Neuro-Parametric Spectral Classification of Black Hole and Neutron Star X-ray Binary Systems

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Autori principali: Garg, Akash, Kumar, Aman, Kembhavi, Ajit, Misra, Ranjeev, Kembhavi, Aniruddha, Philip, N. S., Pattnaik, Rohan, Watwe, Shreya
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Garg, Akash
Kumar, Aman
Kembhavi, Ajit
Misra, Ranjeev
Kembhavi, Aniruddha
Philip, N. S.
Pattnaik, Rohan
Watwe, Shreya
author_facet Garg, Akash
Kumar, Aman
Kembhavi, Ajit
Misra, Ranjeev
Kembhavi, Aniruddha
Philip, N. S.
Pattnaik, Rohan
Watwe, Shreya
contents We perform the classification of black hole and neutron star X-ray binary systems using deep neural networks applied to archival RXTE X-ray spectral data. We first construct two neural network models: one trained using only spectral flux values and another trained using both fluxes and their associated errors. Both models achieve high classification accuracies of ~90-94 %. To gain physical interpretability of these networks, we fit all spectra with a simple phenomenological model consisting of a thermal disk component and a power-law. From this analysis, we identify the blackbody temperature, power-law index, the ratio of blackbody to power-law flux, the reduced $χ^2$, and the variance of the data as key parameters that likely contribute to the classification. We validate this inference by designing an additional neural network trained exclusively on this reduced parameter set, without using the spectral data directly. This parameter-based model achieves a classification accuracy comparable to that of the spectral models. Our results show that deep neural networks can not only classify compact objects in X-ray binaries with high accuracy but can also be interpreted in terms of physically meaningful spectral parameters derived from conventional X-ray spectral analysis. This framework offers a promising, mission-agnostic approach for compact object classification in current and future X-ray surveys.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_18139
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Neuro-Parametric Spectral Classification of Black Hole and Neutron Star X-ray Binary Systems
Garg, Akash
Kumar, Aman
Kembhavi, Ajit
Misra, Ranjeev
Kembhavi, Aniruddha
Philip, N. S.
Pattnaik, Rohan
Watwe, Shreya
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
We perform the classification of black hole and neutron star X-ray binary systems using deep neural networks applied to archival RXTE X-ray spectral data. We first construct two neural network models: one trained using only spectral flux values and another trained using both fluxes and their associated errors. Both models achieve high classification accuracies of ~90-94 %. To gain physical interpretability of these networks, we fit all spectra with a simple phenomenological model consisting of a thermal disk component and a power-law. From this analysis, we identify the blackbody temperature, power-law index, the ratio of blackbody to power-law flux, the reduced $χ^2$, and the variance of the data as key parameters that likely contribute to the classification. We validate this inference by designing an additional neural network trained exclusively on this reduced parameter set, without using the spectral data directly. This parameter-based model achieves a classification accuracy comparable to that of the spectral models. Our results show that deep neural networks can not only classify compact objects in X-ray binaries with high accuracy but can also be interpreted in terms of physically meaningful spectral parameters derived from conventional X-ray spectral analysis. This framework offers a promising, mission-agnostic approach for compact object classification in current and future X-ray surveys.
title Neuro-Parametric Spectral Classification of Black Hole and Neutron Star X-ray Binary Systems
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.18139