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Register a new userInsight-HXMT firm detection of the highest energy fundamental cyclotron resonance scattering feature in the spectrum of GRO J1008-57
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We report on the observation of the accreting pulsar GRO J1008-57 performed by Insight-HXMT at the peak of the sources 2017 outburst. Pulsations are detected with a spin period of 93.283(1) s. The pulse profile shows double peaks at soft X-rays, and only one peak above 20 keV. The spectrum is well described by the phenomenological models of X-ray pulsars. A cyclotron resonant scattering feature is detected with very high statistical significance at a centroid energy of $E_{rm cyc}=90.32_{-0.28}^{+0.32}$ keV, for the reference continuum and line models, HIGHECUT and GABS respectively. Detection is very robust with respect to different continuum models. The line energy is significantly higher than what suggested from previous observations, which provided very marginal evidence for the line. This establishes a new record for the centroid energy of a fundamental cyclotron resonant scattering feature observed in accreting pulsars. We also discuss the accretion regime of the source during the Insight-HXMT observation.
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We report on the firm detection of a cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF) in the X-ray spectrum of the Be X-ray binary pulsar, GRO J1008-57, achieved by the Suzaku Hard X-ray Detector during a giant outburst which was detected by the MAXI Gas Slit Camera in 2012 November. The Suzaku observation was carried out on 2012 November 20, outburst maximum when the X-ray flux reached $sim 0.45$ Crab in 4-10 keV, which corresponds to a luminosity of $1.1 times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 0.5--100 keV at 5.8 kpc. The obtained broadband X-ray spectrum from 0.5 keV to 118 keV revealed a significant absorption feature, considered as the fundamental CRSF, at $sim 76$ keV. This unambiguously reconfirm the previously suggested $sim$ 80 keV spectral feature in GRO J1008$-$57. The implied surface magnetic field, $6.6times 10^{12}$ G, is the highest among binary X-ray pulsars from which CRSFs have ever been detected.
GRO J1008-57, as a Be/X-ray transient pulsar, is considered to have the highest magnetic field in known neutron star X-ray binary systems. Observational data of the X-ray outbursts in GRO J1008-57 from 2017 to 2020 were collected by the Insight-HXMT satellite. In this work, the spin period of the neutron star in GRO J1008-57 was determined to be about 93.28 seconds in August 2017, 93.22 seconds in February 2018, 93.25 seconds in June 2019 and 93.14 seconds in June 2020. GRO J1008-57 evolved in the spin-up process with a mean rate of $-(2.10pm 0.05)times$10$^{-4}$ s/d from 2009 -- 2018, and turned into a spin down process with a rate of $(6.7pm 0.6)times$10$^{-5}$ s/d from Feb 2018 to June 2019. During the type II outburst of 2020, GRO J1008-57 had the spin-up torque again. During the torque reversals, the pulse profiles and continuum X-ray spectra did not change significantly, and the cyclotron resonant scattering feature around 80 keV was only detected during the outbursts in 2017 and 2020. Based on the observed mean spin-up rate, we estimated the inner accretion disk radius in GRO J1008-57 (about 1 - 2 times of the Alfv{e}n radius) by comparing different accretion torque models of magnetic neutron stars. During the spin-down process, the magnetic torque should dominate over the matter accreting inflow torque, and we constrained the surface dipole magnetic field $Bgeq 6times 10^{12}$ G for the neutron star in GRO J1008-57, which is consistent with the magnetic field strength obtained by cyclotron line centroid energy.
Cyclotron line scattering features are detected in a few tens of X-ray pulsars (XRPs) and used as direct indicators of a strong magnetic field at the surface of accreting neutron stars (NSs). In a few cases, cyclotron lines are known to be variable with accretion luminosity of XRPs. It is accepted that the observed variations of cyclotron line scattering features are related to variations of geometry and dynamics of accretion flow above the magnetic poles of a NS. A positive correlation between the line centroid energy and luminosity is typical for sub-critical XRPs, where the accretion results in hot spots at the magnetic poles. The negative correlation was proposed to be a specific feature of bright super-critical XRPs, where radiation pressure supports accretion columns above the stellar surface. Cyclotron line in spectra of Be-transient X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57 is detected at energies from $sim 75 -90$ keV, the highest observed energy of cyclotron line feature in XRPs. We report the peculiar relation of cyclotron line centroid energies with luminosity in GRO J1008-57 during the Type II outburst in August 2017 observed by Insight-HXMT. The cyclotron line energy was detected to be negatively correlated with the luminosity at $3.2times 10^{37},ergs<L<4.2times 10^{37},ergs$, and positively correlated at $Lgtrsim 5times 10^{37},ergs$. We speculate that the observed peculiar behavior of a cyclotron line would be due to variations of accretion channel geometry.
We present timing and broad-band spectral studies of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1909+07 using data from Suzaku observation during 2010 November 2-3. The pulse period of the pulsar is estimated to be 604.11+/-0.14 s. Pulsations are seen in the X-ray light curve up to ~70 keV. The pulse profile is found to be strongly energy-dependent: a complex, multi-peaked structure at low energy that becomes a simple single peak at higher energy. We found that the 1-70 keV pulse averaged continuum can be fitted by the sum of a black body and a partial covering Negative and Positive power-law with EXponential cutoff (NPEX) model. A weak iron fluorescence emission line at 6.4 keV was detected in the spectrum. An absorption like feature at ~44 keV was clearly seen in the residue of the spectral fitting, independent of the continuum model adopted. To check the possible presence of a CRSF in the spectrum, we normalized the pulsar spectrum with the spectrum of the Crab Nebula. The resulting Crab ratio also showed a clear dip centered at ~44 keV. We performed statistical tests on the residue of the spectral fitting and also on the Crab spectral ratio to determine the significance of the absorption like feature and identified it as a CRSF of the pulsar. We estimated the corresponding surface magnetic field of the pulsar to be 3.8 x 10^12 Gauss.
We report results of the first broadband observation of the transient X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57 performed in the quiescent state. Observations were conducted quasi-simultaneously with the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope on board SRG and NuSTAR right before the beginning of a Type I outburst. GRO J1008-57 was detected in the state with the lowest observed luminosity around several $times 10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and consequently accreting from the cold disk. Timing analysis allowed to significantly detect pulsations during this state for the first time. The observed pulsed fraction of about 20% is, however, almost three times lower than in brighter states when the accretion proceeds through the standard disk. We traced the evolution of the broadband spectrum of the source on a scale of three orders of magnitude in luminosity and found that at the lowest luminosities the spectrum transforms into the double-hump structure similarly to other X-ray pulsars accreting at low luminosities (X Persei, GX 304-1, A0535+262) reinforcing conclusion that this spectral shape is typical for these objects.
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