No Arabic abstract
We have studied the atoll source 4U 1608-52 using a large data set obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We find that the timing properties of 4U 1608-52 are almost exactly identical to those of the atoll sources 4U 0614+09 and 4U 1728-34 despite the fact that contrary to these sources 4U 1608-52 is a transient covering two orders of magnitude in luminosity. The frequencies of the variability components of these three sources follow a universal scheme when plotted versus the frequency of the upper kilohertz QPO, suggesting a very similar accretion flow configuration. If we plot the Z sources on this scheme only the lower kilohertz QPO and HBO follow identical relations. Using the mutual relations between the frequencies of the variability components we tested several models; the transition layer model, the sonic point beat frequency model, and the relativistic precession model. None of these models described the data satisfactory. Recently, it has been suggested that the atoll sources (among them 4U 1608-52) trace out similar three-branch patterns as the Z sources in the color-color diagram. We have studied the relation between the power spectral properties and the position of 4U 1608-52 in the color-color diagram and conclude that the timing behavior is not consistent with the idea that 4U 1608-52 traces out a three-branched Z shape in the color-color diagram along which the timing properties vary gradually, as Z sources do.
We have studied the spectral and timing behaviour of the atoll source 4U 1608-52. We find that the timing behaviour of 4U 1608-52 is almost identical to that of the atoll sources 4U 0614+09 and 4U 1728-34. Recently Muno, Remillard & Chakrabarty (2002) and Gierlinski & Done (2002) suggested that the atoll sources trace out similar three-branch patterns as the Z sources. The timing behaviour is not consistent with the idea that 4U 1608-52 traces out a three-branched Z shape in the color-color diagram along which the timing properties vary gradually.
In this paper we report on the spectral evolution of 4U 1608-522 performed as part of the long Galactic Bulge monitoring with INTEGRAL. The data set include the April 2005 outburst. BeppoSAX archival data (two observations, in 1998 and 2000) have been also analysed and compared with the INTEGRAL ones. Three different spectral states have been identified from the hard Color-Intensity diagram derived from INTEGRAL: the canonical Hard and Soft as well as an Intermediate state. The hard state spectrum is well described by a weak black body component plus a Comptonised plasma component with high electron temperature (kTe~60 keV) extending up to 200 keV without any additional cut-off. The soft spectra are characterized by a cold Comptonised plasma (kTe= 2-3 keV, and 7 keV for the intermediate state) and a strong disk black body component. A reflection component, indicating reflection of the X-ray radiation from the accretion disc, is also present in the soft state revealed by BeppoSAX in 1998. The 2000 BeppoSAX observation revealed the source in quiescent state modelled by a neutron star atmosphere (assuming a neutron star with radius 10 km and mass 1.4 Msun) with an effective temperature, kTeff of 0.1 keV plus a power law component with Gamma~3 detected for the first time for this source. This spectrum can also be modelled with a simple black body compatible with emission originating from a small fraction of the NS surface of radius of 0.4 km.
We have studied the rapid X-ray time variability in 149 pointed observations with the textit{Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer} (RXTE)s Proportional Counter Array of the atoll source 4U~1636--53 in the banana state and, for the first time with RXTE, in the island state. We compare the frequencies of the variability components of 4U~1636--53 with those in other atoll and Z-sources and find that 4U~1636--53 follows the universal scheme of correlations previously found for other atoll sources at (sometimes much) lower luminosities. Our results on the hectohertz QPO suggest that the mechanism that sets its frequency differs from that for the other components, while the amplitude setting mechanism is common. A previously proposed interpretation of the narrow low-frequency QPO frequencies in different sources in terms of harmonic mode switching is not supported by our data, nor by some previous data on other sources and the frequency range that this QPO covers is found not to be related to spin, angular momentum or luminosity.
We study the rapid X-ray time variability in all public data available from the textit{Rossi X-ray Timing Explorers} Proportional Counter Array on the atoll source 4U 1820--30 in the low-luminosity island state. A total of $sim46$ ks of data were used. We compare the frequencies of the variability components of 4U 1820--30 with those in other atolls sources. These frequencies were previously found to follow a universal scheme of correlations. We find that 4U 1820--30 shows correlations that are shifted by factors of $1.13pm0.01$ and $1.21pm0.02$ with respect to those in other atoll sources. These shifts are similar to, but smaller than the shift factor $sim1.45$ previously reported for some accreting millisecond pulsars. Therefore, 4U 1820--30 is the first atoll source which shows no significant pulsations but has a significant shift in the frequency correlations compared with other 3 non-pulsating atoll sources.
We test the proposed 3-component spectral model for neutron star low mass X-ray binaries using broad-band X-ray data. We have analysed 4 X-ray spectra (0.8-30 keV) obtained with Suzaku during the 2010 outburst of 4U 1608-52, which have allowed us to perform a comprehensive spectral study covering all the classical spectral states. We use a thermally Comptonized continuum component to account for the hard emission, as well as two thermal components to constrain the accretion disc and neutron star surface contributions. We find that the proposed combination of multicolor disc, single-temperature black body and Comptonization components successfully reproduces the data from soft to hard states. In the soft state, our study supports the neutron star surface (or boundary layer) as the dominant source for the Comptonization seed photons yielding the observed weak hard emission, while in the hard state both solutions, either the disc or the neutron star surface, are equally favoured. The obtained spectral parameters as well as the spectral/timing correlations are comparable to those observed in accreting black holes, which support the idea that black hole and neutron star low mass X-ray binaries undergo a similar state evolution during their accretion episodes.