arXiv subjects

Alexander Vinokurov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Vinokurov.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

NGC 5474 X-1: a neutron star ULX in an old stellar cluster?

We present the optical and X-ray study of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5474 X-1. The X-ray spectrum taken during the bright state of the source ($L_X \sim 2\times10^{40}$ egs/s) shows signatures of a broad absorption line at $\simeq 8$ keV which may be a cyclotron resonant scattering feature. This implies that this system may host a neutron star with a magnetic field $\sim 10^{12}$ G. The first observation of this area with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) carried out 14 months later revealed that the source was bright in the optical range as well. The subsequent observations have shown that the source faded in both ranges (more than $2.8^m$ in the U band and by a factor of 50-100 in X-rays) and has never become bright again. Deeper HST observations made it possible to impose constraints on the donor star spectral class and mass ($<\,7$ M$_\odot$), as well as to identify a stellar cluster of about 1 Gyr, the centre of which is located at a projected distance of $\simeq 2$ pc from NGC 5474 X-1. The ULX can be a member of this old cluster, however, the presence of stars with ages of $\sim10$ Myr within 300 pc around the ULX does not completely exclude the possibility that it is just an accidental projection.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Optical Counterpart to the Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in the UGC6456 Galaxy

We report the identification of the optical counterpart to the transient ultraluminuos X-ray source in the blue dwarf galaxy UGC6456 (VII Zw 403). The source is highly variable in both the X-ray (more 100 times, 0.3-10 keV) and optical (more 3 times, V band) ranges. The peak X-ray luminosity of UGC6456 ULX exceeds $10^{40}$ erg/s; the absolute magnitude when the source is optically bright is M$_V = -8.24\pm0.11$, which makes this source one of the brightest ULXs in the optical range. We found a correlation between the optical and X-ray fluxes (with a coefficient of $0.9\pm 0.3$), which may indicate that the optical emission is produced by re-processing of the X-rays in outer parts of the optically-thick wind coming from the supercritical accretion disk. Optical spectra of UGC6456 ULX show broad and variable hydrogen and helium emission lines, which also confirms the presence of the strong wind.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Optical Counterparts of ULXs and Their Host Environments in NGC 4490/4485

We report the identification of the possible optical counterparts of five out of seven Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) in NGC 4490/4485 galaxy pair. Using archival Hubble Space Telescope ({\it HST}) imaging data, we identified a single optical candidate for two ULXs (X-4 and X-7) and multiple optical candidates for the other three ULXs (X-2, X-3 and X-6) within $\sim$ $0\farcs2$ error radius at the 90\% confidence level. Of the two remaining ULXs, X-1 has no {\it HST} imaging data and photometry could not be performed due to the position of X-5 in NGC4490. Absolute magnitudes ($M_{V}$) of the optical candidates lie between $-5.7$ and $-3.8$. Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) have been used to investigate the properties of counterparts and their environments. The locations of the counterparts of X-2, X-4, and X-6 suggest possible association with nearby group of stars while others have no association with a star cluster or group of stars. For comparison purposes, we analyzed previously unused three archival XMM-Newton observations. The long-term X-ray light curves of the sources (except transient X-7) show variability by a factor of three in a time scale more than a decade. The use of disk blackbody model for the mass of the compact objects indicates that these objects might have masses most likely in the range 10$-$15 $M_{\sun}$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Ultraluminous X-ray sources as super-Eddington accretion disks

The origin of Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in external galaxies whose X-ray luminosities exceed those of the brightest black holes in our Galaxy by hundreds and thousands of times is mysterious. The most popular models for the ULXs involve either intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) or stellar-mass black holes accreting at super-Eddington rates. Here we review the ULX properties, their X-ray spectra indicate a presence of hot winds in their accretion disks supposing the supercritical accretion. However, the strongest evidences come from optical spectroscopy. The spectra of the ULX counterparts are very similar to that of SS 433, the only known supercritical accretor in our Galaxy.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Supercritical Accretion Discs in Ultraluminous X-ray Sources and SS 433

The black hole mass and accretion rate in Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in external galaxies, whose X-ray luminosities exceed those of the brightest black holes in our Galaxy by hundreds and thousands of times$^{1,2}$, is an unsolved problem. Here we report that all ULXs ever spectroscopically observed have about the same optical spectra apparently of WNL type (late nitrogen Wolf-Rayet stars) or LBV (luminous blue variables) in their hot state, which are very scarce stellar objects. We show that the spectra do not originate from WNL/LBV type donors but from very hot winds from the accretion discs with nearly normal hydrogen content, which have similar physical conditions as the stellar winds from these stars. The optical spectra are similar to that of SS 433, the only known supercritical accretor in our Galaxy$^{3}$, although the ULX spectra indicate a higher wind temperature. Our results suggest that ULXs with X-ray luminosities of $\sim 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ must constitute a homogeneous class of objects, which most likely have supercritical accretion discs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

X-ray variability of SS433: effects of the supercritical accretion disc

We study a stochastic variability of SS433 in the $10^{-4} - 5\times 10^{-2}$ Hz frequency range based on RXTE data, and on simultaneous observations with RXTE and optical telescopes. We find that the cross-correlation functions and power spectra depend drastically on the precession phase of the supercritical accretion disc. When the wind funnel of the disc is maximally open to the observer, a flat part emerges in the power spectrum; a break is observed at the frequency $1.7\times10^{-3}$ Hz, with a power-law index $β\approx 1.67$ at higher frequencies. The soft emission forming mostly in the jets, lags behind the hard and optical emission. When the observer does not see the funnel and jets (the `edge-on' disc), the power spectrum is described by a single power-law with $β\approx 1.34$ and no correlations between X-ray ranges are detected. We investigated two mechanisms to explain the observed variability at the open disc phase, 1) reflection of radiation at the funnel wall (X-rays and optical) and 2) the gas cooling in the jets (X-rays only). The X-ray variability is determined by the contribution of both mechanisms, however the contribution of the jets is much higher. We found that the funnel size is $(2-2.5)\times10^{12}$ cm, and the opening angle is $\vartheta_f\sim 50^\circ$. X-ray jets may consist of three fractions with different densities: $8\times10^{13}$, $3\times10^{13}$ and $5\times10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$, with most of the jet's mass falling within the latter fraction. We suppose that revealed flat part in the power spectrum may be related to an abrupt change in the disc structure and viscous time-scale at the spherization radius, because the accretion disc becomes thick at this radius, $h/r \sim 1$. The extent of the flat spectrum depends on the variation of viscosity at the spherization radius.

astro-ph.HE↗