2018MNRAS.481L..94P -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 481, L94-L99 (2018/November-3)
Measuring masses in low mass X-ray binaries via X-ray spectroscopy: the case of MXB 1659-298.
PONTI G., BIANCHI S., MUNOZ-DARIAS T. and NANDRA K.
Abstract (from CDS):
The determination of fundamental parameters in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) typically relies on measuring the radial velocity curve of the companion star through optical or near-infrared spectroscopy. It was recently suggested that high resolution X-ray spectroscopy might enable a measurement of the radial velocity curve of the compact object by monitoring the Doppler shifts induced by the orbital motion of the disc wind or the disc atmosphere. We analysed a Chandra-HETG+NuSTAR soft state observation of MXB 1659-298, an eclipsing neutron star LMXB. We measured a radial velocity curve whose phase offset and semi-amplitude are consistent with the primary star. We derived the value for the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity for the compact object K1 = 89 ± 19 km s–1, constrained the mass of the secondary (0.3 M☉ <= M2 <= 0.8 M☉) and the orbital inclination of the binary system (73°<= i<=77°). These values are consistent with previous estimates from independent methods. Via the same technique, the next generation of X-ray observatories equipped with high spectral resolution instruments (e.g. Athena) will have the potential to measure the radial velocity curve of the primary in high inclination X-ray binaries to an accuracy of a few per cent.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society
Journal keyword(s):
techniques: spectroscopic - neutro star physics - accretion - accretion discs - methods: observational - absorption lines - X-rays: binaries
Simbad objects:
3
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