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The 5 hr pulse period and broadband spectrum of the Symbiotic X-ray Binary 3A 1954+319

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 نشر من قبل Katja Pottschmidt
 تاريخ النشر 2011
  مجال البحث فيزياء
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We present an analysis of the highly variable accreting X-ray pulsar 3A 1954+319 using 2005-2009 monitoring data obtained with INTEGRAL and Swift. This considerably extends the pulse period history and covers flaring episodes in 2005 and 2008. In 2006 the source was identified as one of only a few known symbiotic X-ray binaries (SyXBs), i.e., systems composed of a neutron star accreting from the inhomogeneous medium around an M-giant star. The extremely long pulse period of 5.3 hr is directly visible in the 2008 INTEGRAL-ISGRI outburst light curve. The pulse profile is double peaked and generally not significantly energy dependent although there is an indication of possible softening during the main pulse. During the outburst a strong spin-up of -1.8 10^(-4) hr hr^(-1) occurred. Between 2005 and 2008 a long-term spin-down trend of 2.1 10^-5 hr hr^(-1) was observed for the first time for this source. The 3-80 keV pulse peak spectrum of 3A 1954+319 during the 2008 flare could be well described by a thermal Comptonization model. We interpret the results within the framework of a recently developed quasi-spherical accretion model for SyXBs.



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The symbiotic X-ray binary 4U 1954+319 is a rare system hosting a peculiar neutron star (NS) and an M-type optical companion. Its ~5.4h NS spin period is the longest among all known accretion-powered pulsars and exhibited large (~7%) fluctuations ove r 8 years. A spin trend transition was detected with Swift/BAT around an X-ray brightening in 2012. The source was in quiescent and bright states before and after this outburst based on 60 ks Suzaku observations in 2011 and 2012. The observed continuum is well described by a Comptonized model with the addition of a narrow 6.4 keV Fe Kalpha line during the outburst. Spectral similarities to slowly rotating pulsars in high-mass X-ray binaries, its high pulsed fraction (~60-80%), and the location in the Corbet diagram favor high B-field (>~1e+12 G) over a weak field as in low-mass X-ray binaries. The observed low X-ray luminosity (1e+33-1e+35 erg/s), probable wide orbit, and a slow stellar wind of this SyXB make quasi-spherical accretion in the subsonic settling regime a plausible model. Assuming a ~1e+13 G NS, this scheme can explain the ~5.4 h equilibrium rotation without employing the magnetar-like field (~1e+16 G) required in the disk accretion case. The time-scales of multiple irregular flares (~50 s) can also be attributed to the free-fall time from the Alfven shell for a ~1e+13 G field. A physical interpretation of SyXBs beyond the canonical binary classifications is discussed.
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