the BeppoSAX satellite. Three
bursts were present during this observation. The spectrum during the bursts can
be fitted by a blackbody with a temperature of 2 keV. From the bursts we also
estimate a distance to the source of 5.1 kpc. MXB 1728-34 was in a rather soft
state during the BeppoSAX observation. The persistent spectrum is well fitted
by a continuum consisting of a soft blackbody emission and a comptonized
spectrum. We interpreted the soft component as the emission from the accretion
disk. Taking into account a spectral hardening factor of 1.7, we estimated that
the inner disk radius is km, where i is the
inclination angle. The comptonized component could originate in a spherical
corona, with temperature of 10 keV and optical depth of 5, surrounding the
neutron star. A broad gaussian emission line at 6.7 keV is observed in the
spectrum, probably emitted in the ionized corona or in the inner part of the
disk. Another emission line is present at 1.66 keV.Comment: 12 pages, accepted by Ap
Chandra Observation of the Persistent Emission from the Dipping Source XB 1916-053
We present the results of a 50 ks long Chandra observation of the dipping
source XB 1916-053. During the observation two X-ray bursts occurred and the
dips were not present at each orbital period. From the zero-order image we
estimate the precise X-ray coordinates of the source with a 90% uncertainty of
0.6''. In this work we focus on the spectral study of discrete absorption
features, during the persistent emission, using the High Energy Transmission
Grating Spectrometer on board the Chandra satellite. We detect, for the first
time in the 1st-order spectra of XB 1916-053, absorption lines associated to Ne
X, Mg XII, Si XIV, and S XVI, and confirm the presence of the Fe XXV and Fe
XXVI absorption lines with a larger accuracy with respect to the previous XMM
EPIC pn observation. Assuming that the line widths are due to a bulk motion or
a turbulence associated to the coronal activity, we estimate that the lines are
produced in a photoionized absorber distant from the neutron star 4 x 10^{10}
cm, near the disk edge.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, submitted to ApJ on 2005-09-22, accepted by ApJ
on 2006-05-0
Broad-band Spectral Evolution of Scorpius X-1 along its Color-Color Diagram
We analyze a large collection of RXTE archive data from April 1997 to August
2003 of the bright X-ray source Scorpius X-1 in order to study the broadband
spectral evolution of the source for different values of the inferred mass
accretion rate by studying energy spectra from selected regions in the Z-track
of its Color-Color Diagram. A two-component model, consisting of a soft thermal
component interpreted as thermal emission from an accretion disk and a thermal
Comptonization component, is unable to fit the whole 3--200 keV energy spectrum
at low accretion rates. Strong residuals in the highest energy band of the
spectrum require the addition of a third component that can be fitted with a
power-law component, that could represent a second thermal Comptonization from
a much hotter plasma, or a hybrid thermal/non-thermal Comptonization. We
discuss the physical implications derived from the results of our analysis,
with a particular emphasis on the hardest part of the X-ray emission and its
possible origins.Comment: 18 pages. Accepted for publication in Ap
Discovery of periodic dips in the light curve of GX 13+1: the X-ray orbital ephemeris of the source
The bright low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) GX 13+1 is one of the most peculiar
Galactic binary systems. A periodicity of 24.27 d with a formal statistical
error of 0.03 d was observed in its power spectrum density obtained with RXTE
All Sky Monitor (ASM) data spanning 14 years. Starting from a recent study,
indicating GX 13+1 as a possible dipping source candidate, we systematically
searched for periodic dips in the X-ray light curves of GX 13+1 from 1996 up to
2013 using RXTE/ASM, and MAXI data to determine for the first time the X-ray
orbital ephemeris of GX 13+1. We searched for a periodic signal in the ASM and
MAXI light curves, finding a common periodicity of 24.53 d. We folded the 1.3-5
keV and 5-12.1 keV ASM light curves and the 2-4 and 4-10 keV MAXI light curves
at the period of 24.53 d finding a periodic dip. To refine the value of the
period we used the timing technique dividing the ASM light curve in eight
intervals and the MAXI light curve in two intervals, obtaining four and two dip
arrival times from the ASM and MAXI light curves, respectively. We improved the
X-ray position of GX 13+1 using a recent Chandra observation. The new X-ray
position is discrepant by \sim 7\arcsec from the previous one, while it is
compatible with the infrared and radio counterpart positions. We detected an
X-ray dip, that is totally covered by the Chandra observation, in the light
curve of GX 13+1 and showed, a-posteriori, that it is a periodic dip. We
obtained seven dip arrival times from ASM, MAXI, and Chandra light curves. We
calculated the delays of the detected dip arrival times with respect to the
expected times for a 24.52 d periodicity. Fitting the delays with a linear
function we find that the orbital period and the epoch of reference of GX 13+1
are 24.5274(2) days and 50,086.79(3) MJD, respectively.(Abridged)Comment: 12 pages, including 16 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Chandra X-ray spectroscopy of a clear dip in GX 13+1
The source GX 13+1 is a persistent, bright Galactic X-ray binary hosting an
accreting neutron star. It shows highly ionized absorption features, with a
blueshift of 400 km s and an outflow-mass rate similar to the
accretion rate. Many other X-ray sources exhibit warm absorption features, and
they all show periodic dipping behavior at the same time. Recently, a dipping
periodicity has also been determined for GX 13+1 using long-term X-ray folded
light-curves, leading to a clear identification of one of such periodic dips in
an archival Chandra observation. We give the first spectral characterization of
the periodic dip of GX 13+1 found in this archival Chandra observation
performed in 2010. We used Chandra/HETGS data (1.0-10 keV band) and
contemporaneous RXTE/PCA data (3.5-25 keV) to analyze the broadband X-ray
spectrum. We adopted different spectral models to describe the continuum
emission and used the XSTAR-derived warm absorber component to constrain the
highly ionized absorption features. The 1.0-25 keV continuum emission is
consistent with a model of soft accretion-disk emission and an optically thick,
harder Comptonized component. The dip event, lasting 450 s, is
spectrally resolved with an increase in the column density of the neutral
absorber, while we do not find significant variations in the column density and
ionization parameter of the warm absorber with respect to the out-of-dip
spectrum. We argue that the very low dipping duty-cycle with respect to other
sources of the same class can be ascribed to its long orbital period and the
mostly neutral bulge, that is relatively small compared with the dimensions of
the outer disk radius.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
The role of General Relativity in the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries
We study the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) and of millisecond
binary radio pulsars (MSPs), with numerical simulations that keep into account
the evolution of the companion, of the binary system and of the neutron star.
According to general relativity, when energy is released, the system loses
gravitational mass. Moreover, the neutron star can collapse to a black hole if
its mass exceeds a critical limit, that depends on the equation of state. These
facts have some interesting consequences: 1) In a MSP the mass-energy is lost
with a specific angular momentum that is smaller than the one of the system,
resulting in a positive contribution to the orbital period derivative. If this
contribution is dominant and can be measured, we can extract information about
the moment of inertia of the neutron star, since the energy loss rate depends
on it. Such a measurement can therefore help to put constraints on the equation
of state of ultradense matter. 2) In LMXBs below the bifurcation period (\sim
18 h), the neutron star survives the period gap only if its mass is smaller
than the maximum non-rotating mass when the companion becomes fully convective
and accretion pauses. Therefore short period (P < 2h) millisecond X-ray pulsar
like SAX J1808.4-3658 can be formed only if either a large part of the
accreting matter has been ejected from the system, or the equation of state of
ultradense matter is very stiff. 3) In Low Mass X-ray binaries above the
bifurcation period, the mass-energy loss lowers the mass transfer rate. As side
effect, the inner core of the companion star becomes 1% bigger than in a system
with a non-collapsed primary. Due to this difference, the final orbital period
of the system becomes 20% larger than what is obtained if the mass-energy loss
effect is not taken into account.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted by the MNRA
A complete X-ray spectral coverage of the 2010 May-June outbursts of Circinus X-1
Circinus X-1 is a neutron-star-accreting X-ray binary in a wide (P = 16.6 d), eccentric orbit. After two years of relatively low X-ray
luminosity, in May 2010 Circinus X-1 went into outburst, reaching 0.4 Crab
flux. This outburst lasted for about two orbital cycles and was followed by
another shorter and fainter outburst in June. We focus here on the broadband
X-ray spectral evolution of the source as it spans about three order of
magnitudes in flux. We attempt to relate luminosity, spectral shape, local
absorption, and orbital phase. We use multiple Rossi-XTE/PCA (3.0--25 keV) and
Swift/XRT (1.0--9.0 keV) observations and a 20 ks long Chandra/HETGS
observation (1.0--9.0 keV), to comprehensively track the spectral evolution of
the source during all the outbursting phases. These observations were taken
every two/three days and cover about four orbital cycles. The PCA data mostly
cover the major outburst, the XRT data monitor the declining phase of the major
outburst and all the phases of the minor outburst, and Chandra data provide an
essential snapshot of the end of this overall outbursting phase. The X-ray
spectrum can be satisfactorily described by a thermal Comptonization model with
variable neutral local absorption in all phases of the outburst. No other
additive component is statistically required. The first outburst decays
linearly, with an ankle in the light curve as the flux decreases below
\,5 10 erg cm s. At the same time, the
source shows a clear spectral state transition from an optically thick to an
optically thin state. While the characteristics of the first, bright, outburst
can be interpreted within the disk-instability scenario, the following, minor,
outburst shows peculiarities that cannot be easily reconciled in this
framework.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Evidence for a resonant cyclotron line in IGR J16493-4348 from the Swift-BAT hard X-ray survey
Resonant absorption cyclotron features are a key diagnostic tool to directly
measure the strength of the magnetic field of accreting neutron stars. However,
typical values for cyclotron features lie in the high-energy part of the
spectrum between 20 keV and 50 keV, where detection is often damped by the low
statistics from single pointed observations. We show that long-term monitoring
campaign performed with Swift-BAT of persistently, but faint, accreting
high-mass X-ray binaries is able to reveal in their spectra the presence of
cyclotron features. We extracted the average Swift-BAT 15-150 keV spectrum from
the 54 months long Swift-BAT survey of the high-mass X-ray source IGR
J16493-4348. To constrain the broadband spectrum we used soft X-ray spectra
from Swift-XRT and Suzaku pointed observations. We model the spectra using a
set of phenomenological models usually adopted to describe the energy spectrum
of accreting high-mass X-ray binaries; irrespective of the models we used, we
found significant improvements in the spectral fits adding to the models a
broad (10 keV width) absorption feature, with best-fitting energy estimate
between 30 and 33 keV, that we interpret as evidence for a resonant cyclotron
absorption feature. We also discuss instrumental issues related to the use of
Swift-BAT for this kind of studies and the statistical method to weight the
confidence level of this detection. Correcting for the gravitational redshift
of a 1.4 M_{\sun} neutron star, the inferred surface magnetic field is Bsurf
3.7 x 10^{12} Gauss. The spectral parameters of IGR J16493-4348 fit well with
empirical correlations observed when the whole sample of high-mass binaries
with detected cyclotron features is considered.Comment: Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2011, 532, A7
X-ray spectroscopy of the ADC source X1822-371 with Chandra and XMM-Newton
The eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary X1822-371 is the prototype of the
accretion disc corona (ADC) sources. We analyse two Chandra observations and
one XMM-Newton observation to study the discrete features and their variation
as a function of the orbital phase, deriving constraints on the temperature,
density, and location of the plasma responsible for emission lines. The HETGS
and XMM/Epic-pn observed X1822-371 for 140 and 50 ks, respectively. We
extracted an averaged spectrum and five spectra from five selected
orbital-phase intervals that are 0.04-0.25, 0.25-0.50, 0.50-0.75, 0.75-0.95,
and, finally, 0.95-1.04; the orbital phase zero corresponds to the eclipse
time. All spectra cover the energy band between 0.35 and 12 keV. We confirm the
presence of local neutral matter that partially covers the X-ray emitting
region; the equivalent hydrogen column is cm and the
covered fraction is about 60-65%. We identify emission lines from highly
ionised elements, and a prominent fluorescence iron line associated with a
blending of FeI-FeXV resonant transitions. The transitions of He-like ions show
that the intercombination dominates over the forbidden and resonance lines. The
line fluxes are the highest during the orbital phases between 0.04 and 0.75. We
discuss the presence of an extended, optically thin corona with optical depth
of about 0.01 that scatters the X-ray photons from the innermost region into
the line of sight. The photoionised plasma producing most of the observed lines
is placed in the bulge at the outer radius of the disc distant from the central
source of cm. The OVII and the fluorescence iron line are
probably produced in the photoionised surface of the disc at inner radii.
(Abridged)Comment: 18 pages including 12 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Resolving the Fe xxv Triplet with Chandra in Cen X-3
We present the results of a 45 ks Chandra observation of the high-mass X-ray
binary Cen X--3 at orbital phases between 0.13 and 0.40 (in the eclipse
post-egress phases). Here we concentrate on the study of discrete features in
the energy spectrum at energies between 6 and 7 keV, i.e. on the iron
K line region, using the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer
on board the Chandra satellite. We clearly see a K neutral iron line
at keV and were able to distinguish the three lines of the
\ion{Fe}{25} triplet at 6.61 keV, 6.67 keV, and 6.72 keV, with an equivalent
width of 6 eV, 9 eV, and 5 eV, respectively. The equivalent width of the
K neutral iron line is 13 eV, an order of magnitude lower than
previous measures. We discuss the possibility that the small equivalent width
is due to a decrease of the solid angle subtended by the reflector.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
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