X-Ray and Radio Monitoring of the Neutron Star Low-mass X-Ray Binary 1A 1744-361: Quasiperiodic Oscillations, Transient Ejections, and a Disk Atmosphere


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Ng M., Hughes A. K., Homan J., Miller J. M., Pike S. N., Altamirano D., ...Daha Fazla

Astrophysical Journal, cilt.966, sa.2, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 966 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad35bd
  • Dergi Adı: Astrophysical Journal
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, INSPEC, zbMATH, Directory of Open Access Journals, DIALNET
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

We report on X-ray (NICER/NuSTAR/MAXI/Swift) and radio (MeerKAT) timing and spectroscopic analysis from a 3 month monitoring campaign in 2022 of a high-intensity outburst of the dipping neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 1A 1744−361. The 0.5-6.8 keV NICER X-ray hardness-intensity and color-color diagrams of the observations throughout the outburst suggest that 1A 1744−361 spent most of its outburst in an atoll-state, but we show that the source exhibited Z-state-like properties at the peak of the outburst, similar to a small sample of other atoll-state sources. A timing analysis with NICER data revealed several instances of an ≈8 Hz quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO; fractional rms amplitudes of ∼5%) around the peak of the outburst, the first from this source, which we connect to the normal branch QPOs seen in the Z-state. Our observations of 1A 1744−361 are fully consistent with the idea of the mass accretion rate being the main distinguishing parameter between atoll- and Z-states. Radio monitoring data by MeerKAT suggests that the source was at its radio-brightest during the outburst peak, and that the source transitioned from the “island” spectral state to the “banana” state within ∼3 days of the outburst onset, launching transient jet ejecta. The observations present the strongest evidence for radio flaring, including jet ejecta, during the island-to-banana spectral state transition at low accretion rates (atoll-state). The source also exhibited Fe xxv, Fe xxvi Kα, and Kβ X-ray absorption lines, whose origins likely lie in an accretion disk atmosphere.