THE XMM-NEWTON /EPIC X-RAY LIGHT CURVE ANALYSIS OF WR 6
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Ignace-2013-THE XMM-Newton_epic.pdf
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1.33 MB
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Author(s)
Ignace, R.
Gayley, K. G.
Hamann, W.-R.
Huenemoerder, David P.
Oskinova, Lidia M.
Pollock, A. M. T.
McFall, M.
Date Issued
September 2013
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society
Citation
Ignace, R., K. G. Gayley, W.-R. Hamann, D. P. Huenemoerder, L. M. Oskinova, A. M. T. Pollock, and M. McFall. “ THE XMM-NEWTON /EPIC X-RAY LIGHT CURVE ANALYSIS OF WR 6 .” The Astrophysical Journal 775, no. 1 (August 30, 2013): 29. © 2013 American Astronomical Society.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We obtained four pointings of over 100 ks each of the well-studied Wolf-Rayet star WR 6 with the XMM-Newton satellite. With a first paper emphasizing the results of spectral analysis, this follow-up highlights the X-ray variability clearly detected in all four pointings. However, phased light curves fail to confirm obvious cyclic behavior on the well-established 3.766 day period widely found at longer wavelengths. The data are of such quality that we were able to conduct a search for event clustering in the arrival times of X-ray photons. However, we fail to detect any such clustering. One possibility is that X-rays are generated in a stationary shock structure. In this context we favor a corotating interaction region (CIR) and present a phenomenological model for X-rays from a CIR structure. We show that a CIR has the potential to account simultaneously for the X-ray variability and constraints provided by the spectral analysis. Ultimately, the viability of the CIR model will require both intermittent long-term X-ray monitoring of WR 6 and better physical models of CIR X-ray production at large radii in stellar winds.
MIT Department
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/775/1/29
