TY - GEN
T1 - Supergiant fast X-ray transients with Swift
T2 - 5th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy
AU - Romano, P.
AU - Mangano, V.
AU - Ducci, L.
AU - Esposito, P.
AU - Farinelli, R.
AU - Ceccobello, C.
AU - Vercellone, S.
AU - Burrows, D. N.
AU - Kennea, J. A.
AU - Krimm, H. A.
AU - Gehrels, N.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are a class of high-mass X-ray binaries with possible counterparts in the high energy gamma rays. The Swift SFXT Project1 has conducted a systematic investigation of the properties of SFTXs on timescales ranging from minutes to years and in several intensity states (from bright flares, to intermediate intensity states, and down to almost quiescence). We also performed broad-band spectroscopy of outbursts, and intensity-selected spectroscopy outside of outbursts. We demonstrated that while the brightest phase of the outburst only lasts a few hours, further activity is observed at lower fluxes for a remarkably longer time, up to weeks. Furthermore, we assessed the fraction of the time these sources spend in each phase, and their duty cycle of inactivity. We present the most recent results from our investigation. The spectroscopic and, most importantly, timing properties of SFXTs we have uncovered with Swift will serve as a guide in search for the high energy emission from these enigmatic objects.
AB - Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are a class of high-mass X-ray binaries with possible counterparts in the high energy gamma rays. The Swift SFXT Project1 has conducted a systematic investigation of the properties of SFTXs on timescales ranging from minutes to years and in several intensity states (from bright flares, to intermediate intensity states, and down to almost quiescence). We also performed broad-band spectroscopy of outbursts, and intensity-selected spectroscopy outside of outbursts. We demonstrated that while the brightest phase of the outburst only lasts a few hours, further activity is observed at lower fluxes for a remarkably longer time, up to weeks. Furthermore, we assessed the fraction of the time these sources spend in each phase, and their duty cycle of inactivity. We present the most recent results from our investigation. The spectroscopic and, most importantly, timing properties of SFXTs we have uncovered with Swift will serve as a guide in search for the high energy emission from these enigmatic objects.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84873185743&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1063/1.4772291
DO - 10.1063/1.4772291
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84873185743
SN - 9780735411234
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 438
EP - 441
BT - High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy - 5th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy
Y2 - 9 July 2012 through 13 July 2012
ER -