No Arabic abstract
On 28 February 2007 a new outburst of the previously known transient source XTE J1856+053 was detected with RXTE/ASM. We present here the results of an XMM-Newton (0.5-10.0 keV) Target of Opportunity observation performed on 14 March 2007, aimed at constraining the mass of the compact object in this X-ray binary and determining its main properties. The EPIC-pn camera was used in Timing mode and its spectrum fit together with the RGS data. IR observations with GROND at the 2.2 m telescope in La Silla provide further information on the system. The X-ray light curve shows that both the 1996 and the 2007 outbursts had two peaks. The X-ray spectrum is well fit with a thermal accretion disk model, with kT=0.75+/-0.01 keV and foreground absorption N_H=4.5(+/-0.1)E22 cm**-2. The low disk temperature favours a black-hole as accreting object, with an estimated mass in the range 1.3-4.2 M_sun. From the IR upper limits we argue that XTE J1856+053 is a low mass X-ray binary. We estimate the orbital period of the system to be between 3 and 12 hours.
The black hole candidate XTE J1817-330 was discovered in outburst on 26 January 2006 with RXTE/ASM. One year later, on 28 February 2007, another X-ray transient discovered in 1996, XTE J1856+053, was detected by RXTE during a new outburst. We report on the spectra obtained by XMM-Newton of these two black hole candidates.
The X-ray binary XTE J1817-330 was discovered in outburst on 26 January 2006 with RXTE/ASM. One year later, another X-ray transient discovered in 1996, XTE J1856+053, was detected by RXTE during a new outburst on 28 February 2007. We triggered XMM-Newton target of opportunity observations on these two objects to constrain their parameters and search for a stellar black holes. We summarize the properties of these two X-ray transients and show that the soft X-ray spectra indicate indeed the presence of an accreting stellar black hole in each of the two systems.
We present optical photometry and spectroscopy of the X-ray transient XTE J1859+226, obtained during outburst and its subsequent decay to quiescence. Both the X-ray and optical properties are very similar to those of well-studied black hole soft X-ray transients. We have detected 3 minioutbursts, when XTE J1859+226 was approaching quiescence, as has been previously detected in the Soft X-Ray Transients GRO J0422+32 and GRS 1009-45. By 24 Aug 2000 the system had reached quiescence with R=22.48+/-0.07. The estimated distance to the source is ~11 kpc. Photometry taken during quiescence shows a sinusoidal modulation with a peak to peak amplitude of about 0.4 mag. A period analysis suggests that periods from 0.28 to 0.47 days are equally possible at the 68% confidence level. The amplitude of the quiescent light curve and the relatively low ratio of X-ray to optical flux, indicates that the binary inclination should be high. The measured colours during the outburst allows us to obtain the basic properties of the disc, which agrees well with irradiated disc model predictions.
Be X-ray binaries are among the best known transient high-energy sources. Their outbursts are commonly classified into a simple scheme of normal and giant outbursts, but a closer look shows that actual outbursts do not always follow this simple scheme. Recent data show a variety of properties, like pre-flares, shifts of the outburst peaks with respect to the periastron, multi-peaked outbursts etc. We present results from a systematic study of a large number of outbursts monitored by various space missions, comparing outburst properties and their relation to system parameters and current theoretical understanding.
We present the earliest X-ray observations of the 2018 outburst of XTE J1810-197, the first outburst since its 2003 discovery as the prototypical transient and radio-emitting anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP). The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) detected XTE J1810-197 immediately after a November 20-26 visibility gap, contemporaneous with its reactivation as a radio pulsar, first observed on December 8. On December 13 the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NUSTAR) detected X-ray emission up to at least 30 keV, with a spectrum well-characterized by a blackbody plus power-law model with temperature kT = 0.74+/-0.02 keV and photon index Gamma = 4.4+/-0.2 or by a two-blackbody model with kT = 0.59+/-0.04 keV and kT = 1.0+/-0.1 keV, both including an additional power-law component to account for emission above 10 keV, with Gamma_h = -0.2+/-1.5 and Gamma_h = 1.5+/-0.5, respectively. The latter index is consistent with hard X-ray flux reported for the non-transient magnetars. In the 2-10 keV bandpass, the absorbed flux is 2E-10 erg/s/cm^2, a factor of 2 greater than the maximum flux extrapolated for the 2003 outburst. The peak of the sinusoidal X-ray pulse lags the radio pulse by approx. 0.13 cycles, consistent with their phase relationship during the 2003 outburst. This suggests a stable geometry in which radio emission originates on magnetic field lines containing currents that heat a spot on the neutron star surface. However, a measured energy-dependent phase shift of the pulsed X-rays suggests that all X-ray emitting regions are not precisely co-aligned.