Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: We present the results of a study with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope in the 14–195 keV range of the long-term variability of five low-mass X-ray binaries with reported or suspected superorbital periods – 4U 1636−536, 4U 1820−303, 4U 1916−053, Cyg X-2 and Sco X-1. No significant persistent periodic modulation was detected around the previously reported periods in the 4U 1916−053, Cyg X-2 or Sco X-1 light curves. The ∼170-d period of 4U 1820−303 was detected up to 24 keV, consistent with variable accretion due to the previously proposed triple system model. The ∼46-d period in 4U 1636−536 was detected up to 100 keV, with the modulation in the low- and high-energy bands found to be phase shifted by ∼180° with respect to each other. This phase shift, when taken together with the near-coincident onset of the ∼46-d modulation and the low/hard X-ray state, leads us to speculate that the modulation could herald transient jet formation.
Authors: S. A. Farrell, D. Barret, G. K. Skinner
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2000847423