IGR J16318-4848 & Co.: a new population of hidden high-mass X-ray binaries in the Norma Arm of the Galaxy

Computer Science

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

21

Scientific paper

IGR J16318-4848 was discovered by INTEGRAL on January 29, 2003 and regularly observed during the galactic scans of the INTEGRAL core program and during private observations. XMM observations of the source indicate that the high-energy source is highly absorbed by local cold matter. Infrared spec- troscopy did show that the source counterpart is most probably a blue super-giant that features a dense cold stellar wind component. The soft γ-ray energy continuum of IGR J16318-4848 shows a cutoff at 40 keV and has been constantly variable by a factor of at least 20. Its spectral shape appears to be independent of the source level. Cut- offs in this energy range are most often associated with systems containing neutron stars. We suggest that the hard X-ray variability is related to accretion disk instabilities. The accretion disk refills when the neutron stars interact with the stellar wind that is also responsible for the huge absorption. In addition to IGR J16318-4848, INTEGRAL dis- covered 8 new sources in the Norma arm tangent region of the Galaxy. All the sources that have been further studied do show strong absorption. These sources could be a new family of high-mass X-ray binaries with cold dense stellar winds. Their high density in the Normal arm, the region of the Galaxy with the highest massive star-formation rate, proba- bly indicate that dense and cold stellar winds favor accretion in X-ray binaries.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

IGR J16318-4848 & Co.: a new population of hidden high-mass X-ray binaries in the Norma Arm of the Galaxy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with IGR J16318-4848 & Co.: a new population of hidden high-mass X-ray binaries in the Norma Arm of the Galaxy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and IGR J16318-4848 & Co.: a new population of hidden high-mass X-ray binaries in the Norma Arm of the Galaxy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-839921

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.