Broadband x-ray properties of the gamma-ray binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856

Hongjun An, Eric Bellm, Varun Bhalerao, Steven E. Boggs, Finn Erland Christensen, William W. Craig, Felix Fuerst, Charles J. Hailey, Fiona A. Harrison, Victoria M. Kaspi

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    Abstract

    We report on NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Swift observations of the gamma-ray binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856. We measure the orbital period to be 16.544 ± 0.008 days using Swift data spanning 1900 days. The orbital period is different from the 2011 gamma-ray measurement which was used in the previous X-ray study of An et al. using ~400 days of Swift data, but is consistent with a new gamma-ray solution reported in 2014. The light curve folded on the new period is qualitatively similar to that reported previously, having a spike at phase 0 and broad sinusoidal modulation. The X-ray flux enhancement at phase 0 occurs more regularly in time than was previously suggested. A spiky structure at this phase seems to be a persistent feature, although there is some variability. Furthermore, we find that the source flux clearly correlates with the spectral hardness throughout all orbital phases, and that the broadband X-ray spectra measured with NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Swift are well fit with an unbroken power-law model. This spectrum suggests that the system may not be accretion-powered.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number166
    JournalAstrophysical Journal
    Volume806
    Issue number2
    Number of pages7
    ISSN0004-637X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Keywords

    • Binaries: close
    • Gamma rays: stars
    • Stars: individual (1FGL J1018.6–5856)
    • X-rays: binaries

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