Wednesday, October 17, 2012

1109.3924 (A. Camero-Arranz et al.)

X-Ray and Optical Observations of A 0535+26    [PDF]

A. Camero-Arranz, M. H. Finger, C. A. Wilson-Hodge, P. Jenke, I. Steele, M. J. Coe, J. Gutierrez-Soto, P. Kretschmar, I. Caballero, G. Case, M. L. Cherry, J. Yan, J. Suso, J. Rodríguez, S. Guiriec, V. A. McBride
We present recent contemporaneous X-ray and optical observations of the Be/X-ray binary system A\,0535+26 with the \textit{Fermi}/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and several ground-based observatories. These new observations are put into the context of the rich historical data (since $\sim$1978) and discussed in terms of the neutron star Be-disk interaction. The Be circumstellar disk was exceptionally large just before the 2009 December giant outburst, which may explain the origin of the unusual recent X-ray activity of this source. We found a peculiar evolution of the pulse profile during this giant outburst, with the two main components evolving in opposite ways with energy. A hard 30-70 mHz X-ray QPO was detected with GBM during this 2009 December giant outburst. It becomes stronger with increasing energy and disappears at energies below 25\,keV. In the long-term a strong optical/X-ray correlation was found for this system, however in the medium-term the H$_\alpha$ EW and the V-band brightness showed an anti-correlation after $\sim$2002 Agust. Each giant X-ray outburst occurred during a decline phase of the optical brightness, while the H$_\alpha$ showed a strong emission. In late 2010 and before the 2011 February outburst, rapid V/R variations are observed in the strength of the two peaks of the H$_\alpha$ line. These had a period of $\sim$\,25 days and we suggest the presence of a global one-armed oscillation to explain this scenario. A general pattern might be inferred, where the disk becomes weaker and shows V/R variability beginning $\sim$\,6 months following a giant outburst.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1109.3924

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