2022ApJ...927..112L -
Astrophys. J., 927, 112-112 (2022/March-1)
Radius Constraints from Reflection Modeling of Cygnus X-2 with NuSTAR and NICER.
LUDLAM R.M., CACKETT E.M., GARCIA J.A., MILLER J.M., STEVENS A.L., FABIAN A.C., HOMAN J., NG M., GUILLOT S., BUISSON D.J.K. and CHAKRABARTY D.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present a spectral analysis of NuSTAR and NICER observations of the luminous, persistently accreting neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary Cygnus X-2. The data were divided into different branches that the source traces out on the Z-track of the X-ray color-color diagram; namely, the horizontal branch, the normal branch, and the vertex between the two. The X-ray continuum spectrum was modeled in two different ways that produced comparable quality fits. The spectra showed clear evidence of a reflection component in the form of a broadened Fe K line, as well as a lower-energy emission feature near 1 keV likely due to an ionized plasma located far from the innermost accretion disk. We account for the reflection spectrum with two independent models (RELXILLNS and RDBLUR*RFXCONV). The inferred inclination is in agreement with earlier estimates from optical observations of ellipsoidal lightcurve modeling (RELXILLNS: i = 67° ± 4°; RDBLUR*RFXCONV: i = 60° ± 10°). The inner disk radius remains close to the NS (R in <= 1.15 R ISCO) regardless of the source position along the Z-track or how the 1 keV feature is modeled. Given the optically determined NS mass of 1.71 ± 0.21 M ☉, this corresponds to a conservative upper limit of R in <= 19.5 km for M = 1.92 M ☉ or R in <= 15.3 km for M = 1.5 M ☉. We compare these radius constraints to those obtained from NS gravitational wave merger events and recent NICER pulsar lightcurve modeling measurements.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Neutron stars - Low-mass x-ray binary stars - Accretion
Simbad objects:
8
Full paper
View the references in ADS
To bookmark this query, right click on this link: simbad:2022ApJ...927..112L and select 'bookmark this link' or equivalent in the popup menu