Journal article · Preprint article
Accreting on the Edge: A Luminosity-dependent Cyclotron Line in the Be/X-Ray Binary 2S 1553-542 Accompanied by Accretion Regimes Transition
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center1
Department of Space Research and Technology, Technical University of Denmark2
University of Alabama in Huntsville3
Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg4
University of Maryland, Baltimore County5
Lomonosov Moscow State University6
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics India7
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center8
University of Tübingen9
Massachusetts Institute of Technology10
University of Maryland, College Park11
European Space Astronomy Centre12
University of Maryland, Baltimore13
Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics, Department of Space Research and Technology, Technical University of Denmark14
...and 4 moreAccreting X-ray pulsars undergo luminous X-ray outbursts during which the luminosity-dependent spectral and timing features of the neutron star's emission can be analyzed in detail, thus shedding light on the accretion regime at work. We took advantage of a monitoring campaign that was performed with NuSTAR, Swift/XRT, AstroSat and NICER to follow the Be/X-ray Binary 2S 1553-542 along one of its rare outbursts, and thus trace its spectral and timing evolution.
We report the discovery of a luminosity-dependent cyclotron line energy for the first time in this source. The pulse profiles and pulsed fraction also show variability along the outburst, which is consistent with the interpretation that the source transitions from the subcritical to the supercritical accretion regime, separated by a critical luminosity of Lcrit ≈ 4 × 1037 erg s−1.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | The American Astronomical Society |
Year: | 2022 |
Pages: | 194 |
ISSN: | 15384357 and 0004637x |
Types: | Journal article and Preprint article |
DOI: | 10.3847/1538-4357/ac524f |
ORCIDs: | Jaisawal, G. K. , 0000-0002-0380-0041 , 0000-0002-5967-8399 , 0000-0001-7532-8359 , 0000-0002-1131-3059 , 0000-0003-0388-0560 , 0000-0002-2413-9301 , 0000-0001-9840-2048 , 0000-0002-4656-6881 , 0000-0003-2065-5410 , 0000-0002-8585-0084 and 0000-0002-4013-5650 |