Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-08-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters; 11 Pages including 3 figures and 1 table
Scientific paper
10.1086/522833
We report evidence of magnetic activity associated with the secondary star in the EXO 0748-676 low mass X-ray binary system. An analysis of a sequence of five consecutive X-ray eclipses observed during December 2003 with the RXTE satellite brings out a feature occurring during ingress we interpret as the X-ray photoelectric absorption shadow, as seen by an observer at Earth, of a plasma structure suspended above the surface of the secondary star. The light curve feature consists of an initial drop in count rate to near zero (the absorption shadow) with a very short rebound to a significant fraction of the pre-ingress count rate and then a final plunge to totality over a total time scale of ~25 s. The ingress feature persists for at least 5 consecutive orbital periods (a total of ~19 hr), and possibly up to 5 days in our data. Our data also show significant post-egress dipping during this eclipse sequence, unusual for this source, indicating possible secondary star mass ejection during this episode.
Ray Paul Shelton
Wolff Michael Thomas
Wood Kent S.
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