- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/249/32
- Title:
- The Multi-INstrument Burst ARchive (MINBAR)
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/249/32
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the largest sample of type I (thermonuclear) X-ray bursts yet assembled, comprising 7083 bursts from 85 bursting sources. The sample is drawn from observations with Xenon-filled proportional counters on the long-duration satellites RXTE, BeppoSAX, and International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory between 1996 February 8 and 2012 May 3. The burst sources were drawn from a comprehensive catalog of 115 burst sources, assembled from earlier catalogs and the literature. We carried out a consistent analysis for each burst light curve (normalized to the relative instrumental effective area) and provide measurements of rise time, peak intensity, burst timescale, and fluence. For bursts observed with the RXTE/PCA and BeppoSAX/Wide Field Camera we also provide time-resolved spectroscopy, including estimates of bolometric peak flux and fluence, and spectral parameters at the peak of the burst. For 950 bursts observed with the PCA from sources with previously detected burst oscillations, we include an analysis of the high time resolution data, providing information on the detectability and amplitude of the oscillations, as well as where in the burst they are found. We also present analysis of 118,848 observations of the burst sources within the sample time frame. We extracted 3-25keV X-ray spectra from most observations, and (for observations meeting our signal-to-noise criterion) we provide measurements of the flux, spectral colors, and, for selected sources, the position on the color-color diagram, for the best-fit spectral model. We present a description of the sample, a summary of the science investigations completed to date, and suggestions for further studies.
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/245/19
- Title:
- Thermonuclear burst oscillations (TBOs) with RXTE
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/245/19
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We describe a blind uniform search for thermonuclear burst oscillations (TBOs) in the majority of Type I bursts observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) (2118 bursts from 57 neutron stars). We examined 2-2002Hz power spectra from the Fourier transform in sliding 0.5-2s windows, using fine-binned light curves in the 2-60keV energy range. The significance of the oscillation candidates was assessed by simulations which took into account light-curve variations, dead time, and the sliding time windows. Some of our sources exhibited multi-frequency variability at <~15Hz that cannot be readily removed with light-curve modeling and may have an astrophysical (non-TBO) nature. Overall, we found that the number and strength of potential candidates depends strongly on the parameters of the search. We found candidates from all previously known RXTE TBO sources, with pulsations that had been detected at similar frequencies in multiple independent time windows, and discovered TBOs from SAXJ1810.8-2658. We could not confirm most previously reported tentative TBO detections or identify any obvious candidates just below the detection threshold at similar frequencies in multiple bursts. We computed fractional amplitudes of all TBO candidates and placed upper limits on non-detections. Finally, for a few sources we noted a small excess of candidates with powers comparable to fainter TBOs, but appearing in single independent time windows at random frequencies. At least some of these candidates may be noise spikes that appear interesting due to selection effects. The potential presence of such candidates calls for extra caution if claiming single-window TBO detections.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/747/77
- Title:
- Thermonuclear X-ray bursts. II. Eddington limit
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/747/77
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of thermonuclear bursts observed from low-mass X-ray binaries offer a unique tool to measure neutron-star masses and radii. In this paper, we continue our systematic analysis of all the X-ray bursts observed with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer from X-ray binaries. We determine the events that show clear evidence for photospheric radius expansion and measure the Eddington limits for these accreting neutron stars using the bolometric fluxes attained at the touchdown moments of each X-ray burst. We employ a Bayesian technique to investigate the degree to which the Eddington limit for each source remains constant between bursts. We find that for sources with a large number of radius expansion bursts, systematic uncertainties are at a 5%-10% level. Moreover, in six sources with only pairs of Eddington-limited bursts, the distribution of fluxes is consistent with a ~10% fractional dispersion. This indicates that the spectroscopic measurements of neutron-star masses and radii using thermonuclear X-ray bursts can reach the level of accuracy required to distinguish between different neutron-star equations of state, provided that uncertainties related to the overall flux calibration of X-ray detectors are of comparable magnitude.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/209/14
- Title:
- The Swift/BAT hard X-ray transient monitor
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/209/14
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) hard X-ray transient monitor provides near real-time coverage of the X-ray sky in the energy range 15-50 keV. The BAT observes 88% of the sky each day with a detection sensitivity of 5.3 mCrab for a full-day observation and a time resolution as fine as 64s. The three main purposes of the monitor are (1) the discovery of new transient X-ray sources, (2) the detection of outbursts or other changes in the flux of known X-ray sources, and (3) the generation of light curves of more than 900 sources spanning over eight years. The primary interface for the BAT transient monitor is a public Web site. Between 2005 February 12 and 2013 April 30, 245 sources have been detected in the monitor, 146 of them persistent and 99 detected only in outburst. Among these sources, 17 were previously unknown and were discovered in the transient monitor. In this paper, we discuss the methodology and the data processing and filtering for the BAT transient monitor and review its sensitivity and exposure. We provide a summary of the source detections and classify them according to the variability of their light curves. Finally, we review all new BAT monitor discoveries. For the new sources that are previously unpublished, we present basic data analysis and interpretations.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/161/271
- Title:
- The X-ray binary population in M33. I
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/161/271
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- In this paper we present the source list for three Chandra observations of the Local Group galaxy M33. The observations are centered on the nucleus and on the star-forming region NGC 604. We detect a total of 261 sources in an area of 0.2{deg}^2^ down to a flux limit of 3x10^-16^ergs/s/cm^2^, which corresponds to a luminosity of 2x10^34^ergs/s at a distance of 840kpc.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/871/244
- Title:
- Times of X-ray minima & orbit numbers of Cyg X-3
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/871/244
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- By using available archival X-ray data, we significantly extended the list of times of X-ray minima. The new list includes 65 data points obtained by critically reanalyzing RXTE ASM data, 88 data points based on observations by MAXI, and 2 data points based on observations by SUZAKU and AstroSat. Analyzing the data along with times of X-ray minima available from the literature, we provide the most accurate estimate of the rate of period change to date. We do not confirm the existence of a second derivative of the orbital period suggested by some authors earlier. Instead, we find that the changes in the period can be fit by a sum of quadratic and sinusoidal functions. The period of sinusoidal variations is 15.79yr. They can be related either to apsidal motion in the close binary with eccentricity e~0.03 or to the presence of a third body with a mass of about 0.7M_{sun}_ located at a distance ~16 au from the close binary.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/471/1468
- Title:
- Transient black hole X-ray binaries XMM obs.
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/471/1468
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- All observations of Galactic X-ray binaries are affected by absorption from gas and dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) which imprints narrow (line) and broad (photoelectric edges) features on the continuum emission spectrum of the binary. Any spectral model used to fit data from a Galactic X-ray binary must therefore take account of these features; when the absorption is strong (as for most Galactic sources) it becomes important to accurately model the ISM absorption in order to obtain unbiased estimates of the parameters of the (emission) spectrum of the binary system. In this paper, we present analysis of some of the best spectroscopic data from the XMM-Newton RGS instrument using the most up-to-date photoabsorption model of the gaseous ISM ISMabs. We calculate column densities for H, O, Ne and Fe for seven transient black hole X-ray binary systems. We find that the hydrogen column densities in particular can vary greatly from those presented elsewhere in the literature. We assess the impact of using inaccurate column densities and older X-ray absorption models on spectral analysis using simulated data. We find that poor treatment of absorption can lead to large biases in inferred disc properties and that an independent analysis of absorption parameters can be used to alleviate such issues.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/851/L27
- Title:
- Two dips in the LC of 3XMMJ004232.1+411314
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/851/L27
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We performed a search for eclipsing and dipping sources in the archive of the EXTraS project-a systematic characterization of the temporal behavior of XMM-Newton point sources. We discovered dips in the X-ray light curve of 3XMM J004232.1+411314, which has been recently associated with the hard X-ray source dominating the emission of M31. A systematic analysis of XMM-Newton observations revealed 13 dips in 40 observations (total exposure time of ~0.8Ms). Among them, four observations show two dips, separated by ~4.01hr. Dip depths and durations are variable. The dips occur only during low-luminosity states (L_0.2-12_<1x10^38^erg/s), while the source reaches L_0.2-12_~2.8x10^38^erg/s. We propose that this system is a new dipping low-mass X-ray binary in M31 seen at high inclination (60{deg}-80{deg}); the observed dipping periodicity is the orbital period of the system. A blue HST source within the Chandra error circle is the most likely optical counterpart of the accretion disk. The high luminosity of the system makes it the most luminous (not ULX) dipper known to date.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/449/268
- Title:
- Type II bursts in the Rapid Burster
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/449/268
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Type II bursts are thought to arise from instabilities in the accretion flow on to a neutron star in an X-ray binary. Despite having been known for almost 40 years, no model can yet satisfactorily account for all their properties. To shed light on the nature of this phenomenon and provide a reference for future theoretical work, we study the entire sample of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data of type II bursts from the Rapid Burster (MXB 1730-335). We find that type II bursts are Eddington-limited in flux, that a larger amount of energy goes in the bursts than in the persistent emission, that type II bursts can be as short as 0.130s, and that the distribution of recurrence times drops abruptly below 15-18s. We highlight the complicated feedback between type II bursts and the NS surface thermonuclear explosions known as type I bursts, and between type II bursts and the persistent emission. We review a number of models for type II bursts. While no model can reproduce all the observed burst properties and explain the source uniqueness, models involving a gating role for the magnetic field come closest to matching the properties of our sample. The uniqueness of the source may be explained by a special combination of magnetic field strength, stellar spin period and alignment between the magnetic field and the spin axis.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AZh/79/1087
- Title:
- UBV photometry of X-ray binary HZ Her
- Short Name:
- J/AZh/79/1087
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present UBV photoelectric and CCD observations of HZ Her/Her X-1 system near its primary minimum in 1999, when the object was in anomalous low X-ray state, together with UBV observations accumulated since 1988.
