arXiv subjects

L. Stella

Publications and source records attributed to L. Stella.

282 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

arXiv1997

X-ray variability in the quiescent state of Cen X-4

We report on a ROSAT-HRI observation of the soft X-ray transient Cen X-4 during quiescence. We discover a variation in the flux by a factor of 3 in less than four days. This relatively fast variation, the first observed from a quiescent soft X-ray transient, rules out some of the emission mechanisms that have been proposed for the quiescent flux. Accretion either onto the neutron star surface or onto the magnetospheric boundary is clearly favored.

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arXiv1996

The discovery of 13s X-ray pulsations from the hydrogen depleted subdwarf O6 star binary HD49798

We discovered strong 13s X-ray pulsations in the public Rosat PSPC light curve of HD49798, a 1.55d single-component spectroscopic binary containing a hydrogen depleted subdwarf O6 star. We find no evidence for period changes during the about 4hr Rosat pointing. The source X-ray spectrum is extremely soft, with an unabsorbed 0.1-2keV luminosity of a few times 10^32 erg s^-1 (distance of 650pc). A higher luminosity might be hidden in the EUV. Our results imply that the unseen companion is an accreting degenerate star, a white dwarf or, more likely, a neutron star. In either case HD49798 corresponds to a previously unobserved evolutionary stage of a massive binary system, after common envelope and spiral-in.

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arXiv1996

A new class of X-ray Pulsars ?

While the distribution of spin periods of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) spans more than four orders of magnitude (69ms - 25min), the few known X-ray pulsars accreting from very low mass companions (<1 Msun) have very similar periods between 5.4 and 8.7s . These pulsars display also several other similarities and they are probably members of a subclass of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) with similar magnetic field (a few 10^11 G), companion stars and, possibly, evolutionary histories. If they are rotating at, or close to, the equilibrium period, their properties are consistent with luminosities of the order of a few 10^35 erg/s. These pulsars might represent the closest members of a subclass of LMXBs characterized by lower luminosities, higher magnetic fields and smaller ages than non-pulsating LMXBs.

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arXiv1996

A new technique for the detection of periodic signals in ``coloured'' power spectra

The light curves from a variety of celestial objects display aperiodic variations, often giving rise to red-noise components in their power spectra. Searching for a narrow power spectrum peak resulting from a periodic modulation over the frequency range in which ``coloured'' noise components are dominant has proven a very complex task. We develop here a technique aimed at detecting periodicities in the presence of ``coloured'' power spectrum components, while mantaining the highest Fourier frequency resolution. First we introduce a simple approximation to the statistical properties of the ``coloured'' power spectra from celestial objects, based on a few examples and the theory of linear processes. We then estimate the continuum components in the power spectrum through an ad hoc smoothing technique. By dividing the sample spectrum by the smoothed one, a white-noise like spectrum is obtained, the approximate probability distribution of which is derived. A search for coherent pulsations is then carried out by looking for peaks in the divided spectrum, the chance probability of which is below a given detection threshold. The technique is tested and its range of applicability determined through extensive numerical simulations. We present also an application to the X-ray light curves of V0332+53, a highly variable accreting X-ray pulsar, and GX13+1, a bright and variable accreting source in the galactic bulge.

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arXiv1996

The Soft and Medium--Energy X--Ray Variability of NGC 5548: A Reanalysis of EXOSAT Observations

We present a detailed cross-correlation (CCF) and power spectrum re-analysis of the X-ray light curves of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC5548 obtained with EXOSAT. The 0.05-2 keV and 1-4 keV light curves are cross--correlated with the 1-9 keV and 4-9 keV light curves respectively. We discuss how spurious time lags can be introduced by systematic effects related to detector swapping as well as the switching on and off of the instruments. We also find strong evidence that one of the ME detectors was not working normally during the second part of the March 1986 observation. When these effects are taken into account, the CCF peaks are in all cases consistent with the absence of delays between X-ray variations at different energies. This is unlike the results found by several authors based on the same data. The power spectra of the 1-9 keV light curves are calculated and a detailed search for quasi periodic oscillations (QPOs) carried out on these spectra by using a new technique for the detection of periodic (or quasi-periodic) signals even in the presence of source noise variability. No significant peaks are found above the 95% confidence detection threshold, except during the second part of the March 1986 observation, most probably as a consequence of the ME detector malfunctioning. We discuss and compare our results with those of Papadakis & Lawrence (1993a).

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arXiv1995

Was the propeller mechanism active during the periastron passage of PSR 1259--63?

Timing analisys of PSR 1259-63 during its recent periastron passage suggested that the pulsar was spinning-down due to the propeller mechanism (Manchester et al. 1995). This requires that the radio pulsar mechanism is temporarily quenched. On the basis of the Be equatorial disk model derived from the dispersion and rotation measures analysis (Melatos et al. 1995), we show that the mass inflow is sufficiently high to yield accretion down to the magnetospheric radius. In this case the X-ray spectrum might result from the propeller shock emission.

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arXiv1995

Strong gravitational field light deflection in binary systems containing a collapsed star

Large light deflection angles are produced in the strong gravitational field regions around neutron stars and black holes. In the case of binary systems, part of the photons emitted from the companion star towards the collapsed object are expected to be deflected in the direction of the earth. Based on a semi-classical approach we calculate the characteristic time delays and frequency shifts of these photons as a function of the binary orbital phase. The intensity of the strongly deflected light rays is reduced by many orders of magnitude, therefore making the observations of this phenomenon extremely difficult. Relativistic binary systems containing a radio pulsar and a collapsed object are the best available candidates for the detection of the strongly deflected photons. Based on the accurate knowledge of their orbital parameters, these systems allow to predict accurately the delays of the pulses along the highly deflected path, such that the sensitivity to very weak signals can be substantially improved through coherent summation over long time intervals. We discuss in detail the cases of PSR 1913+16 and PSR 1534+12 and find that the system geometry is far more promising for the latter. The observation of the highly deflected photons can provide a test of general relativity in an unprecedented strong field regime as well as a tight constraint on the radius of the collapsed object.

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arXiv1995

EXOSAT OBSERVATIONS OF THE ULTRA-SOFT X-RAY BINARY 4U1957+11

We present results from the analysis of the two EXOSAT observations of the low mass X-ray binary (LMXRB) 4U1957+11. The 1-20keV spectrum of the source is best fitted by a power law model with exponential cutoff, that provides an approximation of a thermal Comptonisation spectrum. The cutoff energy (~2keV), as well as the X-ray colours, are intermediate between those of ultrasoft sources containing black hole candidates (BHCs) and those of soft LMXRBs containing an old accreting neutron star. We find no evidence for a black body spectral component. During the 1985 observation, the source flux was 10% higher than in the 1983 observation, and the ME spectra provide evidence for a high energy tail (up to ~16keV), which strengthens the similarity with the spectra of high state BHCs. However the source luminosity was only ~5 10^36 ergs/s. During the 1985 observation the GSPC spectra revealed the presence of a 100eV EW iron K-line emission feature with a centroid energy of 7.06+/-0.09keV; this value is among the highest measured by {\it EXOSAT}. The ME light curves showed only a low-amplitude variability on timescales of a few hours. No evidence for a periodic modulation with periods between 0.016 and 13000~s was found.

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arXiv1994

Radio pulsar and accretion regimes of rapidly rotating magnetic neutron stars in early-type eccentric binaries

Rapidly rotating magnetic neutron stars in eccentric binary systems containing an early type star provide a unique opportunity to investigate the interplay between radio pulsar, stellar wind and accretion phenomena. We summarise the radio pulsar-dominated and the accretion-dominated regimes, discussing how the transition from one regime to another can take place as a result of the varying orbital distance and relative velocity along the orbit, as well as changes of the wind characteristics. We derive the conditions under which the two known B star/radio pulsar binaries (PSR 1259-63 and PSR J0045-7319) can undergo a transition to the accreting regime. A strong increase of the mass loss ouflow from the companion is required, just to cause the onset of accretion onto the magnetospheric boundary. We also show that the X--ray transient A0538-66 is likely to undergo transitions from the accreting neutron star regime, to the regime of accretion onto the magnetosphere. These two regimes might correspond to the high (> 10^{38} erg/s) and the low-luminosity (< 10^{38} erg/s) outbursts observed from this source. A radio pulsar might become detectable in the long quiescent states of A0538-66. A new model of the enigmatic high-energy binary LS I +61 303 involving accretion onto the magnetosphere is also presented.

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arXiv1994

Continuum Power Spectrum Components in X-Ray Sources: Detailed Modelling and Search for Coherent Periodicities

This paper summarises two recently developed techniques in power spectral analysis and their application to a sample of X-ray light curves of accreting collapsed objects in active galactic nuclei and X-ray binaries. The first technique is designed to carry out detailed model fitting of continuum power spectrum components arising from noise variability by using maximum likelihood methods. The technique is applied to the light curves of a number of highly variable AGNs observed with EXOSAT. Substantially steeper logarithmic power spectrum slopes are obtained than previously estimated with standard methods. The second technique was devised in order to reveal coherent periodicities in the presence of ``coloured" (i.e. non--white) noise variability components from the source. To this aim the power spectra are searched for significant narrow peaks superposed on the ``coloured" continuum components. We present the results of a search for an orbital modulation in the light curves of a sample of 25 low mass X--ray binaries (LMXRBs), for which the orbital period is either unknown or detected only at optical wavelengths. This led to the discovery of a significant X--ray orbital modulation at the few percent level in the burster MXB1636-539.

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arXiv1994

The Search for Black Holes in X-Ray Binaries: An Update

This paper reviews some of the recent observational results on stellar mass black hole candidates. Over the last decade, much of the progress in this field has been achieved through the study of transient X--ray binary sources which shine only sporadically in the X--ray sky and undergo much larger luminosity variations then most persistent sources. There are currently six stellar--mass black hole candidates for which the mass of the compact object is estimated to be well above the maximum neutron star mass. The three most recently identified black hole candidates of this kind belong to a class of transient X--ray sources with peculiar spectral properties. Several new transients of this class are being discovered and studied every year thanks to more continous monitoring of the X--ray sky. Many of them are likely to contain other black hole candidates. The growing number of candidates and the large luminosity variations (and therefore, accretion rate variations) in transient sources will allow to study the chacteristics of accreting black holes with an unprecedented detail.

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arXiv1994

The Discovery of 8.7s Pulsations from the Ultrasoft X-Ray Source 4u0142+614

We discovered a periodicity at about 8.7s from the X--ray sources 4U0142+61, previously considered a possible black hole candidate on the basis of its ultrasoft spectrum. The pulsations are visible only in the 1--4 keV energy range, during an observation obtained with the EXOSAT satellite in August 1984. A search for delays in the pulse arrival times caused by orbital motion gave negative results. In the same data, periodic oscillations at 25 minutes had been previously found in an additional hard spectral component dominating above 4 keV which arises from the X-ray transient RX J0146.9+6121, discovered with ROSAT and identified with a Be star. Though the very high (>10^4) X--ray to optical flux ratio of 4U0142+61 is compatible with models based on an isolated neutron star, the simplest explanation involves a low mass X--ray binary with a very faint companion, similar to 4U1626--67. The discovery of periodic pulsations from 4U0142+61 weakens the phenomenological criterion that an ultrasoft spectral component is a signature of accreting black holes.

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