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Article Dans Une Revue Astrophys.J.Lett. Année : 2016

Discovery of coherent pulsations from the Ultraluminous X-ray Source NGC 7793 P13

F. Fürst
  • Fonction : Auteur
D.J. Walton
  • Fonction : Auteur
F.A. Harrison
  • Fonction : Auteur
D. Stern
M. Brightman
  • Fonction : Auteur
A.C. Fabian
  • Fonction : Auteur
B. Grefenstette
  • Fonction : Auteur
K.K. Madsen
  • Fonction : Auteur
M.J. Middleton
  • Fonction : Auteur
J.M. Miller
  • Fonction : Auteur
K. Pottschmidt
  • Fonction : Auteur
A. Ptak
  • Fonction : Auteur
V. Rana
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

We report the detection of coherent pulsations from the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 7793 P13. The ≈0.42 s nearly sinusoidal pulsations were initially discovered in broadband X-ray observations using XMM-Newton and NuSTAR taken in 2016. We subsequently also found pulsations in archival XMM-Newton data taken in 2013 and 2014. The significant (≫5σ) detection of coherent pulsations demonstrates that the compact object in P13 is a neutron star, and given the observed peak luminosity of ≈10(40) $\mathrm{erg}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$ (assuming isotropy), it is well above the Eddington limit for a 1.4 ${M}_{\odot }$ accretor. This makes P13 the second ULX known to be powered by an accreting neutron star. The pulse period varies between epochs, with a slow but persistent spin-up over the 2013–2016 period. This spin-up indicates a magnetic field of B ≈ 1.5 × 10(12) G, typical of many Galactic accreting pulsars. The most likely explanation for the extreme luminosity is a high degree of beaming, however, this is difficult to reconcile with the sinusoidal pulse profile.

Dates et versions

hal-01554620 , version 1 (03-07-2017)

Identifiants

Citer

F. Fürst, D.J. Walton, F.A. Harrison, D. Stern, D. Barret, et al.. Discovery of coherent pulsations from the Ultraluminous X-ray Source NGC 7793 P13. Astrophys.J.Lett., 2016, 831 (2), pp.L14. ⟨10.3847/2041-8205/831/2/L14⟩. ⟨hal-01554620⟩
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