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Title: LOW-FREQUENCY QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATION FROM THE 11 Hz ACCRETING PULSAR IN TERZAN 5: NOT FRAME DRAGGING

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal Letters
; ;  [1];  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. Astronomical Institute, 'Anton Pannekoek', University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098XH Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  2. Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

We report on six RXTE observations taken during the 2010 outburst of the 11 Hz accreting pulsar IGR J17480-2446 located in the globular cluster Terzan 5. During these observations we find power spectra which resemble those seen in Z-type high-luminosity neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries, with a quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in the 35-50 Hz range simultaneous with a kHz QPO and broadband noise. Using well-known frequency-frequency correlations, we identify the 35-50 Hz QPOs as the horizontal branch oscillations, which were previously suggested to be due to Lense-Thirring (LT) precession. As IGR J17480-2446 spins more than an order of magnitude more slowly than any of the other neutron stars where these QPOs were found, this QPO cannot be explained by frame dragging. By extension, this casts doubt on the LT precession model for other low-frequency QPOs in neutron stars and perhaps even black hole systems.

OSTI ID:
22078460
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 759, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English