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arXiv 0911.4501astro-ph.HE
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4U 1957+11的长期光学-X射线关联

A long-term optical - X-ray correlation in 4U 1957+11

D. M. Russell, F. Lewis, P. Roche, J. S. Clark, E. Breedt, R. P. Fender

摘要:

本文介绍了对低质量X射线双星(LMXB)4U 1957+11的三年光学监测。使用福克斯望远镜在V、R和i波段观测到了这个源。光变曲线主要由与RXTE ASM软X射线通量相关(在> 3 sigma水平)的长期变化决定。在所有三个滤波器中,变化跨越一个幅度。我们没有发现我们的光变曲线的周期性的证据,相反,在以前的短时间尺度的光学研究中,流量变化的9.3小时的正弦周期由一个较小的振幅。光谱能量分布是蓝色的,是爆发中LMXB的典型特征,相关系数β = 0.5的幂律指数也是如此,其中F_{nu,OPT}与F_X^β成正比。离散互相关联函数揭示了在X射线滞后2 - 14天处的峰值,这可能是粘性时间尺度。然而,采用最小二乘法,最强的相关性是在0 +/- 4天的滞后,与椎间盘表面上的X射线再处理一致。因此,我们将X射线的光学滞后限制在-14天和+4天之间。此外,我们使用的光学X射线光度图的LMXB作为诊断工具,以限制在4U 1957+11的紧凑型对象的性质,因为黑洞(BH)和中子星(NS)的源驻留在这个图的不同区域。如果系统包含BH(这是目前最受欢迎的假设),它的距离必须超过~ 20 kpc,光学和X射线光度才能与其他软态BH系统一致。对于< 20 kpc的距离,数据位于图中仅由NS源填充的区域中。4U 1957+11是独一无二的:它要么是唯一一个存在于明显的持久软态的BH LMXB,要么是一个行为像黑洞的NS LMXB。

英文摘要:

[abridged] Three years of optical monitoring of the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1957+11 is presented. The source was observed in V, R and i-bands using the Faulkes Telescopes North and South. The light curve is dominated by long-term variations which are correlated (at the > 3 sigma level) with the RXTE ASM soft X-ray flux. The variations span one magnitude in all three filters. We find no evidence for periodicities in our light curves, contrary to a previous short-timescale optical study in which the flux varied on a 9.3-hour sinusoidal period by a smaller amplitude. The optical spectral energy distribution is blue and typical of LMXBs in outburst, as is the power law index of the correlation beta = 0.5, where F_{nu,OPT} propto F_X^beta. The discrete cross-correlation function reveals a peak at an X-ray lag of 2 - 14 days, which could be the viscous timescale. However, adopting the least squares method the strongest correlation is at a lag of 0 +/- 4 days, consistent with X-ray reprocessing on the surface of the disc. We therefore constrain the optical lag behind X-ray to be between -14 and +4 days. In addition, we use the optical - X-ray luminosity diagram for LMXBs as a diagnostic tool to constrain the nature of the compact object in 4U 1957+11, since black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) sources reside in different regions of this diagram. If the system contains a BH (as is the currently favoured hypothesis), its distance must exceed ~ 20 kpc for the optical and X-ray luminosities to be consistent with other soft state BH systems. For distances < 20 kpc, the data lie in a region of the diagram populated only by NS sources. 4U 1957+11 is unique: it is either the only BH LMXB to exist in an apparent persistent soft state, or it is a NS LMXB which behaves like a black hole.

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