The variable radio jet of the accreting neutron star the Rapid Burster

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Eijnden, J. van den, Robins, D., Sharma, R., Sánchez-Fernández, C., Russell, T. D., Degenaar, N., Miller-Jones, J. C. A., Maccarone, T.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Eijnden, J. van den
Robins, D.
Sharma, R.
Sánchez-Fernández, C.
Russell, T. D.
Degenaar, N.
Miller-Jones, J. C. A.
Maccarone, T.
author_facet Eijnden, J. van den
Robins, D.
Sharma, R.
Sánchez-Fernández, C.
Russell, T. D.
Degenaar, N.
Miller-Jones, J. C. A.
Maccarone, T.
contents The Rapid Burster is a unique neutron star low-mass X-ray binary system, showing both thermonuclear Type-I and accretion-driven Type-II X-ray bursts. Recent studies have demonstrated how coordinated observations of X-ray and radio variability can constrain jet properties of accreting neutron stars - particularly when the X-ray variability is dominated by discrete changes. We present a simultaneous VLA, Swift, and INTEGRAL observing campaign of the Rapid Burster to investigate whether its jet responds to Type-II bursts. We observe the radio counterpart of the X-ray binary at its faintest-detected radio luminosity, while the X-ray observations reveal prolific, fast X-ray bursting. A time-resolved analysis reveals that the radio counterpart varies significantly between observing scans, displaying a fractional variability of $38 \pm 5$%. The radio faintness of the system prevents the robust identification of a causal relation between individual Type-II bursts and the evolution of the radio jet. However, based on a comparison of its low radio luminosity with archival Rapid Burster observations and other accreting neutron stars, and on a qualitative assessment of the X-ray and radio light curves, we explore the presence of a tentative connection between bursts and jet: i.e., the Type-II bursts may weaken or strengthen the jet. The former of those two scenarios would fit with magneto-rotational jet models; we discuss three lines of future research to establish this potential relation between Type-II bursts and jets more confidently.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_19827
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The variable radio jet of the accreting neutron star the Rapid Burster
Eijnden, J. van den
Robins, D.
Sharma, R.
Sánchez-Fernández, C.
Russell, T. D.
Degenaar, N.
Miller-Jones, J. C. A.
Maccarone, T.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
The Rapid Burster is a unique neutron star low-mass X-ray binary system, showing both thermonuclear Type-I and accretion-driven Type-II X-ray bursts. Recent studies have demonstrated how coordinated observations of X-ray and radio variability can constrain jet properties of accreting neutron stars - particularly when the X-ray variability is dominated by discrete changes. We present a simultaneous VLA, Swift, and INTEGRAL observing campaign of the Rapid Burster to investigate whether its jet responds to Type-II bursts. We observe the radio counterpart of the X-ray binary at its faintest-detected radio luminosity, while the X-ray observations reveal prolific, fast X-ray bursting. A time-resolved analysis reveals that the radio counterpart varies significantly between observing scans, displaying a fractional variability of $38 \pm 5$%. The radio faintness of the system prevents the robust identification of a causal relation between individual Type-II bursts and the evolution of the radio jet. However, based on a comparison of its low radio luminosity with archival Rapid Burster observations and other accreting neutron stars, and on a qualitative assessment of the X-ray and radio light curves, we explore the presence of a tentative connection between bursts and jet: i.e., the Type-II bursts may weaken or strengthen the jet. The former of those two scenarios would fit with magneto-rotational jet models; we discuss three lines of future research to establish this potential relation between Type-II bursts and jets more confidently.
title The variable radio jet of the accreting neutron star the Rapid Burster
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.19827