Discovery of narrow X-ray absorption features from the dipping low-mass X-ray binary X 1624-490 with XMM-Newton

Abstract

We report the discovery of narrow X-ray absorption features from the dipping low-mass X-ray binary X 1624-490 during an XMM-Newton observation in 2001 February. The features are identified with the K alpha absorption lines of Fe xxv and Fe xxvi and have energies of 6.72 +/- 0.03 keV and 7.00 +/- 0.02 keV and equivalent widths (EWs) of -7.5 +1.7 -6.3 eV and -16.6 +1.9 -5.9 eV, respectively. The EWs show no obvious dependence on orbital phase, except during a dip, and correspond to a column of greater than 10^17.3 Fe atom /cm2. In addition, faint absorption features tentatively identified with Ni xxvii K alpha and Fe xxvi K beta may be present. A broad emission feature at 6.58 +0.07 -0.04 keV with an EW of 78 +19 -6 eV is also evident. This is probably the 6.4 keV feature reported by earlier missions since fitting a single Gaussian to the entire Fe-K region gives an energy of 6.39 +0.03 -0.04 keV. A deep absorption feature is present during the dip with an energy consistent with Fe xxv K alpha. This is the second dipping LMXRB source from which narrow Fe absorption features have been observed. Until recently the only X-ray binaries known to exhibit narrow X-ray absorption lines were two superluminal jet sources and it had been suggested that these features are related to the jet formation mechanism. It now appears likely that ionized absorption features may be common characteristics of accreting systems with accretion disks.