2002AJ....124.3348H -
Astron. J., 124, 3348-3357 (2002/December-0)
The ultraviolet spectrum of the ultracompact X-ray binary 4U 1626-67.
HOMER L., ANDERSON S.F., WACHTER S. and MARGON B.
Abstract (from CDS):
We have obtained Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph low-resolution ultraviolet spectra of the X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67 (=KZ TrA); 4U 1626-67 is unusual even among X-ray pulsars because of its ultrashort binary period (P=41.4 minutes) and remarkably low mass function (≤1.3x10–6 M☉). The far-UV spectrum was exposed for a total of 32 ks and has sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to reveal numerous broad emission and prominent narrower absorption lines. Most of the absorption lines are consistent in strength with a purely interstellar origin. However, there is evidence that both C I and C IV require additional absorbing gas local to the system. In emission, the usual prominent lines of N V and He II are absent, while both O IV and O V are relatively strong. We further identify a rarely seen feature at ∼1660 Å as the O III] multiplet. Our ultraviolet spectra therefore provide independent support for the recent suggestion that the mass donor is the chemically fractionated core of either a CONe or ONeMg white dwarf; this was put forward to explain the results of Chandra high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The velocity profiles of the ultraviolet lines are in all cases broad and/or flat topped or perhaps even double peaked for the highest ionization cases of O; in either case, the ultraviolet line profiles are in broad agreement with the Doppler pairs found in the X-ray spectra. Both the X-ray and far-UV lines are plausibly formed in (or in an corona just above) a Keplerian accretion disk; the combination of ultraviolet and X-ray spectral data may provide a rich data set for follow-on detailed models of the disk dynamics and ionization structure in this highly unusual low-mass X-ray pulsar system.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
Stars: Binaries: Close - Stars: Circumstellar Matter - Stars: Pulsars: Individual: Alphanumeric: 4U 1626-67 - Stars: Pulsars: Individual: Name: KZ Trianguli Australis - Ultraviolet Emission - X-Rays
Simbad objects:
5
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