2026A&A...706A..52I -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 706A52 (2026/2-1)
Detection of low-luminosity X-ray pulsations from the accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J17511-3057: An ever-thinning thread between bright accretion and subluminous states.
ILLIANO G., PAPITTO A., CAMPANA S., MARINO A., MIRAVAL ZANON A., CAROTENUTO F., COTI ZELATI F., BAGLIO M.C., AMBROSINO F., MALACARIA C., BALLOCCO C., JAISAWAL G.K., MESSA M.M., PARENT E., RUSSELL T.D., SANNA A. and TZIOUMIS A.
Abstract (from CDS):
After nearly a decade in quiescence, the accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J17511-3057 displayed a new outburst on 2025 February 11, its third since discovery, following previous activity in 2009 and 2015. We report on an XMM-Newton Target of Opportunity observation performed on 2025 March 4, more than twenty days after the outburst onset. From the X-ray spectrum - which is well described by an absorbed Comptonization model - we estimated an unabsorbed 0.5-10 keV luminosity of LX ∼ 7 × 1033 erg s–1 (assuming a source distance equal to the upper limit of 6.9 kpc). To put this into context, we analyzed an archival Chandra observation performed in 2019, which yielded a quiescent luminosity of L_X, q_ ∼ 2 × 1032 erg s–1 in the same energy band. Although this comparison indicates that the source was still well above its quiescent level during the XMM-Newton observation, the estimated low luminosity during the late stage of the 2025 outburst would typically place the source in the propeller regime. Nevertheless, we unexpectedly detected coherent X-ray pulsations with an amplitude peaking at ∼42% in the 0.3-3 keV band. We also observed a spectral softening compared to the early stages of the outburst. Finally, we report a 3σ upper limit of 60 μJy beam–1 on the source flux density at 5.5 GHz from ATCA observations acquired on 2025 April 12, following a decline in the accretion activity, as indicated by our analysis of NICER data from 2025 March 15, which revealed no significant X-ray pulsations at a luminosity level of LX ∼ 1 × 1034 erg s–1. We discuss our findings in the context of other accreting millisecond pulsars and draw comparisons with transitional systems in the subluminous disk state.
Abstract Copyright:
© The Authors 2026
Journal keyword(s):
accretion - accretion disks - stars: low-mass - stars: neutron - pulsars: individual: IGR J17511-3057 - X-rays: binaries
Simbad objects:
18
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