NuSTAR DISCOVERY OF AN UNUSUALLY STEADY LONG-TERM SPIN-UP OF THE Be BINARY 2RXP J130159.6–635806
Name
Krivonos-2015-NuSTAR DISCOVERY OF.pdf
Size
731.63 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
9ba22784a2d28a8d252ed8c0cc911b33
Author(s)
Krivonos, Roman A.
Tsygankov, Sergey S.
Lutovinov, Alexander A.
Tomsick, John A.
Chakrabarty, Deepto
Bachetti, Matteo
Boggs, Steven E.
Chernyakova, Masha
Christensen, Finn E.
Craig, William W.
Date Issued
August 2015
Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
Krivonos, Roman A., Sergey S. Tsygankov, Alexander A. Lutovinov, John A. Tomsick, Deepto Chakrabarty, Matteo Bachetti, Steven E. Boggs, et al. “NuSTAR DISCOVERY OF AN UNUSUALLY STEADY LONG-TERM SPIN-UP OF THE Be BINARY 2RXP J130159.6–635806.” The Astrophysical Journal 809, no. 2 (August 19, 2015): 140. © 2015 The American Astronomical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We present spectral and timing analyses of Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar 2RXP J130159.6–635806. The source was serendipitously observed during a campaign focused on the gamma-ray binary PSR B1259–63 and was later targeted for a dedicated observation. The spectrum has a typical shape for accreting X-ray pulsars, consisting of a simple power law with an exponential cutoff starting at ~7 keV with a folding energy of E[subscript fold] ≃ 18 keV. There is also an indication of the presence of a 6.4 keV iron line in the spectrum at the ~3σ significance level. NuSTAR measurements of the pulsation period reveal that the pulsar has undergone a strong and steady spin-up for the last 20 years. The pulsed fraction is estimated to be ~80%, and is constant with energy up to 40 keV. The power density spectrum shows a break toward higher frequencies relative to the current spin period. This, together with steady persistent luminosity, points to a long-term mass accretion rate high enough to bring the pulsar out of spin equilibrium.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/809/2/140
