scholarly journals Multiwavelength characterization of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar and ultracompact binary IGR J17062–6143

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (4) ◽  
pp. 4596-4606 ◽  
Author(s):  
J V Hernández Santisteban ◽  
V Cúneo ◽  
N Degenaar ◽  
J van den Eijnden ◽  
D Altamirano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Mass Transfer Rate ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Companion Star ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Binary Evolution

ABSTRACT IGR J17062–6143 is an ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) with an orbital period of 37.96 min. It harbours a millisecond X-ray pulsar that is spinning at 163 Hz and and has continuously been accreting from its companion star since 2006. Determining the composition of the accreted matter in UCXBs is of high interest for studies of binary evolution and thermonuclear burning on the surface of neutron stars. Here, we present a multiwavelength study of IGR J17062–6143 aimed to determine the detailed properties of its accretion disc and companion star. The multi-epoch photometric UV to near-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) is consistent with an accretion disc Fν ∝ ν1/3. The SED modelling of the accretion disc allowed us to estimate an outer disc radius of $R_{\rm out} = 2.2^{+0.9}_{-0.4} \times 10^{10}$ cm and a mass-transfer rate of $\dot{m} = 1.8^{+1.8}_{-0.5}\times 10^{-10}$ M⊙ yr−1. Comparing this with the estimated mass-accretion rate inferred from its X-ray emission suggests that ≳90 per cent of the transferred mass is lost from the system. Moreover, our SED modelling shows that the thermal emission component seen in the X-ray spectrum is highly unlikely from the accretion disc and must therefore represent emission from the surface of the neutron star. Our low-resolution optical spectrum revealed a blue continuum and no emission lines, i.e. lacking H and He features. Based on the current data we cannot conclusively identify the nature of the companion star, but we make recommendations for future study that can distinguish between the different possible evolution histories of this X-ray binary. Finally, we demonstrate how multiwavelength observations can be effectively used to find more UCXBs among the LMXBs.

scholarly journals Intensive disc-reverberation mapping of Fairall 9: first year of Swift and LCO monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (4) ◽  
pp. 5399-5416
Author(s):  
J V Hernández Santisteban ◽  
R Edelson ◽  
K Horne ◽  
J M Gelbord ◽  
A J Barth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
First Year ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Reverberation Mapping ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Continuum Contribution

ABSTRACT We present results of time-series analysis of the first year of the Fairall 9 intensive disc-reverberation campaign. We used Swift and the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network to continuously monitor Fairall 9 from X-rays to near-infrared at a daily to subdaily cadence. The cross-correlation function between bands provides evidence for a lag spectrum consistent with the τ ∝ λ4/3 scaling expected for an optically thick, geometrically thin blackbody accretion disc. Decomposing the flux into constant and variable components, the variable component’s spectral energy distribution is slightly steeper than the standard accretion disc prediction. We find evidence at the Balmer edge in both the lag and flux spectra for an additional bound-free continuum contribution that may arise from reprocessing in the broad-line region. The inferred driving light curve suggests two distinct components, a rapidly variable (<4 d) component arising from X-ray reprocessing, and a more slowly varying (>100 d) component with an opposite lag to the reverberation signal.

scholarly journals Non-thermal emission in radio galaxy lobes – II. Centaurus A, Centaurus B, and NGC 6251

2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (2) ◽  
pp. 1489-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Persic ◽  
Yoel Rephaeli
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Background Radiation ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Energetic Proton ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Radiation Fields ◽  
Γ Ray ◽  
Centaurus A

ABSTRACT Radio and γ-ray measurements of large lobes of several radio galaxies provide adequate basis for determining whether emission in these widely separated spectral regions is largely by energetic electrons. This is very much of interest as there is of yet no unequivocal evidence for a significant energetic proton component to account for γ-ray emission by neutral pion decay. A quantitative assessment of the pion yield spectral distribution necessitates full accounting of the local and background radiation fields in the lobes; indeed, doing so in our recent analysis of the spectral energy distribution of the Fornax A lobes considerably weakened previous conclusions on the hadronic origin of the emission measured by the Fermi satellite. We present the results of similar analyses of the measured radio, X-ray, and γ-ray emission from the lobes of Centaurus A, Centaurus B, and NGC 6251. The results indicate that the measured γ-ray emission from these lobes can be accounted for by Compton scattering of the radio-emitting electrons off the superposed radiation fields in the lobes; consequently, we set upper bounds on the energetic proton contents of the lobes.

Non-thermal emission and spectral evolution properties of G54.1+0.3

2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (4) ◽  
pp. 5781-5787
Author(s):  
Ji-Yang Ren ◽  
Quan-Gui Gao ◽  
Huai-Zhen Li ◽  
Ju Ma ◽  
Shan-Shan Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Photon Emission ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Spectral Evolution ◽  
Proton Proton ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Γ Ray

ABSTRACT The multiband photon emission and spectral evolution of G54.1+0.3 are investigated in the framework of leptonic and leptonic–hadronic models. We model the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and find that both the leptonic and leptonic–hadronic models can well reproduce the multiband observations of the nebula with appropriate model parameters. Combining with dynamical evolution of the PWN, we investigate the time evolution of photon SED and radiative luminosity in the X-ray and TeV γ-ray bands of G54.1+0.3. The results indicate that the synchrotron spectrum and radiative luminosity in the X-ray band of the PWN calculated with these two models have obvious differences as the age increases to about 4 kyr, and the largest difference is present at about 40 kyr. The γ-ray luminosity calculated by the leptonic–hadronic model shows that the contribution of TeV photons arising from the decay of neutral pions produced in proton–proton interaction also changes with time and is always important for modifying the TeV γ-ray spectrum of G54.1+0.3 during the evolution of the PWN.

scholarly journals Thermal stability of winds driven by radiation pressure in super-Eddington accretion discs

2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (4) ◽  
pp. 5702-5716 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Pinto ◽  
M Mehdipour ◽  
D J Walton ◽  
M J Middleton ◽  
T P Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Neutron Stars ◽  
Radiation Pressure ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Thermal Status ◽  
X Ray Binaries

ABSTRACT Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are mainly powered by accretion in neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes. Accreting at rates exceeding the Eddington limit by factors of a few up to hundreds, radiation pressure is expected to inflate the accretion disc, and drive fast winds that have in fact been observed at significant fractions of the speed of light. Given the super-Eddington luminosity, the accretion disc will be thicker than in sub-Eddington accretors such as common active galactic nuclei and X-ray binaries, leading to a different spectral energy distribution and, possibly, a different thermal status of the wind. Here, we show the first attempt to calculate the photoionization balance of the winds driven by strong radiation pressure in thick discs with a focus on ULXs hosting black holes or non-magnetic neutron stars. We find that the winds are generally in thermally stable equilibrium, but long-term variations in the accretion rate and the inclination due to precession may have significant effects on the wind appearance and stability. Our model trends can explain the observed correlation between the spectral residuals around 1 keV and the ULX spectral state. We also find a possible correlation between the spectral hardness of the ULX, the wind velocity, and the ionization parameter in support of the general scenario.

scholarly journals Revealing the Nature of the Highly Obscured Galactic Source IGR J16318-4848

2004 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
S. Chaty ◽  
P. Filliatre
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Nir Spectroscopy ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Circumstellar Material ◽  
New Class ◽  
Galactic Source ◽  
Early Type Star

AbstractThe X-ray source IGR J16318-4848 was the first source discovered by INTEGRAL on 2003, January 29. We carried out optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations at the European Southern Observatory (ESO La Silla) in the course of a Target of Opportunity (ToO) programme. We discovered the optical counterpart and confirmed an already proposed NIR candidate. NIR spectroscopy revealed a large amount of emission lines, including forbidden iron lines and P-Cygni profiles. The spectral energy distribution of the source points towards a high luminosity and a high temperature, with an absorption greater than the interstellar absorption, but two orders of magnitude lower than the X-ray absorption. We show that the source is an High Mass X-ray binary (HMXB) at a distance between ~ 1 and ~ 6 kpc, the mass donor being an early-type star, probably a sgB[e] star, surrounded by a rich and absorbing circumstellar material. This would make the second High Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) with a sgB[e] star after CI Cam, indicating that a new class of strongly absorbed X-ray binaries is being unveiled by INTEGRAL.

scholarly journals Tracking the year-to-year variation in the spectral energy distribution of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (1) ◽  
pp. 1266-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tripathi ◽  
K M McGrath ◽  
L C Gallo ◽  
D Grupe ◽  
S Komossa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Energy Distributions ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Past ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACT Multiwavelength monitoring of Mrk 335 with Swift between 2007 and 2019 are used to construct annual spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and track year-to-year changes. Non-contemporaneous archival data prior to 2007 are used to build a bright state SED. In this work, the changes are examined and quantified to build the foundation for future SED modelling. The yearly SEDs trace a downward trend on the average, with the X-ray portion varying significantly and acquiring further lower values in the past two years when compared to the optical/UV portion of SED. The bolometric Eddington ratios derived using optical/UV to X-ray SEDs and the calculated X-ray luminosities show a gradual decrease over the monitoring period. Changes in the parameters over time are examined. Principal component analysis suggests that the primary variability is in the X-ray properties of Mrk 335. When looking at the broader picture of Mrk 335 and its behaviour, the X-rays, accounting most of the variability in the 13-yr data, are possibly driven by physical processes related to the corona or absorption whereas the modest optical–UV variations suggest their origin within the accretion disc. These results are consistent with the previous interpretation of Mrk 335 using the timing analyses on the monitoring data and spectral modelling of deep observations.

scholarly journals The first broad-band X-ray view of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 Ton S180

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 2352-2370 ◽  
Author(s):  
G A Matzeu ◽  
E Nardini ◽  
M L Parker ◽  
J N Reeves ◽  
V Braito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Extreme Uv ◽  
Reflection Grating

ABSTRACT We present joint XMM–Newton and NuSTAR observations of the ‘bare’ narrow-line Seyfert 1 Ton S180 (z = 0.062), carried out in 2016 and providing the first hard X-ray view of this luminous galaxy. We find that the 0.4–30 keV band cannot be self-consistently reproduced by relativistic reflection models, which fail to account simultaneously for the soft and hard X-ray emission. The smooth soft excess prefers extreme blurring parameters, confirmed by the nearly featureless nature of the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) spectrum, while the moderately broad Fe K line and the modest hard excess above 10 keV appear to arise in a milder gravity regime. By allowing a different origin of the soft excess, the broad-band X-ray spectrum and overall spectral energy distribution (SED) are well explained by a combination of (a) direct thermal emission from the accretion disc, dominating from the optical to the far/extreme UV; (b) Comptonization of seed disc photons by a warm (kTe ∼ 0.3 keV) and optically thick (τ ∼ 10) corona, mostly contributing to the soft X-rays; (c) Comptonization by a standard hot ($kT_{\rm \mathrm{ e}}\gtrsim 100$ keV) and optically thin (τ < 0.5) corona, responsible for the primary X-ray continuum; and (d) reflection from the mid/outer part of the disc. The two coronae are suggested to be rather compact, with $R_{\rm hot}\lesssim R_{\rm warm}\lesssim 10\, r_{\rm g}$. Our SED analysis implies that Ton S180 accretes at super-Eddington rates. This is a key condition for the launch of a wind, marginal (i.e. 3.1σ significance) evidence of which is indeed found in the RGS spectrum.

A disc reflection model for ultra-soft narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3888-3901
Author(s):  
Jiachen Jiang ◽  
Luigi C Gallo ◽  
Andrew C Fabian ◽  
Michael L Parker ◽  
Christopher S Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Continuum Emission ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Ionization State ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Reflection Model ◽  
Photon Index

ABSTRACT We present a detailed analysis of the XMM–Newton observations of five narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s). They all show very soft continuum emission in the X-ray band with a photon index of Γ ≳ 2.5. Therefore, they are referred to as ‘ultra-soft’ NLS1s in this paper. By modelling their optical/UV–X-ray spectral energy distribution (SED) with a reflection-based model, we find indications that the disc surface in these ultra-soft NLS1s is in a higher ionization state than other typical Seyfert 1 AGN. Our best-fitting SED models suggest that these five ultra-soft NLS1s have an Eddington ratio of λEdd = 1–20 assuming available black hole mass measurements. In addition, our models infer that a significant fraction of the disc energy in these ultra-soft NLS1s is radiated away in the form of non-thermal emission instead of the thermal emission from the disc. Due to their extreme properties, X-ray observations of these sources in the iron band are particularly challenging. Future observations, e.g. from Athena, will enable us to have a clearer view of the spectral shape in the iron band and thus distinguish the reflection model from other interpretations of their broad-band spectra.

scholarly journals Dust modeling of the combined ALMA and SPHERE datasets of HD 163296

2018 ◽  
Vol 614 ◽  
pp. A24 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Muro-Arena ◽  
C. Dominik ◽  
L. B. F. M. Waters ◽  
M. Min ◽  
L. Klarmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Scattered Light ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Dust Grains ◽  
Outer Disk ◽  
Group I ◽  
Dust Evolution ◽  
Small Dust

Context. Multiwavelength observations are indispensable in studying disk geometry and dust evolution processes in protoplanetary disks. Aims. We aim to construct a three-dimensional model of HD 163296 that is capable of reproducing simultaneously new observations of the disk surface in scattered light with the SPHERE instrument and thermal emission continuum observations of the disk midplane with ALMA. We want to determine why the spectral energy distribution of HD 163296 is intermediary between the otherwise well-separated group I and group II Herbig stars. Methods. The disk was modeled using the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code MCMax3D. The radial dust surface density profile was modeled after the ALMA observations, while the polarized scattered light observations were used to constrain the inclination of the inner disk component and turbulence and grain growth in the outer disk. Results. While three rings are observed in the disk midplane in millimeter thermal emission at ~80, 124, and 200 AU, only the innermost of these is observed in polarized scattered light, indicating a lack of small dust grains on the surface of the outer disk. We provide two models that are capable of explaining this difference. The first model uses increased settling in the outer disk as a mechanism to bring the small dust grains on the surface of the disk closer to the midplane and into the shadow cast by the first ring. The second model uses depletion of the smallest dust grains in the outer disk as a mechanism for decreasing the optical depth at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. In the region outside the fragmentation-dominated regime, such depletion is expected from state-of-the-art dust evolution models. We studied the effect of creating an artificial inner cavity in our models, and conclude that HD 163296 might be a precursor to typical group I sources.

scholarly journals The perturbed sublimation rim of the dust disk around the post-AGB binary IRAS08544-4431

2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A153 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kluska ◽  
M. Hillen ◽  
H. Van Winckel ◽  
R. Manick ◽  
M. Min ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽  
Young Stellar Objects ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Stellar Objects ◽  
Binary Evolution

Context. Post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binaries are surrounded by stable dusty and gaseous disks similar to the ones around young stellar objects. Whereas, significant effort has been spent on modeling observations of disks around young stellar objects, the disks around post-AGB binaries have received significantly less attention, even though they pose significant constraints on theories of disk physics and binary evolution. Aims. We want to examine the structure of and phenomena at play in circumbinary disks around post-AGB stars. We continue the analysis of our near-infrared interferometric image of the inner rim of the circumbinary disk around IRAS08544-4431. We want to understand the physics governing this inner disk rim. Methods. We use a radiative transfer model of a dusty disk to reproduce simultaneously the photometry as well as the near-infrared interferometric dataset on IRAS08544-4431. The model assumes hydrostatic equilibrium and takes dust settling self-consistently into account. Results. The best-fit radiative transfer model shows excellent agreement with the spectral energy distribution up to millimeter wavelengths as well as with the PIONIER visibility data. It requires a rounded inner rim structure, starting at a radius of 8.25 au. However, the model does not fully reproduce the detected over-resolved flux nor the azimuthal flux distribution of the inner rim. While the asymmetric inner disk rim structure is likely to be the consequence of disk-binary interactions, the origin of the additional over-resolved flux remains unclear. Conclusions. As in young stellar objects, the disk inner rim of IRAS08544-4431 is ruled by dust sublimation physics. Additional observations are needed to understand the origin of the extended flux and the azimuthal perturbation at the inner rim of the disk.

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