IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1

Sofia V. Forsblom; Juri Poutanen; Sergey S. Tsygankov; Matteo Bachetti; Alessandro Di Marco; Victor Doroshenko; Jeremy Heyl; Fabio La Monaca; Christian Malacaria; Herman L. Marshall; Fabio Muleri; Alexander A. Mushtukov; Maura Pilia; Daniele Rogantini; Valery F. Suleimanov; Roberto Taverna; Fei Xie; Iván Agudo; Lucio A. Antonelli; Luca Baldini; Wayne H. Baumgartner; Ronaldo Bellazzini; Stefano Bianchi; Stephen D. Bongiorno; Raffaella Bonino; Niccolò Bucciantini; Alessandro Brez; Fiamma Capitanio; Simone Castellano; Elisabetta Cavazzuti; Chien Ting Chen; Stefano Ciprini; Enrico Costa; Alessandra De Rosa; Ettore Del Monte; Laura Di Gesu; Niccolò Di Lalla; Immacolata Donnarumma; Michal Dovčiak; Steven R. Ehlert; Teruaki Enoto; Yuri Evangelista; Sergio Fabiani; Riccardo Ferrazzoli; Javier A. Garcia; Shuichi Gunji; Kiyoshi Hayashida; Wataru Iwakiri; Svetlana G. Jorstad; Philip Kaaret; Vladimir Karas; Takao Kitaguchi; Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak; Henric Krawczynski; Luca Latronico; Ioannis Liodakis; Simone Maldera; Alberto Manfreda; Frédéric Marin; Andrea Marinucci; Alan P. Marscher; Giorgio Matt; Ikuyuki Mitsuishi; Tsunefumi Mizuno; Michela Negro; Chi Yung Ng; Stephen L. O’Dell; Nicola Omodei; Chiara Oppedisano; Alessandro Papitto; George G. Pavlov; Abel L. Peirson; Matteo Perri; Melissa Pesce-Rollins; Pierre Olivier Petrucci; Andrea Possenti; Simonetta Puccetti; Brian D. Ramsey; John Rankin; Ajay Ratheesh; Oliver J. Roberts; Roger W. Romani; Carmelo Sgrò; Patrick Slane; Paolo Soffitta; Gloria Spandre; Rashid A. Sunyaev; Douglas A. Swartz; Toru Tamagawa; Fabrizio Tavecchio; Yuzuru Tawara; Allyn F. Tennant; Nicholas E. Thomas; Francesco Tombesi; Alessio Trois; Roberto Turolla; Jacco Vink; Martin C. Weisskopf; Kinwah Wu; Silvia Zane

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1

Sofia V. Forsblom, Juri Poutanen, Sergey S. Tsygankov, Matteo Bachetti, Alessandro Di Marco, Victor Doroshenko, Jeremy Heyl, Fabio La Monaca, Christian Malacaria, Herman L. Marshall, Fabio Muleri, Alexander A. Mushtukov, Maura Pilia, Daniele Rogantini, Valery F. Suleimanov, Roberto Taverna, Fei Xie, Iván Agudo, Lucio A. Antonelli, Luca BaldiniWayne H. Baumgartner, Ronaldo Bellazzini, Stefano Bianchi, Stephen D. Bongiorno, Raffaella Bonino, Niccolò Bucciantini, Alessandro Brez, Fiamma Capitanio, Simone Castellano, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, Chien Ting Chen, Stefano Ciprini, Enrico Costa, Alessandra De Rosa, Ettore Del Monte, Laura Di Gesu, Niccolò Di Lalla, Immacolata Donnarumma, Michal Dovčiak, Steven R. Ehlert, Teruaki Enoto, Yuri Evangelista, Sergio Fabiani, Riccardo Ferrazzoli, Javier A. Garcia, Shuichi Gunji, Kiyoshi Hayashida, Wataru Iwakiri, Svetlana G. Jorstad, Philip Kaaret, Vladimir Karas, Takao Kitaguchi, Jeffery J. Kolodziejczak, Henric Krawczynski, Luca Latronico, Ioannis Liodakis, Simone Maldera, Alberto Manfreda, Frédéric Marin, Andrea Marinucci, Alan P. Marscher, Giorgio Matt, Ikuyuki Mitsuishi, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Michela Negro, Chi Yung Ng, Stephen L. O’Dell, Nicola Omodei, Chiara Oppedisano, Alessandro Papitto, George G. Pavlov, Abel L. Peirson, Matteo Perri, Melissa Pesce-Rollins, Pierre Olivier Petrucci, Andrea Possenti, Simonetta Puccetti, Brian D. Ramsey, John Rankin, Ajay Ratheesh, Oliver J. Roberts, Roger W. Romani, Carmelo Sgrò, Patrick Slane, Paolo Soffitta, Gloria Spandre, Rashid A. Sunyaev, Douglas A. Swartz, Toru Tamagawa, Fabrizio Tavecchio, Yuzuru Tawara, Allyn F. Tennant, Nicholas E. Thomas, Francesco Tombesi, Alessio Trois, Roberto Turolla, Jacco Vink, Martin C. Weisskopf, Kinwah Wu, Silvia Zane

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Abstract

The radiation from accreting X-ray pulsars was expected to be highly polarized, with some estimates for the polarization degree of up to 80%. However, phase-resolved and energy-resolved polarimetry of X-ray pulsars is required in order to test different models and to shed light on the emission processes and the geometry of the emission region. Here we present the first results of the observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Vela X-1 is considered to be the archetypal example of a wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary system, consisting of a highly magnetized neutron star accreting matter from its supergiant stellar companion. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the phase-averaged data for Vela X-1 reveals a polarization degree (PD) of 2.3% ± 0.4% at the polarization angle (PA) of −47°.3 ± 5°.4. A low PD is consistent with the results obtained for other X-ray pulsars and is likely related to the inverse temperature structure of the neutron star atmosphere. The energy-resolved analysis shows the PD above 5 keV reaching 6%–10% and a ∼90° difference in the PA compared to the data in the 2–3 keV range. The phase-resolved spectropolarimetric analysis finds a PD in the range 0%–9% with the PA varying between −80° and 40°.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	947:L20
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	947
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc391
State	Published - Apr 1 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

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Forsblom, S. V., Poutanen, J., Tsygankov, S. S., Bachetti, M., Di Marco, A., Doroshenko, V., Heyl, J., La Monaca, F., Malacaria, C., Marshall, H. L., Muleri, F., Mushtukov, A. A., Pilia, M., Rogantini, D., Suleimanov, V. F., Taverna, R., Xie, F., Agudo, I., Antonelli, L. A., ... Zane, S. (2023). IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 947(2), Article 947:L20. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

@article{0b4c7e35578a44b4a1a5873d98b61ce8,

title = "IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1",

abstract = "The radiation from accreting X-ray pulsars was expected to be highly polarized, with some estimates for the polarization degree of up to 80%. However, phase-resolved and energy-resolved polarimetry of X-ray pulsars is required in order to test different models and to shed light on the emission processes and the geometry of the emission region. Here we present the first results of the observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Vela X-1 is considered to be the archetypal example of a wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary system, consisting of a highly magnetized neutron star accreting matter from its supergiant stellar companion. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the phase-averaged data for Vela X-1 reveals a polarization degree (PD) of 2.3% ± 0.4% at the polarization angle (PA) of −47°.3 ± 5°.4. A low PD is consistent with the results obtained for other X-ray pulsars and is likely related to the inverse temperature structure of the neutron star atmosphere. The energy-resolved analysis shows the PD above 5 keV reaching 6%–10% and a ∼90° difference in the PA compared to the data in the 2–3 keV range. The phase-resolved spectropolarimetric analysis finds a PD in the range 0%–9% with the PA varying between −80° and 40°.",

author = "Forsblom, {Sofia V.} and Juri Poutanen and Tsygankov, {Sergey S.} and Matteo Bachetti and {Di Marco}, Alessandro and Victor Doroshenko and Jeremy Heyl and {La Monaca}, Fabio and Christian Malacaria and Marshall, {Herman L.} and Fabio Muleri and Mushtukov, {Alexander A.} and Maura Pilia and Daniele Rogantini and Suleimanov, {Valery F.} and Roberto Taverna and Fei Xie and Iv{\'a}n Agudo and Antonelli, {Lucio A.} and Luca Baldini and Baumgartner, {Wayne H.} and Ronaldo Bellazzini and Stefano Bianchi and Bongiorno, {Stephen D.} and Raffaella Bonino and Niccol{\`o} Bucciantini and Alessandro Brez and Fiamma Capitanio and Simone Castellano and Elisabetta Cavazzuti and Chen, {Chien Ting} and Stefano Ciprini and Enrico Costa and {De Rosa}, Alessandra and {Del Monte}, Ettore and {Di Gesu}, Laura and {Di Lalla}, Niccol{\`o} and Immacolata Donnarumma and Michal Dov{\v c}iak and Ehlert, {Steven R.} and Teruaki Enoto and Yuri Evangelista and Sergio Fabiani and Riccardo Ferrazzoli and Garcia, {Javier A.} and Shuichi Gunji and Kiyoshi Hayashida and Wataru Iwakiri and Jorstad, {Svetlana G.} and Philip Kaaret and Vladimir Karas and Takao Kitaguchi and Kolodziejczak, {Jeffery J.} and Henric Krawczynski and Luca Latronico and Ioannis Liodakis and Simone Maldera and Alberto Manfreda and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Marin and Andrea Marinucci and Marscher, {Alan P.} and Giorgio Matt and Ikuyuki Mitsuishi and Tsunefumi Mizuno and Michela Negro and Ng, {Chi Yung} and O{\textquoteright}Dell, {Stephen L.} and Nicola Omodei and Chiara Oppedisano and Alessandro Papitto and Pavlov, {George G.} and Peirson, {Abel L.} and Matteo Perri and Melissa Pesce-Rollins and Petrucci, {Pierre Olivier} and Andrea Possenti and Simonetta Puccetti and Ramsey, {Brian D.} and John Rankin and Ajay Ratheesh and Roberts, {Oliver J.} and Romani, {Roger W.} and Carmelo Sgr{\`o} and Patrick Slane and Paolo Soffitta and Gloria Spandre and Sunyaev, {Rashid A.} and Swartz, {Douglas A.} and Toru Tamagawa and Fabrizio Tavecchio and Yuzuru Tawara and Tennant, {Allyn F.} and Thomas, {Nicholas E.} and Francesco Tombesi and Alessio Trois and Roberto Turolla and Jacco Vink and Weisskopf, {Martin C.} and Kinwah Wu and Silvia Zane",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.",

year = "2023",

month = apr,

day = "1",

doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/acc391",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "947",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "2",

}

Forsblom, SV, Poutanen, J, Tsygankov, SS, Bachetti, M, Di Marco, A, Doroshenko, V, Heyl, J, La Monaca, F, Malacaria, C, Marshall, HL, Muleri, F, Mushtukov, AA, Pilia, M, Rogantini, D, Suleimanov, VF, Taverna, R, Xie, F, Agudo, I, Antonelli, LA, Baldini, L, Baumgartner, WH, Bellazzini, R, Bianchi, S, Bongiorno, SD, Bonino, R, Bucciantini, N, Brez, A, Capitanio, F, Castellano, S, Cavazzuti, E, Chen, CT, Ciprini, S, Costa, E, De Rosa, A, Del Monte, E, Di Gesu, L, Di Lalla, N, Donnarumma, I, Dovčiak, M, Ehlert, SR, Enoto, T, Evangelista, Y, Fabiani, S, Ferrazzoli, R, Garcia, JA, Gunji, S, Hayashida, K, Iwakiri, W, Jorstad, SG, Kaaret, P, Karas, V, Kitaguchi, T, Kolodziejczak, JJ, Krawczynski, H, Latronico, L, Liodakis, I, Maldera, S, Manfreda, A, Marin, F, Marinucci, A, Marscher, AP, Matt, G, Mitsuishi, I, Mizuno, T, Negro, M, Ng, CY, O’Dell, SL, Omodei, N, Oppedisano, C, Papitto, A, Pavlov, GG, Peirson, AL, Perri, M, Pesce-Rollins, M, Petrucci, PO, Possenti, A, Puccetti, S, Ramsey, BD, Rankin, J, Ratheesh, A, Roberts, OJ, Romani, RW, Sgrò, C, Slane, P, Soffitta, P, Spandre, G, Sunyaev, RA, Swartz, DA, Tamagawa, T, Tavecchio, F, Tawara, Y, Tennant, AF, Thomas, NE, Tombesi, F, Trois, A, Turolla, R, Vink, J, Weisskopf, MC, Wu, K & Zane, S 2023, 'IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 947, no. 2, 947:L20. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

TY - JOUR

T1 - IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1

AU - Forsblom, Sofia V.

AU - Poutanen, Juri

AU - Tsygankov, Sergey S.

AU - Bachetti, Matteo

AU - Di Marco, Alessandro

AU - Doroshenko, Victor

AU - Heyl, Jeremy

AU - La Monaca, Fabio

AU - Malacaria, Christian

AU - Marshall, Herman L.

AU - Muleri, Fabio

AU - Mushtukov, Alexander A.

AU - Pilia, Maura

AU - Rogantini, Daniele

AU - Suleimanov, Valery F.

AU - Taverna, Roberto

AU - Xie, Fei

AU - Agudo, Iván

AU - Antonelli, Lucio A.

AU - Baldini, Luca

AU - Baumgartner, Wayne H.

AU - Bellazzini, Ronaldo

AU - Bianchi, Stefano

AU - Bongiorno, Stephen D.

AU - Bonino, Raffaella

AU - Bucciantini, Niccolò

AU - Brez, Alessandro

AU - Capitanio, Fiamma

AU - Castellano, Simone

AU - Cavazzuti, Elisabetta

AU - Chen, Chien Ting

AU - Ciprini, Stefano

AU - Costa, Enrico

AU - De Rosa, Alessandra

AU - Del Monte, Ettore

AU - Di Gesu, Laura

AU - Di Lalla, Niccolò

AU - Donnarumma, Immacolata

AU - Dovčiak, Michal

AU - Ehlert, Steven R.

AU - Enoto, Teruaki

AU - Evangelista, Yuri

AU - Fabiani, Sergio

AU - Ferrazzoli, Riccardo

AU - Garcia, Javier A.

AU - Gunji, Shuichi

AU - Hayashida, Kiyoshi

AU - Iwakiri, Wataru

AU - Jorstad, Svetlana G.

AU - Kaaret, Philip

AU - Karas, Vladimir

AU - Kitaguchi, Takao

AU - Kolodziejczak, Jeffery J.

AU - Krawczynski, Henric

AU - Latronico, Luca

AU - Liodakis, Ioannis

AU - Maldera, Simone

AU - Manfreda, Alberto

AU - Marin, Frédéric

AU - Marinucci, Andrea

AU - Marscher, Alan P.

AU - Matt, Giorgio

AU - Mitsuishi, Ikuyuki

AU - Mizuno, Tsunefumi

AU - Negro, Michela

AU - Ng, Chi Yung

AU - O’Dell, Stephen L.

AU - Omodei, Nicola

AU - Oppedisano, Chiara

AU - Papitto, Alessandro

AU - Pavlov, George G.

AU - Peirson, Abel L.

AU - Perri, Matteo

AU - Pesce-Rollins, Melissa

AU - Petrucci, Pierre Olivier

AU - Possenti, Andrea

AU - Puccetti, Simonetta

AU - Ramsey, Brian D.

AU - Rankin, John

AU - Ratheesh, Ajay

AU - Roberts, Oliver J.

AU - Romani, Roger W.

AU - Sgrò, Carmelo

AU - Slane, Patrick

AU - Soffitta, Paolo

AU - Spandre, Gloria

AU - Sunyaev, Rashid A.

AU - Swartz, Douglas A.

AU - Tamagawa, Toru

AU - Tavecchio, Fabrizio

AU - Tawara, Yuzuru

AU - Tennant, Allyn F.

AU - Thomas, Nicholas E.

AU - Tombesi, Francesco

AU - Trois, Alessio

AU - Turolla, Roberto

AU - Vink, Jacco

AU - Weisskopf, Martin C.

AU - Wu, Kinwah

AU - Zane, Silvia

PY - 2023/4/1

Y1 - 2023/4/1

N2 - The radiation from accreting X-ray pulsars was expected to be highly polarized, with some estimates for the polarization degree of up to 80%. However, phase-resolved and energy-resolved polarimetry of X-ray pulsars is required in order to test different models and to shed light on the emission processes and the geometry of the emission region. Here we present the first results of the observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Vela X-1 is considered to be the archetypal example of a wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary system, consisting of a highly magnetized neutron star accreting matter from its supergiant stellar companion. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the phase-averaged data for Vela X-1 reveals a polarization degree (PD) of 2.3% ± 0.4% at the polarization angle (PA) of −47°.3 ± 5°.4. A low PD is consistent with the results obtained for other X-ray pulsars and is likely related to the inverse temperature structure of the neutron star atmosphere. The energy-resolved analysis shows the PD above 5 keV reaching 6%–10% and a ∼90° difference in the PA compared to the data in the 2–3 keV range. The phase-resolved spectropolarimetric analysis finds a PD in the range 0%–9% with the PA varying between −80° and 40°.

AB - The radiation from accreting X-ray pulsars was expected to be highly polarized, with some estimates for the polarization degree of up to 80%. However, phase-resolved and energy-resolved polarimetry of X-ray pulsars is required in order to test different models and to shed light on the emission processes and the geometry of the emission region. Here we present the first results of the observations of the accreting X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 performed with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Vela X-1 is considered to be the archetypal example of a wind-accreting, high-mass X-ray binary system, consisting of a highly magnetized neutron star accreting matter from its supergiant stellar companion. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the phase-averaged data for Vela X-1 reveals a polarization degree (PD) of 2.3% ± 0.4% at the polarization angle (PA) of −47°.3 ± 5°.4. A low PD is consistent with the results obtained for other X-ray pulsars and is likely related to the inverse temperature structure of the neutron star atmosphere. The energy-resolved analysis shows the PD above 5 keV reaching 6%–10% and a ∼90° difference in the PA compared to the data in the 2–3 keV range. The phase-resolved spectropolarimetric analysis finds a PD in the range 0%–9% with the PA varying between −80° and 40°.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85158131320&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85158131320&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acc391

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85158131320

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 947

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 2

M1 - 947:L20

ER -

IXPE Observations of the Quintessential Wind-accreting X-Ray Pulsar Vela X-1

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