2025MNRAS.536..340K -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 536, 340-349 (2025/January-1)
Spectral analysis of ultraluminous X-ray pulsars with models of X-ray pulsars.
KUMAR M., SHARMA R., PAUL B. and RANA V.
Abstract (from CDS):
A fraction of the ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) sources are known to be accreting neutron stars as they show coherent X-ray pulsations with pulse periods ranging from ${\sim} 1{\!-\!}30$ s. While initially thought to host intermediate-mass black holes, ULXs have since been recognized as a diverse class of objects, including ULX pulsars. These pulsars require models specifically tailored to account for their unique accretion physics, distinct from those used for Galactic black hole binaries. The X-ray spectra of all Galactic accreting X-ray pulsars (including sources in the Magellanic Clouds) are dominated by a high-energy cut-off power law and some of the sources show a soft excess, some emission lines, cyclotron absorption features, etc. In this work, we undertake a comprehensive analysis of the broad-band X-ray spectra of five ULX pulsars using simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations and show that their X-ray spectra can be effectively described by spectral models, similar to those used for the local accretion-powered X-ray pulsars. A soft excess is detected in all the sources which is also consistent with the local X-ray pulsars that have low absorption column density. We have marginal detection or low upper limit on the presence of the iron K-alpha emission line from these sources, which is a key difference of the ULX pulsars with the local accreting X-ray pulsars. We discuss the implication of this on the nature of the binary companion and the accretion mechanism in the ULX pulsars.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
accretion, accretion discs - stars: neutron - pulsars: general - X-rays: binaries - X-rays: individual: NGC 5907 ULX1, M51 ULX-7, NGC 300 ULX-1, NGC 7793 P13, NGC 1313 X-2
Simbad objects:
24
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