Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

On Relativistic Disk Spectroscopy In Compact Objects With X-Ray Ccd Cameras, J. M. Miller, A. D'Aì, M. W. Bautz, S. Bhattacharyya, D. N. Burrows, E. M. Cackett, A. C. Fabian, M. J. Freyberg, F. Haberl, J. Kennea, M. A. Nowak, R. C. Reis, T. E. Strohmayer, M. Tsujimoto

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

X-ray charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are the workhorse detectors of modern X-ray astronomy. Typically covering the 0.3-10.0 keV energy range, CCDs are able to detect photoelectric absorption edges and K shell lines from most abundant metals. New CCDs also offer resolutions of 30-50 (E/ΔE), which is sufficient to detect lines in hot plasmas and to resolve many lines shaped by dynamical processes in accretion flows. The spectral capabilities of X-ray CCDs have been particularly important in detecting relativistic emission lines from the inner disks around accreting neutron stars and black holes. One drawback of X-ray CCDs is that spectra can be …

Continued Cooling Of The Crust In The Neutron Star Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Ks 1731-260, Edward M. Cackett, Edward F. Brown, Andrew Cumming, Nathalie Degenaar, Jon M. Miller, Rudy Wijnands

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

Some neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries have very long outbursts (lasting several years) which can generate a significant amount of heat in the neutron star crust. After the system has returned to quiescence, the crust then thermally relaxes. This provides a rare opportunity to study the thermal properties of neutron star crusts, putting constraints on the thermal conductivity and hence the structure and composition of the crust. KS 1731-260 is one of only four systems where this crustal cooling has been observed. Here, we present a new Chandra observation of this source approximately eight years after the end of the …

Quiescent X-Ray Emission From Cen X-4: A Variable Thermal Component, Edward M. Cackett, Edward F. Brown, Jon M. Miller, Rudy Wijnands

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

The nearby neutron star low-mass X-ray binary, Cen X-4, has been in a quiescent state since its last outburst in 1979. Typically, quiescent emission from these objects consists of thermal emission (presumably from the neutron star surface) with an additional hard power-law tail of unknown nature. Variability has been observed during quiescence in Cen X-4 on both timescales as short as hundreds of seconds and as long as years. However, the nature of this variability is still unknown. Early observations seemed to show it was all due to a variable hard X-ray tail. Here, we present new and archival observations …

Relativistic Lines And Reflection From The Inner Accretion Disks Around Neutron Stars, Edward M. Cackett, Jon M. Miller, David R. Ballantyne, Didier Barret, Sudip Bhattacharyya, Martin Boutelier, M. Coleman Miller, Tod E. Strohmayer, Rudy Wijnands

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

A number of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) have recently been discovered to show broad, asymmetric Fe K emission lines in their X-ray spectra. These lines are generally thought to be the most prominent part of a reflection spectrum, originating in the inner part of the accretion disk where strong relativistic effects can broaden emission lines. We present a comprehensive, systematic analysis of Suzaku and XMM-Newton spectra of 10 neutron star LMXBs, all of which display broad Fe K emission lines. Of the 10 sources, 4 are Z sources, 4 are atolls, and 2 are accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars …

Swift Monitoring Of Cygnus X-2: Investigating The Near-Ultraviolet-X-Ray Connection, E. S. Rykoff, E. M. Cackett, J. M. Miller

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

The neutron star X-ray binary (NSXRB) Cyg X-2 was observed by the Swift satellite 51 times over a 4 month period in 2008 with the X-ray Telescope (XRT), UV/optical telescope, and Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) instruments. During this campaign, we observed Cyg X-2 in all three branches of the Z track (horizontal, normal, and flaring branches). We find that the NUV emission is uncorrelated with the soft X-ray flux detected with the XRT and is anticorrelated with the BAT X-ray flux and the hard X-ray color. The observed anticorrelation is inconsistent with simple models of reprocessing as the source of …

Rapid Cooling Of The Neutron Star In The Quiescent Super-Eddington Transient Xte J1701-462, Joel K. Fridriksson, Jeroen Homan, Rudy Wijnands, Mariano Méndez, Diego Altamirano, Edward M. Cackett, Edward F. Brown, Tomaso M. Belloni, Nathalie Degenaar, Walter H. G. Lewin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

We present Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and Swift observations made during the final three weeks of the 2006-2007 outburst of the super-Eddington neutron star (NS) transient XTE J1701-462, as well as Chandra and XMM-Newton observations covering the first sime800 days of the subsequent quiescent phase. The source transitioned quickly from active accretion to quiescence, with the luminosity dropping by over 3 orders of magnitude in sime13 days. The spectra obtained during quiescence exhibit both a thermal component, presumed to originate in emission from the NS surface, and a non-thermal component of uncertain origin, which has shown large and irregular variability. …

Multiwavelength Observations Of 1rxh J173523.7-354013: Revealing An Unusual Bursting Neutron Star, N. Degenaar, P. G. Jonker, M. A. P. Torres, R. Kaur, N. Rea, G. L. Israel, A. Patruno, G. Trap, E. M. Cackett, P. D'Avanzo, G. Lo Curto, G. Novara, H. Krimm, S. T. Holland, A. De Luca, P. Esposito, R. Wijnands

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

On 2008 May 14, the Burst Alert Telescope onboard the Swift mission triggered on a type-I X-ray burst from the previously unclassified ROSAT object 1RXH J173523.7-354013, establishing the source as a neutron star X-ray binary. We report on X-ray, optical and near-infrared observations of this system. The X-ray burst had a duration of ~2 h and belongs to the class of rare, intermediately long type-I X-ray bursts. From the bolometric peak flux of ~3.5 × 10^-8ergcm^-2s^-1, we infer a source distance of D <~ 9.5 kpc. Photometry of the field reveals an optical counterpart that declined from R = 15.9 during the X-ray burst to R = 18.9 thereafter. Analysis of post-burst Swift/X-ray Telescope observations as well as archival XMM-Newton and ROSAT data suggests that the system is persistent at a 0.5-10 keV luminosity of ~2 × 10³⁵ (D/9.5 kpc)²ergs^-1. Optical and infrared photometry …

Optical/Infrared Observations Of The X-Ray Burster Ks1731-260 In Quiescence, C. Zurita, E. Kuulkers, R. M. Bandyopadhyay, E. M. Cackett, P. J. Groot, J. A. Orosz, M. A. P. Torres, R. Wijnands

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

Aims. We performed an optical/infrared study of the counterpart of the low-mass X-ray binary KS 1731–260 to test its identification and obtain information about the donor.

Methods. Optical and infrared images of the counterpart of KS 1731–260 were taken in two different epochs (2001 and 2007) after the source returned to quiescence in X-rays. We compared these observations with those obtained when KS 1731–260 was still active.

Results. We confirm the identification of KS 1731–260 with the previously proposed counterpart and improve its position to α = 17:34:13.46 and δ = -26:05:18.60. The H-band magnitude of this …