Tracking the Orbital and Superorbital Periods of SMC X‐1

Abstract

The high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) SMC X-1 demonstrates an orbital variation of ~3.89 days and a superorbital variation with an average length of ~55 days. As we show here, however, the length of the superorbital cycle varies by almost a factor of 2, even across adjacent cycles. To study both the orbital and superorbital variation, we utilize light curves from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer All-Sky Monitor (RXTE ASM). We employ the orbital ephemeris from P. Wojdowski et al. to obtain the average orbital profile, and we show that this profile exhibits complex modulation during noneclipse phases. In addition, a very interesting in X-ray count rate is seen during midorbital eclipse phases, with a softening of the emission during these periods. This bounceback has not been previously identified in pointed observations. We then define a superorbital ephemeris (the phase of the superorbital cycle as a function of date) based on the ASM light curve and analyze the trend and distribution of superorbital cycle lengths. SMC X-1 exhibits a bimodal distribution of these lengths, similar to what has been observed in other systems (e.g., Her X-1), but with more dramatic changes in cycle length. There is some hint, but not conclusive evidence, for a dependence of the superorbital cycle length on the underlying orbital period, as has been observed previously for Her X-1 and Cyg X-2. Using our superorbital ephemeris, we are also able to create an average superorbital profile over the 71 observed cycles, for which we witness overall hardening of the spectrum during low count rate times. We combine the orbital and superorbital ephemerides to study the correlation between the orbital and superorbital variations in the system, but find that the ASM light curve provides insufficient statistics to draw any definitive conclusions on possible correlations.