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Register a new userDisentangling the system geometry of the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient IGR J11215-5952 with Swift
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P. Romano
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IGR J11215-5952 is a hard X-ray transient discovered in 2005 April by INTEGRAL and a member of the new class of HMXB, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). While INTEGRAL and RXTE observations have shown that the outbursts occur with a periodicity of ~330 days, Swift data have recently demonstrated that the true outburst period is ~165 days. IGR J11215-5952 is the first discovered SFXT displaying periodic outbursts, which are possibly related to the orbital period. We performed a Guest Investigator observation with Swift that lasted 20ks and several follow-up Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations, for a total of ~32ks, during the expected apastron passage (defined assuming an orbital period of ~330 days), between 2008 June 16 and July 4. The characteristics of this apastron outburst are quite similar to those previously observed during the periastron outburst of 2007 February 9. The mean spectrum of the bright peaks can be fit with an absorbed power law model with a photon index of 1 and an absorbing column of 1E22 cm^-2. This outburst reached luminosities of ~1E36 erg/s (1-10keV), comparable with the ones measured in 2007. The light curve can be modelled with the parameters obtained by Sidoli et al. (2007) for the 2007 February 9 outburst, although some differences can be observed in its shape. The properties of the rise to this new outburst and the comparison with the previous outbursts allow us to suggest that the true orbital period of IGR J11215-5952 is very likely 164.6 days, and that the orbit is eccentric, with the different outbursts produced at the periastron passage, when the neutron star crosses the inclined equatorial wind from the supergiant companion. Based on a ToO observation performed on 2008 March 25-27, we can exclude that the period is 165/2 days. [Abridged]
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We report on the results of a NuSTAR observation of the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient pulsar IGRJ11215-5952 during the peak of its outburst in June 2017. IGRJ11215-5952 is the only SFXT undergoing strictly periodic outbursts, every 165 days. NuSTAR caught several X-ray flares, spanning a dynamic range of 100, and detected X-ray pulsations at 187.0 s, consistent with previous measurements. The spectrum from the whole observation is well described by an absorbed power-law (with a photon index of 1.4) modified, above 7 keV, by a cutoff with an e-folding energy of 24 keV. A weak emission line is present at 6.4 keV, consistent with Kalpha emission from cold iron in the supergiant wind. The time-averaged flux is 1.5E-10 erg/cm2/s (3-78 keV, corrected for the absorption), translating into an average luminosity of about 9E35 erg/s (1-100 keV, assuming a distance of 6.5 kpc). The NuSTAR observation allowed us to perform the most sensitive search for cyclotron resonant scattering features in the hard X-ray spectrum, resulting in no significant detection in any of the different spectral extractions adopted (time-averaged, temporally-selected, spin-phase-resolved and intensity-selected spectra). The pulse profile showed an evolution with both the energy (3-12 keV energy range compared with 12-78 keV band) and the X-ray flux: a double peaked profile was evident at higher fluxes (and in both energy bands), while a single peaked, sinusoidal profile was present at the lowest intensity state achieved within the NuSTAR observations (in both energy bands). The intensity-selected analysis allowed us to observe an anti-correlation of the pulsed fraction with the X-ray luminosity. The pulse profile evolution can be explained by X-ray photon scattering in the accreting matter above magnetic poles of a neutron star at the quasi-spherical settling accretion stage.
IGR J11215-5952 is a hard X-ray transient source discovered in April 2005 with INTEGRAL and a confirmed member of the new class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). Archival INTEGRAL data and RXTE observations showed that the outbursts occur with a periodicity of ~330 days. Thus, IGR J11215-5952 is the first SFXT displaying periodic outbursts, possibly related to the orbital period. We performed a Target of Opportunity observation with Swift with the main aim of monitoring the source behaviour around the time of the fifth outburst, expected on 2007 Feb 9. The source field was observed with Swift twice a day (2ks/day) starting from 4th February, 2007, until the fifth outburst, and then for ~5 ks a day afterwards, during a monitoring campaign that lasted 23 days for a total on-source exposure of ~73 ks. This is the most complete monitoring campaign of an outburst from a SFXT. The spectrum during the brightest flares is well described by an absorbed power law with a photon index of 1 and N_H~1 10^22 cm^-2. A 1-10 keV peak luminosity of ~10^36 erg s^-1 was derived (assuming 6.2 kpc, the distance of the optical counterpart). These Swift observations are a unique data-set for an outburst of a SFXT, thanks to the combination of sensitivity and time coverage, and they allowed a study of IGR J11215-5952 from outburst onset to almost quiescence. We find that the accretion phase lasts longer than previously thought on the basis of lower sensitivity instruments observing only the brightest flares. The observed phenomenology is consistent with a smoothly increasing flux triggered at the periastron passage in a wide eccentric orbit with many flares superimposed, possibly due to episodic or inhomogeneous accretion.
The hard X-ray source IGR J11215-5952 is a peculiar transient, displaying very short X-ray outbursts every 165 days. We obtained high-resolution spectra of the optical counterpart, HD 306414, at different epochs, spanning a total of three months, before and around the 2007 February outburst with the combined aims of deriving its astrophysical parameters and searching for orbital modulation. We fit model atmospheres generated with the fastwind code to the spectrum. We also cross-correlated each individual spectrum to the best-fit model to derive radial velocities. From its spectral features, we classify HD 306414 as B0.5 Ia. From the model fit, we find Teff = 24 700 K and log g = 2.7, in good agreement with the morphological classification. Using the interstellar lines in its spectrum, we estimate a distance to HD 306414 d > 7 kpc. Assuming this distance, we derive R* = 40 Rsol and Mspect = 30 Msol (consistent, within errors, with Mevol = 38 Msol). Radial velocity changes are not dominated by the orbital motion, and we find an upper limit on the semi-amplitude for the optical component Kopt < 11 +- 6 km/s. Large variations in the depth and shape of photospheric lines suggest the presence of strong pulsations, which may be the main cause of the radial velocity changes. Very significant variations, uncorrelated with those of the photospheric lines are seen in the shape and position of the Halpha emission feature around the time of the X-ray outburst, but large excursions are also observed at other times. HD 306414 is a normal B0.5 Ia supergiant. Its radial velocity curve is dominated by an effect that is different from binary motion, and is most likely stellar pulsations. The data available suggest that the X-ray outbursts are caused by the close passage of the neutron star in a very eccentric orbit, perhaps leading to localised mass outflow. (abridged).
We report on the Swift monitoring of the candidate supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) IGR J16418-4532, for which both orbital and spin periods are known (~3.7d and ~1250s, respectively). Our observations, for a total of ~43ks, span over three orbital periods and represent the most intense and complete sampling of the light curve of this source with a sensitive X-ray instrument. With this unique set of observations we can address the nature of this transient. By applying the clumpy wind model for blue supergiants to the observed X-ray light curve, and assuming a circular orbit, the X-ray emission from this source can be explained in terms of the accretion from a spherically symmetric clumpy wind, composed of clumps with different masses, ranging from ~5E16 g to 1E21g. Our data suggest, based on the X-ray behaviour, that this is an intermediate SFXT.
We report on the Swift/X-ray Telescope (XRT) monitoring of the field of view around the candidate supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) IGR J17354-3255, which is positionally associated with the AGILE/GRID gamma-ray transient AGL J1734-3310. Our observations, which cover 11 days for a total on-source exposure of about 24 ks, span 1.2 orbital periods (P_orb=8.4474 d) and are the first sensitive monitoring of this source in the soft X-rays. These new data allow us to exploit the timing variability properties of the sources in the field to unambiguously identify the soft X-ray counterpart of IGR J17354-3255. The soft X-ray light curve shows a moderate orbital modulation and a dip. We investigated the nature of the dip by comparing the X-ray light curve with the prediction of the Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion theory, assuming both spherical and nonspherical symmetry of the outflow from the donor star. We found that the dip cannot be explained with the X-ray orbital modulation. We propose that an eclipse or the onset of a gated mechanism is the most likely explanation for the observed light curve.
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