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    Discovery of two eclipsing X-ray binaries in M51

    266853.pdf (4.446Mb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Wang, S.
    Soria, Roberto
    Urquhart, Ryan
    Liu, J.
    Date
    2018
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Wang, S. and Soria, R. and Urquhart, R. and Liu, J. 2018. Discovery of two eclipsing X-ray binaries in M51. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 477 (3): pp. 3623-3645.
    Source Title
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
    DOI
    10.1093/mnras/sty872
    ISSN
    0035-8711
    School
    Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (Physics)
    Remarks

    This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2018 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69233
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    We discovered eclipses and dips in two luminous (and highly variable) X-ray sources in M 51. One (CXOM51 J132943.3+471135) is an ultraluminous supersoft source, with a thermal spectrum at a temperature of about 0.1 keV and characteristic blackbody radius of about 104 km. The other (CXOM51 J132946.1+471042) has a two-component spectrum with additional thermal-plasma emission; it approached an X-ray luminosity of 1039 erg s−1 during outbursts in 2005 and 2012. From the timing of three eclipses in a series of Chandra observations, we determine the binary period (52.75 ± 0.63 h) and eclipse fraction (22±0.1 per cent ) of CXOM51 J132946.1+471042. We also identify a blue optical counterpart in archival Hubble Space Telescope images, consistent with a massive donor star (mass of ∼20–35 M⊙). By combining the X-ray light-curve parameters with the optical constraints on the donor star, we show that the mass ratio in the system must be M2 /M1 >~ 18 and therefore the compact object is most likely a neutron star (exceeding its Eddington limit in outburst). The general significance of our result is that we illustrate one method (applicable to high-inclination sources) of identifying luminous neutron star X-ray binaries, in the absence of X-ray pulsations or phase-resolved optical spectroscopy. Finally, we discuss the different X-ray spectral appearance expected from super-Eddington neutron stars and black holes at high viewing angles.

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