1111.2088 (Slawomir Suchy et al.)

Broadband spectroscopy using two Suzaku observation of the HMXB GX 301-2    [PDF]

Slawomir Suchy, Felix Fuerst, Katja Pottschmidt, Isabel Caballero, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Joern Wilms, Alex Markowitz, Richard E. Rothschild

We present the analysis of two Suzaku observations of GX 301-2 at two orbital phases after the periastron passage. Variations in the column density of the line-of-sight absorber are observed, consistent with accretion from a clumpy wind. In addition to a CRSF, multiple fluorescence emission lines were detected in both observations. The variations in the pulse profiles and the CRSF throughout the pulse phase have a signature of a magnetic dipole field. Using a simple dipole model we calculated the expected magnetic field values for different pulse phases and were able to extract a set of geometrical angles, loosely constraining the dipole geometry in the neutron star. From the variation of the CRSF width and energy, we found a geometrical solution for the dipole, making the inclination consistent with previously published values.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.2088