Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1201.6491

Outburst of LS V+44 17 Observed by MAXI and RXTE, and Discovery of a Dip Structure in the Pulse Profile

Ryuichi Usui·Mikio Morii·Nobuyuki Kawai·Takayuki Yamamoto·Tatehiro Mihara·Mutsumi Sugizaki·Masaru Matsuoka·Kazuo Hiroi·Masaki Ishikawa·Naoki Isobe·Masashi Kimura·Hiroki Kitayama·Mitsuhiro Kohama·Takanori Matsumura·Satoshi Nakahira·Motoki Nakajima·Hitoshi Negoro·Motoko Serino·Megumi Shidatsu·Tetsuya Sootome·Kousuke Sugimori·Fumitoshi Suwa·Takahiro Toizumi·Hiroshi Tomida·Yoko Tsuboi·Hiroshi Tsunemi·Yoshihiro Ueda·Shiro Ueno·Kazutaka Yamaoka·Kyohei Yamazaki·Atsumasa Yoshida
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We report on the first observation of an X-ray outburst of a Be/X-ray binary pulsar LS V +44 17/RX J0440.9+4431, and the discovery of an absorption dip structure in the pulse profile. An outburst of this source was discovered by MAXI GSC in 2010 April. It was the first detection of the transient activity of LS V +44 17 since the source was identified as a Be/X-ray binary in 1997. From the data of the follow-up RXTE observation near the peak of the outburst, we found a narrow dip structure in its pulse profile which was clearer in the lower energy bands. The pulse-phase-averaged energy spectra in the 3$-$100 keV band can be fitted with a continuum model containing a power-law function with an exponential cutoff and a blackbody component, which are modified at low energy by an absorption component. A weak iron K$α$ emission line is also detected in the spectra. From the pulse-phase-resolved spectroscopy we found that the absorption column density at the dip phase was much higher than those in the other phases. The dip was not seen in the subsequent RXTE observations at lower flux levels. These results suggest that the dip in the pulse profile originates from the eclipse of the radiation from the neutron star by the accretion column.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.HE

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ryuichi Usui, Mikio Morii, Nobuyuki Kawai, Takayuki Yamamoto, Tatehiro Mihara, Mutsumi Sugizaki, Masaru Matsuoka, Kazuo Hiroi, Masaki Ishikawa, Naoki Isobe, Masashi Kimura, Hiroki Kitayama, Mitsuhiro Kohama, Takanori Matsumura, Satoshi Nakahira, Motoki Nakajima, Hitoshi Negoro, Motoko Serino, Megumi Shidatsu, Tetsuya Sootome, Kousuke Sugimori, Fumitoshi Suwa, Takahiro Toizumi, Hiroshi Tomida, Yoko Tsuboi, Hiroshi Tsunemi, Yoshihiro Ueda, Shiro Ueno, Kazutaka Yamaoka, Kyohei Yamazaki, Atsumasa Yoshida. 2012-01-31. Outburst of LS V+44 17 Observed by MAXI and RXTE, and Discovery of a Dip Structure in the Pulse Profile. https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj%2F64.4.79

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Identifying Kilonovae in the Presence of Optical Afterglow for the Wide Field Survey Telescope

Identifying kilonovae associated with binary neutron star mergers is often complicated by the presence of a dominant synchrotron afterglow. In this work, we evaluate the performance of the Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) in identifying kilonova signals in composite afterglow-kilonova transients. Using a numerical framework based on the Fisher information matrix, we simulate $10,000$ realizations for each of two scenarios: an AT2017gfo-based template model and a physically sampled population that accounts for kilonova diversity. Our results indicate that kilonova identification is primarily limited by source distance. In both scenarios, the identification efficiency is largely insensitive to variations in afterglow microphysical parameters and exceeds $80\%$ at distances within approximately $600~\rm Mpc$ for AT2017gfo-like events. Under our adopted assumptions and a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB)-triggered target-of-opportunity (ToO) observational strategy, we estimate that the WFST could identify $0.1-1.2$ kilonovae per year in the optimistic scenario. Furthermore, we find that the discriminating power of color-based filters rapidly saturates, reaching a stable plateau by the second night after the merger. We therefore propose a staged observing strategy that prioritizes high-cadence $g$ and $r$-band monitoring during the first night and incorporates the $z$ band from the second night onward. This strategy improves the identification precision by exploiting the increasingly prominent red excess produced by the kilonova. Our results provide a physical basis for optimizing WFST observing resources to efficiently detect and characterize kilonovae in the multimessenger era.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2026

CRAFT HTR2: Polarimetry of 64 non-repeating fast radio bursts from the updated CRAFT catalogue

We present high-time resolution spectro-polarimetric data for 34 new fast radio bursts (FRBs) discovered by the Commensal Real-time Fast Transients (CRAFT) survey on the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) during the period May 2024 to June 2026. Most of these were detected by the higher-sensitivity CRAFT COherent (CRACO) detection system that was commissioned on the telescope during this period. This new sample doubles the size of the CRAFT HTR catalogue and probes a fainter population of FRBs thanks to the improved sensitivity of CRACO. We compare the distribution of extragalactic rotation measure (RM) and polarisation fraction to the CHIME and DSA catalogues. While no significant differences were seen between CRAFT and DSA, the extragalactic RM distribution seen in CHIME FRBs (which are detected at lower frequency) was substantially lower. Surprisingly, we find no significant differences in the linear polarisation fraction distribution between the three FRB catalogues, suggesting an indifference to the different telescope observing frequencies. We show tentative evidence for wider and fainter bursts possessing lower polarisation fractions; this is predominantly driven by the growing sample of unpolarised bursts that are, in almost all cases, wider ($\gg$10 ms) and fainter ($\ll$10$^{34}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1}$) than the median ASKAP detection.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2026

Why most neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries accrete transiently: an evolutionary study of transient and persistent phases

A neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB), in which an NS accretes matter from a low-mass donor star, is an ideal source for probing some fundamental aspects of physics and astronomy, such as strong gravity, superdense matter, and the accretion-ejection processes. However, to reliably achieve these goals, one must adequately understand NS LMXBs, including why some accrete persistently and others transiently. Focused models, such as those based on a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk, are considered to explain transient accretion. However, broader perspectives, including which LMXB parameter values and phases cause transients and why there are more transients than persistents, remain poorly understood. Here, our computation of the long-term evolution of NS LMXBs addresses these questions, providing insight into LMXB parameters and phases, naturally producing more transients than persistents, and being partially consistent with the known properties of observed sources. For example, we typically find a greater fraction of persistent phase at lower orbital periods from the LMXB evolution computation, which is somewhat consistent with observations. However, a lack of full consistency calls for improving the aforementioned focused models, and our computations provide a new way to discriminate among these models.

astro-ph.HE↗