2024MNRAS.531.1653V -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 531, 1653-1670 (2024/June-2)
Simultaneous Chandra and HST observations of the quiescent neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries in 47 Tucanae.
VAN DEN BERG M., RIVERA SANDOVAL L.E., HEINKE C.O., COHN H.N., LUGGER P.M., GRINDLAY J.E., EDMONDS P.D., ANDERSON J. and CATUNEANU A.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present simultaneous Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope observations of three certain (X5, X7, W37) and two likely (X4, W17) quiescent neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs) in the globular cluster 47 Tuc. We study these systems in the X-ray, optical, and near-ultraviolet (NUV) using the simultaneous data and additional non-contemporaneous HST data. We have discovered a blue and variable NUV counterpart to W17. We have not securely identified the eclipsing qLMXB W37 in the optical or NUV. Deeper high-resolution imaging is needed to further investigate the faint NUV excess near the centre of the W37 error circle. We suggest that a previously identified optical astrometric match to X7 is likely the true counterpart. The H α emission and the location of the counterpart in the colour-magnitude diagram, indicate that the secondary is probably a non-degenerate, H-rich star. This is consistent with previous results from fitting X7's X-ray spectrum. In X4, the simultaneous X-ray and optical behaviour supports the earlier suggestion that the X-ray variability is driven by changes in accretion rate. The X-ray eclipses in X5 coincide with minima in the optical/NUV light curves. Comparison of the 47 Tuc qLMXBs with the cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the cluster confirms that overall the qLMXBs have larger X-ray to optical flux ratios. Based on their optical/NUV colours, we conclude that the accretion discs in the qLMXBs are less prominent than in CVs. This makes the ratio of X-ray flux to excess blue-optical flux a powerful discriminator between CVs and qLMXBs.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
globular clusters: individual: 47 Tuc (NGC 104) - X-rays: binaries - binaries: close - stars: neutron
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