X-ray Spectroscopy of the Accreting Millisecond Pulsar XTE J0929-314 in Outburst

Abstract

We present the high-resolution spectrum of the accretion-powered millisecond pulsar XTE J0929-314 during its 2002 outburst, measured using the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The 1.5-25.3 A (0.5-8.3 keV) Chandra spectrum is well fit by a power-law + blackbody model with photon index Gamma=1.55+/-0.03, blackbody temperature kT_bb=0.65+/-0.03 keV, and blackbody normalization R_bb,km/d_10kpc=7.6+/-0.8. No emission or absorption features are found in the high-resolution spectrum, with a 3 sigma equivalent width upper limit of <0.007 A at 1.5 A and <0.12 A at 24 A. The neutral absorption edge depths are consistent with the estimated interstellar absorption along the line of sight to the source. We found no orbital modulation of the 2-10 keV X-ray flux, to a 3 sigma upper limit of 1.1%, which implies an upper limit on the binary inclination angle of i<85deg for a Roche-lobe-filling companion. We also present the broadband spectrum measured over the course of the outburst by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. The XTE spectrum of XTE J0929-314 is also well fit with a power-law + blackbody model, with average values of Gamma=1.76+/-0.03, kT_bb=0.66+/-0.06 keV, and R_bb,km/d_10kpc=5.9+/-1.3 in the 2-50 keV energy range. The blackbody flux remained constant over the course of the outburst, while the power-law flux was strongly correlated to the (decreasing) flux of the source. We find that the difference in power-law photon indices measured from Chandra and XTE spectra can be explained by a change in the power-law photon index at low energies.