Observing the onset of the accretion wake in Vela X-1

Diez, C. M.; Grinberg, V.; Fürst, F.; El Mellah, I.; Zhou, M.; Santangelo, A.; Martínez-Núñez, S.; Amato, R.; Hell, N.; Kretschmar, P.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202245708

Observing the onset of the accretion wake in Vela X-1

Journal Article · Fri Jun 16 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202245708· OSTI ID:1994035

^[1]; ^[2]; Fürst, F. ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[5]; ^[6]; ^[7]; ^[8]

University of Tubingen (Germany)
European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk (Netherlands)
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Madrid (Spain)
University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble (France)
Universidad de Cantabria, Santander (Spain)
University of Toulouse (France)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
European Space Agency, Madrid (Spain)

High-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) offer a unique opportunity to investigate accretion onto compact objects and the wind structure in massive stars. A key source for such studies is the bright neutron star HMXB Vela X-1 whose convenient physical and orbital parameters facilitate analyses and in particular enable studies of the wind structure in HMXBs. Here, we analyse simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations at $$\phi_{orb}$$ ≈ 0.36–0.52 and perform time-resolved spectral analysis down to the pulse period of the neutron star based on our previous NuSTAR-only results. For the first time, we are able to trace the onset of the wakes in a broad 0.5–78 keV range with a high-time resolution of ~283 s and compare our results with theoretical predictions. Here we observed a clear rise in the absorption column density of the stellar wind N_H,1 starting at orbital phase ~0.44, corresponding to the wake structure entering our line of sight towards the neutron star, together with local extrema throughout the observation, which are possibly associated with clumps or other structures in the wind. Periods of high absorption reveal the presence of multiple fluorescent emission lines of highly ionised species, mainly in the soft-X-ray band between 0.5 and 4 keV, indicating photoionisation of the wind.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie; European Space Agency (ESA); European Union’s Horizon 2020; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1994035

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-843497; 1066325

Journal Information:: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Journal Name: Astronomy and Astrophysics Journal Issue: N/A Vol. 674; ISSN 0004-6361

Publisher:: EDP SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Observing the onset of the accretion wake in Vela X-1

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