High-mass Companion Research Articles

Observations of the recurrent M 31 transient XMMU J004215.8+411924 withSwift,Chandra, HST, andEinstein

The transient X-ray source XMMU J004215.8+411924 within M31 was found to be in outburst again in the 2010 May 27 Chandra observation. We present results from our four Chandra and seven Swift observations that covered this outburst. X-ray transient behaviour is generally caused by one of two things: mass accretion from a high mass companion during some restricted phase range in the orbital cycle, or disc instability in a low mass system. We aim to exploit Einstein, HST, Chandra and Swift observations to determine the nature of XMMU J004215.8+411924. We model the 2010 May spectrum, and use the results to convert from intensity to counts in the fainter Chandra observations, as well as the Swift observations; these data are used to create a lightcurve. We also estimate the flux in the 1979 January 13 Einstein observation. Additionally, we search for an optical counterpart in HST data. Our best X-ray positions from the 2006 and 2010 outbursts are 0.3" apart, and 1.6" from the Einstein source; these outbursts are likely to come from the same star system. We see no evidence for an optical counterpart with m_B < ~25.5; this new limit is 3.5 magnitudes fainter than the existing one. Furthermore, we see no V band counterpart with m_V < ~26. The local absorption is ~7 times higher than the Galactic line-of-sight, and provides ~2 magnitudes of extinction in the V band. Hence M_V > ~ -0.5. Fits to the X-ray emission spectrum suggest a black hole primary. We find that XMMU J004215.8+411924 is most likely to be a transient LMXB, rather than a HMXB as originaly proposed. The nature of the primary is unclear, although we argue that a black hole is likely.

CHANDRAOBSERVATION OF THE RELATIVISTIC BINARY J1906+0746

PSR J1906+0746 is a 112-kyr-old radio pulsar in a tight relativistic binary with a compact high-mass companion, at the distance of about 5 kpc. We observed this unique system with the Chandra ACIS detector for 31.6 ks. Surprisingly, not a single photon was detected within the 3 radius from the J1906+0746 radio position. For a plausible range of hydrogen column densities, n_H=(0.5-1)\times10^{22} cm^{-2}, the nondetection corresponds to the 90% upper limit of (3-5)\times10^{30} erg s^{-1} on the unabsorbed 0.5-8 keV luminosity for the power-law model with Gamma=1.0-2.0, and ~10^{32} erg s^{-1} on the bolometric luminosity of the thermal emission from the NS surface. The inferred limits are the lowest known for pulsars with spin-down properties similar to those of PSR J1906+0746. We have also tentatively detected a puzzling extended structure which looks like a tilted ring with a radius of 1.6' centered on the pulsar. The measured 0.5-8 keV flux of the feature, 3.1\times10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}, implies an unabsorbed luminosity of 1.2\times10^{32} erg s^{-1} (4.5\times10^{-4} of the pulsar's spin-down power). Although all conventional interpretations of the ring appear to be problematic, the pulsar-wind nebula with an unusually underluminous pulsar remains the most viable interpretation.

Unveiling the nature ofINTEGRALobjects through optical spectroscopy

Using 8 telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres, plus archival data from two on-line sky surveys, we performed a systematic optical spectroscopic study of 39 putative counterparts of unidentified or poorly studied INTEGRAL sources in order to determine or at least better assess their nature. This was implemented within the framework of our campaign to reveal the nature of newly-discovered and/or unidentified sources detected by INTEGRAL. Our results show that 29 of these objects are active galactic nuclei (13 of which are of Seyfert 1 type, 15 are Seyfert 2 galaxies and one is possibly a BL Lac object) with redshifts between 0.011 and 0.316, 7 are X-ray binaries (5 with high-mass companions and 2 with low-mass secondaries), one is a magnetic cataclysmic variable, one is a symbiotic star and one is possibly an active star. Thus, the large majority (74%) of the identifications in this sample belongs to the AGN class. When possible, the main physical parameters for these hard X-ray sources were also computed using the multiwavelength information available in the literature. These identifications further underscore the importance of INTEGRAL in studying the hard X-ray spectra of all classes of X-ray emitting objects, and the effectiveness of a strategy of multi-catalogue cross-correlation plus optical spectroscopy to securely pinpoint the actual nature of still unidentified hard X-ray sources.

Optical emission from massive donors in ultraluminous X-ray source binary systems

We present evolutionary tracks of binary systems with high-mass companion stars and stellar-through-intermediate mass black holes (BHs). Using Eggleton's stellar evolution code, we compute the luminosity produced by accretion from the donor during its entire evolution. We compute also the evolution of the optical luminosity and colours of the binary system taking the disc contribution and irradiation effects into account. The calculations presented here can be used to constrain the properties of the donor stars in ultraluminous X-ray sources by comparing their position on the Hertzsprung–Russell or colour–magnitude diagrams with the evolutionary tracks of massive BH binaries. This approach may actually provide interesting clues also on the properties of the binary system itself, including the BH mass. We found that, on the basis of their position on the colour–magnitude diagram, some of the candidate counterparts considered can be ruled out and more stringent constraints can be applied to the donor masses.

Results from the RXTE All-Sky Monitor

Selected results from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer All-Sky Monitor are presented to illustrate the phenomenology of the light curves. The sensitivity to periodic intensity variations is indicated by the folded light curve of AM Her. The gray line between transient and persistent sources is emphasized. Light curves of a range of systems comprising black holes or neutron stars and low and high mass companion stars show that the behavior of these systems is often, but not always, characteristic.

Neutrinos from Microquasars

The jets of microquasars with high-mass stellar companions are exposed to the dense matter field of the stellar wind as well as to the photon densities found in the surrounding medium. Photopion and proton-proton interactions could then lead to copious production of neutrinos. In this work, we analyze the hadronic microquasar model, particularly in what concerns to the neutrino production. Limits to this kind of models using data from AMANDA-II are established. New constraints are also imposed upon specific microquasar models based on photopion processes. These are very restrictive particularly for the case of SS433, a microquasar for which the presence of accelerated hadrons has been already inferred from iron X-ray line observations.

IGR J16320–4751 as seen by simultaneous INTEGRAL and XMM observations

We present the preliminary results of simultaneous XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL observations of the highly absorbed INTEGRAL source IGR J16320-4751. We refine the X-ray position with XMM-Newton, and then examine the spectral properties of the source using both satellites, separating two periods visible in the lightcurves, an initial flare and a more steady period. We show that the source spectrum and its behaviour are compatible with IGR J16320-4751 being a pulsar accreting from a high mass companion.

X‐Ray Pulsars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

XMM-Newton archival data for the Small Magellanic Cloud have been examined for the presence of previously undetected X-ray pulsars. One such pulsar, with a period of 202 s, is detected. Its position is consistent with an early B star in the SMC and we identify it as a high mass X-ray binary (HMXB). In the course of this study we determined the pulse period of the possible AXP CXOU J010043.1-721134 to be 8.0 s, correcting an earlier report (Lamb et al 2002b) of a 5.4 s period for this object. Pulse profiles and spectra for each of these objects are presented as well as for a recently discovered (Haberl & Pietsch 2004) 263 s X-ray pulsar. Properties of an ensemble of 24 optically identified HMXB pulsars from the SMC are investigated. The locations of the pulsars and an additional 22 X-ray pulsars not yet identified as having high mass companions are located predominately in the young (ages $\le 3 \times 10^{7}$ years) star forming regions of the SMC as expected on the basis of binary evolution models. We find no significant difference between the distribution of spin periods for the HMXB pulsars of the SMC compared with that of the Milky Way. For those HMXB pulsars which have Be companions we note an inverse correlation between spin period and maximum X-ray flux density. (This anti-correlation has been previously noted for all X-ray binary pulsars by Stella, White & Rosner 1986). The anti-correlation for the Be binaries may be a reflection of the fact that the spin periods and orbital periods of Be HMXBs are correlated. We note a similar correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin period for the Be HMXB pulsars of the Milky Way and speculate that exploitation of the correlation could serve as a distance indicator.

Searching for Failed Supernovae with Astrometric Binaries

Stars in the mass range 8 Msun<M<30 Msun are thought to end their lives as luminous supernovae that leave behind a neutron star. However, if a substantial fraction of these stars instead ended as black-hole remnants, without producing a supernova (a `failed' supernova), how would one know? We show that, under plausible assumptions, the Hipparcos catalog should contain about 30 f_{fail} astrometric binaries with black-hole companions, where f_{fail} is the fraction of supernovae that fail. Since no black-hole astrometric binaries are found in Hipparcos, one might like to conclude that such failed supernovae are very rare. However, the most important assumption required for this argument, the initial companion mass function (ICMF) of G stars (the majority of Hipparcos stars) in the high-mass companion regime, is without any observational basis. We show how the ICMF of G stars can be measured using the Full-Sky Astrometric Explorer (FAME), thereby permitting an accurate measurement of the rate of supernovae that fail.

Two Different Long‐Term Behaviors in Black Hole Candidates: Evidence for Two Accretion Flows?

We discuss the results of long-term hard x-ray monitoring of Galactic black-hole candidates 1E 1740.7-2942, GRS 1758-258, Cyg X-1, GX 339-4, and Cyg X-3 with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The objects divide into two classes. In the first class, exemplified by Cyg X-1, luminosity and spectral hardness evolve simultaneously. In the second class, the relation is more complicated: the softest spectra occur while the count rate is dropping. Most models of accretion, tailored to Cyg X-1, do not predict the second sort of behavior. One interpretation is a simple model with two simultaneous, independent accretion flows: a thin disk and a hot halo. A drop in the accretion rate affecting both flows would propagate through the halo immediately but might take up to several weeks to propagate through the disk. While the inner halo is thus temporarily depleted compared to the disk, a temporary soft state is expected. This picture is supported by the observation that those sources which show delays (1E 1740.7-2942, GRS 1758-258, and GX 339-4) are expected to have low-mass companions, and those which do not (Cyg X-1, Cyg X-3) are known or thought to have high-mass companions. Low-mass companions imply accretion by Roche-lobe overflow, with a high specific angular momentum in the accreting material, and therefore a large disk with a long viscous timescale. Wind accretion from massive companions is expected to result in a much smaller disk, and thus little viscous delay.

X1908+075: An X‐Ray Binary with a 4.4 Day Period

X1908+075 is an optically unidentified and highly absorbed X-ray source that appeared in early surveys such as Uhuru, OSO 7, Ariel 5, HEAO-1, and the EXOSAT Galactic Plane Survey. These surveys measured a source intensity in the range 2-12 mcrab at 2-10 keV, and the position was localized to ~05. We use the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) All-Sky Monitor (ASM) to confirm our expectation that a particular Einstein/IPC detection (1E 1908.4+0730) provides the correct position for X1908+075. The analysis of the coded mask shadows from the ASM for the position of 1E 1908.4+0730 yields a persistent intensity ~8 mcrab (1.5-12 keV) over a 3 yr interval beginning in 1996 February. Furthermore, we detect a period of 4.400 ± 0.001 days with a false-alarm probability less than 10-7. The folded light curve is roughly sinusoidal, with an amplitude that is 26% of the mean flux. The X-ray period may be attributed to the scattering and absorption of X-rays through a stellar wind combined with the orbital motion in a binary system. We suggest that X1908+075 is an X-ray binary with a high-mass companion star.

The Outbursts and Orbit of the Accreting Pulsar GS 1843−02 = 2S 1845−024

We present observations of a series of 10 outbursts of pulsed hard X-ray flux from the transient 10.6 mHz accreting pulsar GS 1843-02, using the Burst and Transient Source Experiment on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. These outbursts occurred regularly every 242 days, coincident with the ephemeris of the periodic transient GRO J1849-03 (Zhang et al. 1996), which has recently been identified with the SAS 3 source 2S 1845-024 (Soffitta et al. 1998). Our pulsed detection provides the first clear identification of GS 1843-02 with 2S 1845-024. We present a pulse timing analysis which shows that the 2S 1845-024 outbursts occur near the periastron passage of the neutron star's highly eccentric (e = 0.88+-0.01) 242.18+-0.01 day period binary orbit about a high mass (M > 7 solar masses) companion. The orbit and transient outburst pattern strongly suggest the pulsar is in a binary system with a Be star. Our observations show a long-term spin-up trend, with most of the spin-up occurring during the outbursts. From the measured spin-up rates and inferred luminosities we conclude that an accretion disk is present during the outbursts.

Magnetic and spin evolution of pulsars

We explore the consequences of the model of spin-down-induced flux expulsion for the magnetic field evolution in solitary as well as in binary neutron stars. The spin evolution of pulsars, allowing for their field evolution according to this model, is shown to be consistent with the existing observational constraints in both low- and high-mass X-ray binary systems. The contribution from pulsars recycled in massive binaries to the observed excess in the number of low-field (10(11)-10(12) G) solitary pulsars is argued to be negligible in comparison with that of normal pulsars undergoing a 'restricted' field decay predicted by the adopted field decay model. Magnetic fields of neutron stars born in close binaries with intermediate- or high-mass main-sequence companions are predicted to decay down to values as low as similar to 10(6) G, which would leave them unobservable as pulsars during most of their lifetimes. The post-recycling evolution of some of these systems can, however, account for the observed binary pulsars having neutron star or massive white dwarf companions. Pulsars recycled in the disc population low-mass binaries are expected to have residual fields greater than or similar to 10(8) G, while for those processed in globular clusters larger residual fields are predicted because of the lower field strength of the neutron star at the epoch of binary formation. A value of tau similar to 1-2 x 10(7) yr for the mean value of the Ohmic decay time-scale in the crusts of neutron stars is suggested, based on the consistency of the model predictions with the observed distribution of periods and magnetic fields in the single and binary pulsars.

Is the 1.5-ms pulsar a young neutron star?

The 1.5-ms pulsar PSR1937+214 is an unusual object; its extremely short period and slow spin-down rate imply a magnetic field1 of 4×108 G, much lower than that of a canonical pulsar. Contrary to previous models, we propose here, as an explanation for these properties, that PSR1937+214 is a young neutron star (consistent with a kinematic age of ∼106 yr) spun up by accretion from a high-mass companion in a close binary system. The supercritical mass transfer rates expected in such a binary system should allow the neutron star to be spun up in the comparatively short time of ∼104 yr. The accretion process will also power thermomagnetic effects that could remove the strong magnetic field of a young pulsar from the crust of the star in a similarly short timescale. Such a high-mass binary system is expected to disrupt when the companion explodes in a supernova. Thus a spin-up model in a high-mass system can explain the lack of a companion, low magnetic field, and high spin rate of PSR1937+214.

HD 173219. A Periodic Be Star

Spectroscopic observations at high dispersion are reported which reveal a period of 58.39 days in the large velocity variations of this star. Velocity amplitudes derived from different lines vary widely, but the other orbital elements agree well. The spectrum has numerous peculiarities, some of which appear to change with phase. The main features suggest a spectral type of B2 Ib. Possible shell configurations are discussed and it is speculated that the invisible high mass companion may be a black hole.