The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar
© 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. We report new simultaneous X-ray and radio continuum observations of 3FGL J0427.9-6704, a candidate member of the enigmatic class of transitional millisecond pulsars. These XMM-Newton and Australia Telescope Compact Array observations...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP PUBLISHING LTD
2020
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80103 |
| _version_ | 1848764162677669888 |
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| author | Li, K.L. Strader, J. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C.O. Chomiuk, L. |
| author_facet | Li, K.L. Strader, J. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C.O. Chomiuk, L. |
| author_sort | Li, K.L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. We report new simultaneous X-ray and radio continuum observations of 3FGL J0427.9-6704, a candidate member of the enigmatic class of transitional millisecond pulsars. These XMM-Newton and Australia Telescope Compact Array observations of this nearly edge-on, eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary were taken in the sub-luminous disk state at an X-ray luminosity of erg s-1. Unlike the few well-studied transitional millisecond pulsars, which spend most of their disk state in a characteristic high or low accretion mode with occasional flares, 3FGL J0427.9-6704 stayed in the flare mode for the entire X-ray observation of ∼20 hr, with the brightest flares reaching ∼2 × 1034 erg s-1. The source continuously exhibited flaring activity on timescales of ∼10-100 s in both the X-ray and optical/ultraviolet (UV). No measurable time delay between the X-ray and optical/UV flares is observed, but the optical/UV flares last longer, and the relative amplitudes of the X-ray and optical/UV flares show a large scatter. The X-ray spectrum can be well-fit with a partially absorbed power law (Γ ∼ 1.4-1.5), perhaps due to the edge-on viewing angle. Modestly variable radio continuum emission is present at all epochs, and is not eclipsed by the secondary, consistent with the presence of a steady radio outflow or jet. The simultaneous radio/X-ray luminosity ratio of 3FGL J0427.9-6704 is higher than any known transitional millisecond pulsars and comparable to that of stellar-mass black holes of the same X-ray luminosity, providing additional evidence that some neutron stars can be as radio-loud as black holes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:14:58Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-80103 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:14:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | IOP PUBLISHING LTD |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-801032020-07-29T07:12:21Z The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar Li, K.L. Strader, J. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C.O. Chomiuk, L. Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Low-mass x-ray binary stars High energy astrophysics Binary pulsars X-RAY BINARIES NEUTRON-STAR 1ST J102347.6+003841 PSR J1023+0038 PULSATIONS PROPELLER EMISSION POWER DISK © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. We report new simultaneous X-ray and radio continuum observations of 3FGL J0427.9-6704, a candidate member of the enigmatic class of transitional millisecond pulsars. These XMM-Newton and Australia Telescope Compact Array observations of this nearly edge-on, eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary were taken in the sub-luminous disk state at an X-ray luminosity of erg s-1. Unlike the few well-studied transitional millisecond pulsars, which spend most of their disk state in a characteristic high or low accretion mode with occasional flares, 3FGL J0427.9-6704 stayed in the flare mode for the entire X-ray observation of ∼20 hr, with the brightest flares reaching ∼2 × 1034 erg s-1. The source continuously exhibited flaring activity on timescales of ∼10-100 s in both the X-ray and optical/ultraviolet (UV). No measurable time delay between the X-ray and optical/UV flares is observed, but the optical/UV flares last longer, and the relative amplitudes of the X-ray and optical/UV flares show a large scatter. The X-ray spectrum can be well-fit with a partially absorbed power law (Γ ∼ 1.4-1.5), perhaps due to the edge-on viewing angle. Modestly variable radio continuum emission is present at all epochs, and is not eclipsed by the secondary, consistent with the presence of a steady radio outflow or jet. The simultaneous radio/X-ray luminosity ratio of 3FGL J0427.9-6704 is higher than any known transitional millisecond pulsars and comparable to that of stellar-mass black holes of the same X-ray luminosity, providing additional evidence that some neutron stars can be as radio-loud as black holes. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80103 10.3847/1538-4357/ab8f28 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 IOP PUBLISHING LTD fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Low-mass x-ray binary stars High energy astrophysics Binary pulsars X-RAY BINARIES NEUTRON-STAR 1ST J102347.6+003841 PSR J1023+0038 PULSATIONS PROPELLER EMISSION POWER DISK Li, K.L. Strader, J. Miller-Jones, James Heinke, C.O. Chomiuk, L. The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title | The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title_full | The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title_fullStr | The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title_short | The Flare-dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar |
| title_sort | flare-dominated accretion mode of a radio-bright candidate transitional millisecond pulsar |
| topic | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Low-mass x-ray binary stars High energy astrophysics Binary pulsars X-RAY BINARIES NEUTRON-STAR 1ST J102347.6+003841 PSR J1023+0038 PULSATIONS PROPELLER EMISSION POWER DISK |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80103 |