A CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF THE BURSTING MILLISECOND X-RAY PULSAR IGR J17511-3057

Journal Article · Fri Aug 10 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/755/1/52· OSTI ID:22039153

Paizis, A ^[1]; Nowak, M A ^[2]; Rodriguez, J; Chaty, S ^[3]; Wilms, J ^[4]; Del Santo, M; Ubertini, P ^[5]

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1. Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF-IASF, Via Bassini 15, 20133 Milano (Italy)
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
3. Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modelisation (AIM, UMR-E 9005 CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot) Irfu/Service d'Astrophysique, Centre de Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)
4. Dr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte and Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Sternwartstr. 7, 96049 Bamberg (Germany)
5. IAPS, INAF, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome (Italy)

IGR J17511-3057 is a low-mass X-ray binary hosting a neutron star and is one of the few accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars with X-ray bursts. We report on a 20 ks Chandra grating observation of IGR J17511-3057, performed on 2009 September 22. We determine the most accurate X-ray position of IGR J17511-3057, {alpha}{sub J2000} = 17{sup h}51{sup m}08.{sup s}66, {delta}{sub J2000} = -30 Degree-Sign 57'41.''0 (90% uncertainty of 0.''6). During the observation, a {approx}54 s long type-I X-ray burst is detected. The persistent (non-burst) emission has an absorbed 0.5-8 keV luminosity of 1.7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1} (at 6.9 kpc) and can be well described by a thermal Comptonization model of soft, {approx}0.6 keV, seed photons upscattered by a hot corona. The type-I X-ray burst spectrum, with average luminosity over the 54 s duration L{sub 0.5-8{sub keV}} = 1.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 37} erg s{sup -1}, can be well described by a blackbody with kT{sub bb} {approx} 1.6 keV and R{sub bb} {approx} 5 km. While an evolution in temperature of the blackbody can be appreciated throughout the burst (average peak kT{sub bb} = 2.5{sup +0.8}{sub -0.4} keV to tail kT{sub bb} = 1.3{sup +0.2}{sub -0.1} keV), the relative emitting surface shows no evolution. The overall persistent and type-I burst properties observed during the Chandra observation are consistent with what was previously reported during the 2009 outburst of IGR J17511-3057.

• OSTI ID: 22039153
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 755; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ACCRETION DISKS
ASTROPHYSICS
BINARY STARS
COSMIC PHOTONS
EMISSION SPECTRA
GAMMA ASTRONOMY
KEV RANGE
LUMINOSITY
MASS
NEUTRON STARS
PHOTON EMISSION
PULSARS
STAR EVOLUTION
X RADIATION
X-RAY SPECTRA