We present the first optical spectroscopy of five confirmed (or strong candidate) redback millisecond pulsar binaries, obtaining complete radial velocity curves for each companion star. The ...properties of these millisecond pulsar binaries with low-mass, hydrogen-rich companions are discussed in the context of the 14 confirmed and 10 candidate field redbacks. We find that the neutron stars in redbacks have a median mass of 1.78 0.09 M with a dispersion of = 0.21 0.09. Neutron stars with masses in excess of 2 M are consistent with, but not firmly demanded by, current observations. Redback companions have median masses of 0.36 0.04 M with a scatter of = 0.15 0.04 M , and a tail possibly extending up to 0.7-0.9 M . Candidate redbacks tend to have higher companion masses than confirmed redbacks, suggesting a possible selection bias against the detection of radio pulsations in these more massive candidate systems. The distribution of companion masses between redbacks and the less massive black widows continues to be strongly bimodal, which is an important constraint on evolutionary models for these systems. Among redbacks, the median efficiency of converting the pulsar spin-down energy to γ-ray luminosity is ∼10%.
The Fermi γ-ray source 1FGL J1417.7-4407 (J1417) is a compact X-ray binary with a neutron star primary and a red giant companion in a ∼5.4 days orbit. This initial conclusion, based on optical and ...X-ray data, was confirmed when a 2.66 ms radio pulsar was found at the same location (and with the same orbital properties) as the optical/X-ray source. However, these initial studies found conflicting evidence about the accretion state and other properties of the binary. We present new optical, radio, and X-ray observations of J1417 that allow us to better understand this unusual system. We show that one of the main pieces of evidence previously put forward for an accretion disk-the complex morphology of the persistent H emission line-can be better explained by the presence of a strong, magnetically driven stellar wind from the secondary and its interaction with the pulsar wind. The radio spectral index derived from VLA/ATCA observations is broadly consistent with that expected from a millisecond pulsar, further disfavoring an accretion disk scenario. X-ray observations show evidence for a double-peaked orbital light curve, similar to that observed in some redback millisecond pulsar binaries and likely due to an intrabinary shock. Refined optical light-curve fitting gives a distance of 3.1 0.6 kpc, confirmed by a Gaia DR2 parallax measurement. At this distance the X-ray luminosity of J1417 is ( ) ×1033 erg s−1, which is more luminous than all known redback systems in the rotational-powered pulsar state, perhaps due to the wind from the giant companion. The unusual phenomenology of this system and its differing evolutionary path from redback millisecond pulsar binaries points to a new eclipsing pulsar "spider" subclass that is a possible progenitor of normal field millisecond pulsar binaries.
Abstract
We have discovered a new candidate redback millisecond pulsar binary near the center of the error ellipse of the bright unassociated Fermi-LAT
γ
-ray source 4FGL J0940.3–7610. The candidate ...counterpart is a variable optical source that also shows faint X-ray emission. Optical photometric and spectroscopic monitoring with the SOAR telescope indicates that the companion is a low-mass star in a 6.5 hr orbit around an invisible primary, showing both ellipsoidal variations and irradiation and consistent with the properties of known redback millisecond pulsar binaries. Given the orbital parameters, preliminary modeling of the optical light curves suggests an edge-on inclination and a low-mass (∼1.2–1.4
M
⊙
) neutron star, along with a secondary mass somewhat more massive than the typical ≳0.4
M
⊙
. This combination of inclination and secondary properties could make radio eclipses more likely for this system, explaining its previous nondiscovery in radio pulsation searches. Hence, 4FGL J0940.3–7610 may be a strong candidate for a focused search for
γ
-ray pulsations to enable the future detection of a millisecond pulsar.
PSR J1306-40 is a millisecond pulsar (MSP) binary with a non-degenerate companion in an unusually long ∼1.097 day orbit. We present new optical photometry and spectroscopy of this system, and model ...these data to constrain fundamental properties of the binary such as the component masses and distance. The optical data imply a minimum neutron star mass of 1.75 0.09 M (1 ) and a high, nearly edge-on inclination. The light curves suggest a large hot spot on the companion, suggestive of a portion of the pulsar wind being channeled to the stellar surface by the magnetic field of the secondary, mediated via an intrabinary shock. The H line profiles switch rapidly from emission to absorption near the companion inferior conjunction, consistent with an eclipse of the compact emission region at these phases. At our optically inferred distance of 4.7 0.5 kpc, the X-ray luminosity is ∼1033 erg s−1, brighter than nearly all known redbacks in the pulsar state. The long-period, subgiant-like secondary, and luminous X-ray emission suggest this system may be part of the expanding class of MSP binaries that are progenitors to typical field pulsar-white dwarf binaries.
We present the results of an ultradeep, comprehensive radio continuum survey for the accretion signatures of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in globular clusters (GCs). The sample, imaged with ...the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the Australia Telescope Compact Array, comprises 50 Galactic GCs. No compelling evidence for an IMBH is found in any cluster in our sample. In order to achieve the highest sensitivity to low-level emission, we also present the results of an overall stack of our sample as well as various subsamples, also finding nondetections. These results strengthen the idea that IMBHs with masses 1000M are rare or absent in GCs.
ABSTRACT We report the discovery of an eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary at the center of the 3FGL error ellipse of the unassociated Fermi/Large Area Telescope γ-ray source 3FGL J0427.9-6704. ...Photometry from OGLE and the SMARTS 1.3 m telescope and spectroscopy from the SOAR telescope have allowed us to classify the system as an eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary (P = 8.8 hr) with a main-sequence donor and a neutron-star accretor. Broad double-peaked H and He emission lines suggest the ongoing presence of an accretion disk. Remarkably, the system shows separate sets of absorption lines associated with the accretion disk and the secondary, and we use their radial velocities to find evidence for a massive (∼1.8-1.9 M ) neutron-star primary. In addition to a total X-ray eclipse with a duration of ∼2200 s observed with NuSTAR, the X-ray light curve also shows properties similar to those observed among known transitional millisecond pulsars: short-term variability, a hard power-law spectrum ( ), and a comparable 0.5-10 keV luminosity ( erg s−1). We find tentative evidence for a partial ( ) γ-ray eclipse at the same phase as the X-ray eclipse, suggesting the γ-ray emission may not be confined to the immediate region of the compact object. The favorable inclination of this binary is promising for future efforts to determine the origin of γ-rays among accreting neutron stars.
We present the discovery of a likely new redback millisecond pulsar (MSP) binary associated with the Fermi γ-ray source 4FGL J2333.1-5527. Using optical photometric and spectroscopic observations ...from the Southern Astrophysical Research telescope, we identify a low-mass, main-sequence-like companion in a 6.9 hr, highly inclined orbit around a suspected massive neutron star primary. Archival XMM-Newton X-ray observations show this system has a hard power-law spectrum Γ = 1.6 0.3 and LX ∼ 5 × 1031 erg s−1, consistent with redback MSP binaries. Our data suggest that for secondary masses typical of redbacks, the mass of the neutron star is likely well in excess of ∼1.4 M , but future timing of the radio pulsar is necessary to bolster this tentative conclusion. This work shows that a bevy of nearby compact binaries still await discovery, and that unusually massive neutron stars continue to be common in redbacks.
We present the discovery and characterization of a radio-bright binary in the Galactic globular cluster M10. First identified in deep radio continuum data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, ...M10-VLA1 has a flux density of 27 4 Jy at 7.4 GHz and a flat-to-inverted radio spectrum. Chandra imaging shows an X-ray source with LX 1031 erg s−1 matching the location of the radio source. This places M10-VLA1 within the scatter of the radio-X-ray luminosity correlation for quiescent stellar-mass black holes, and a black hole X-ray binary is a viable explanation for this system. The radio and X-ray properties of the source disfavor, but do not rule out, identification as an accreting neutron star or white dwarf system. Optical imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope and spectroscopy from the SOAR telescope show that the system has an orbital period of 3.339 days and an unusual "red straggler" component: an evolved star found redward of the M10 red giant branch. These data also show UV/optical variability and double-peaked H emission characteristic of an accretion disk. However, SOAR spectroscopic monitoring reveals that the velocity semi-amplitude of the red straggler is low. We conclude that M10-VLA1 is most likely either a quiescent black hole X-ray binary with a rather face-on (i < 4°) orientation or an unusual flaring RS Canum Venaticorum variable-type active binary, and discuss future observations that could distinguish between these possibilities.
Globular clusters host a variety of lower-luminosity (LX < 1035 erg s−1) X-ray sources, including accreting neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs), millisecond pulsars (MSPs), cataclysmic ...variables, and chromospherically active binaries. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive catalog of more than 1100 X-ray sources in 38 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Chandra/ACIS detector. The targets are selected to complement the MAVERIC survey's deep radio continuum maps of Galactic GCs. We perform photometry and spectral analysis for each source, determine a best-fit model, and assess the possibility of it being a foreground or background source based on its spectral properties and location in the cluster. We also provide basic assessments of variability. We discuss the distribution of X-ray binaries in GCs and their X-ray luminosity function, and we carefully analyze systems with LX > 1033 erg s−1. Among these moderately bright systems, we discover a new source in NGC 6539 that may be a candidate accreting stellar-mass BH or a transitional MSP. We show that quiescent NS low-mass X-ray binaries in GCs may spend ∼2% of their lifetimes as transitional MSPs in their active (LX > 1033 erg s−1) state. Finally, we identify a substantial underabundance of bright (LX > 1033 erg s−1) intermediate polars in GCs compared to the Galactic field, in contrast with the literature of the past two decades.
Abstract
Accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries show outflows—and sometimes jets—in the general manner of accreting black holes. However, the quantitative link between the accretion flow ...(traced by X-rays) and outflows and/or jets (traced by radio emission) is much less well understood for neutron stars than for black holes, other than the general observation that neutron stars are fainter in the radio at a given X-ray luminosity. We use data from the deep MAVERIC radio continuum survey of Galactic globular clusters for a systematic radio and X-ray study of six luminous (
L
X
> 10
34
erg s
−1
) persistent neutron star X-ray binaries in our survey, as well as two other transient systems also captured by our data. We find that these neutron star X-ray binaries show an even larger range in radio luminosity than previously observed. In particular, in quiescence at
L
X
∼ 3 × 10
34
erg s
−1
, the confirmed neutron star binary GRS 1747–312 in Terzan 6 sits near the upper envelope of the black hole radio/X-ray correlation, and the persistently accreting neutron star systems AC 211 (in M15) and X1850–087 (in NGC 6712) show unusual radio variability and luminous radio emission. We interpret AC 211 as an obscured “Z source” that is accreting at close to the Eddington limit, while the properties of X1850–087 are difficult to explain, and motivate future coordinated radio and X-ray observations. Overall, our results show that neutron stars do not follow a single relation between inflow and outflow, and confirm that their accretion dynamics are more complex than for black holes.
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