The X-ray binary LSI +61 303, consisting of a main sequence Be star and a compact object has been detected in the TeV range with MAGIC and VERITAS, and showed a clear intensity modulation as a function of the orbital phase. We describe a gamma-ray attenuation model and apply it to this system. Our first result is that interaction of high energy photons with the background radiation produced by the main sequence star alone does not account for the observed modulation. We then include interactions between very high energy radiation and matter, and are able to constrain fundamental parameters of the system such as the mass of the compact object and the density of circumstellar matter around the Be star. In our analysis of the TeV data, we find that the compact object has mass $M_2>2.5M_{\odot}$ at the 99% confidence level, implying it is most likely a black hole. However, we find a column density which conflicts with results from X-ray observations, suggesting that attenuation may not play an important role in the modulation.
In recent years, fundamental relationships for the black hole X-ray binaries have been established between their X-ray luminosity $L_X$ and the photon index $Γ$ of their X-ray spectrum. For the moderate-luminosity regime, an anti-correlation between $Γ$ and $L_X$ has been observed. In this article, aimed to verify if the moderate luminous X-ray binary system LSI +61303 is a black hole, we analyse $Swift$ observations of LSI +61303. We compare the derived $L_X$ vs $Γ$ distribution, first with the statistical trend for black hole X-ray binaries, then with the trend of the pulsar PSR B1259-63, an…
We estimate the mass of the compact object in the gamma-ray binaries LSI+61303 and MWC 148, using the latest data for the inclination, orbital motion and assuming that the orbital plane coincides with the equatorial plane of the Be star. For LSI+61303 we find the mass of the compact object to be most likely in the range 1.3 M_sun < M_2 < 2.0 M_sun, which means that it is probably a neutron star. For MWC 148, we find the mass of the compact object in a higher range, 2.1 M_sum < M_2 < 7.3 M_sun, which increases the chances for this system to host a black hole companion.
LSI +61 303 is one of the few X-ray binaries with a Be star companion from which radio, X-rays and high-energy gamma-ray (GeV and TeV) emission have been observed. The nature of the high energy activity of the system is not yet fully understood, but it is widely believed that it is generated due to the interaction of the relativistic electrons leaving the compact object with the photons and non-relativistic wind of the Be star. The superorbital variability of the system has been observed in the radio, optical and X-ray domains and could be due to the cyclic change of the Be star disk size. In …
Optical and near-infrared observations are compiled for the three gamma-ray binaries hosting Be stars: PSR B1259-63, LSI+61 303, and HESS J0632+057. The emissions from the Be disk are considered to vary according to the changes in its structure, some of which are caused by interactions with the compact object (e.g., tidal forces). Due to the high eccentricity and large orbit of these systems, the interactions -- and, hence the resultant observables -- depend on the orbital phase. To explore such variations, multi-band photometry and linear polarization were monitored for the three considered s…
Here we report our first spectral observations of Be/X-ray and gamma-ray binaries obtained with the new Echelle spectrograph of the National Astronomical Observatory Rozhen. For four objects (LSI+61303, gamma Cas, MWC 148, 4U 2206+54), we report the parameters and estimate the sizes of their circumstellar discs using different emission lines (H-alpha, H-beta, H-gamma, HeI and FeII). For MWC 148, we find that the compact object goes deeply through the disc. The flank inflections of H-alpha can be connected with inner ring formed at the periastron passage or radiation transfer effects. We point …
Galactic transients, X-ray and gamma-ray binaries provide a proper environment for particle acceleration. This leads to the production of gamma rays with energies reaching the GeV-TeV regime. MAGIC has carried out deep observations of different transient and variable stellar objects of which we highlight 4 of them here: LSI+61 303, MWC 656, Cygnus X-1 and SN 2014J. We present the results of those observations, including long-term monitoring of Cygnus X-1 and LSI+61 303 (7 and 8 years, respectively). The former is one of the brightest X-ray sources and best studied microquasars across a broad r…
Essentially all low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in the soft state appear to drive powerful equatorial disc winds. A simple mechanism for driving such outflows involves X-ray heating of the top of the disc atmosphere to the Compton temperature. Beyond the Compton radius, the thermal speed exceeds the escape velocity, and mass loss is inevitable. Here, we present the first coupled radiation-hydrodynamic simulation of such thermally-driven disc winds. The main advance over previous modelling efforts is that the frequency-dependent attenuation of the irradiating SED is taken into account. We can t…
Recent studies have suggested the possibility of significantly obscuring super-soft X-ray sources in relatively modest amounts of local matter lost from the binaries themselves. If correct, then this would have explained the paucity of observed super-soft X-ray sources and would have significance for the search for single-degenerate type Ia supernova progenitors. We point out that earlier studies of circumbinary obscuration ignored photo-ionisations of the gas by the emission from the super-soft X-ray source. We revisit the problem using a full, self-consistent calculation of the ionisation st…
A systematic search for cyclical sources of gamma-ray emission on the period range from days to years in the Fermi-LAT sky is performed. Looking for cyclical emission, the sky is binned into equal-area pixels and the generalised Lomb-Scargle periodogram is computed for each of these pixels. The search on the period range between 2.5 and 30 days in the Galactic plane confirms periodicities of three binaries, LSI +61 303, LS 5039, and 1FGL J1018.6-5856. The all-sky search on the period range between 30 days and 2.5 years confirms periodicities of three blazars, PG 1553+113, PKS 2155-304, and BL …
Jet precessions are widely involved in astrophysical phenomena from galaxies to X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Polarization presents a unique probe of the magnetic fields in GRB jets. The precession of GRBs relativistic jets will change the geometry within the observable emitting region of the jet, which can potentially affect the polarization of the afterglow. In this paper, we take into account jet precession to study the polarization evolution and corresponding light curves in GRB early optical afterglows with ordered and random magnetic field geometries. We find that the jet p…
Multiwavelength radiation from relativistic particles accelerated at shocks in novae and other astrophysical sources carries a wealth of information about the outflow properties and the microphysical processes at work near the shocks. The observation of GeV gamma-rays from novae by Fermi/LAT demonstrates that the shocks in these systems can accelerate particles to energies of at least $\sim 10$ GeV. The low-energy extension of the same non-thermal particle distribution inevitably gives rise to emission extending into the X-ray band. Above $\gtrsim 10$ keV this radiation can escape the system w…
We report the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray detection of the 2021 outburst of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi. In this system, unlike classical novae from cataclysmic binaries, the ejecta from the white dwarf form shocks when interacting with the dense circumstellar wind environment of the red giant companion. We find the LAT spectra from 50 MeV to ~20-23 GeV, the highest-energy photons detected in some sub-intervals, are consistent with $π^{\rm 0}$-decay emission from shocks in the ejecta as proposed by Tatischeff & Hernanz (2007) for its previous 2006 outburst. The LAT light-curve displayed a…
