First Ejection from the PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 High Mass Gamma-Ray Binary Detected During the 2021–2024 Binary Cycle

Abstract

LS 2883/PSR B1259-63 is a high mass, eccentric gamma-ray binary that has previously been observed to eject X-ray emitting material. We report the results of recent Chandra observations near binary apastron in which a new X-ray emitting clump of matter was detected. The clump has a high projected velocity of v ⊥ ≈ 0.07c and hard X-ray spectrum, which fits an absorbed power-law model with Γ = 1.1 ± 0.3. Although clumps with similar velocities and spectra were detected in some of the previous binary cycles, no resolved clumps were seen near apastron in the preceding cycle of 2017–2021.