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NICER Observes the Effects of an X-Ray Burst on the Accretion Environment in Aql X-1Accretion disks around neutron stars regularly undergo sudden strong irradiation by Type I X-raybursts powered by unstable thermonuclear burning on the stellar surface. We investigate the impacton the disk during one of the first X-ray burst observations with the Neutron Star Interior CompositionExplorer (NICER) on the International Space Station. The burst is seen from Aql X-1 during the hardspectral state. In addition to thermal emission from the neutron star, the burst spectrum exhibits anexcess of soft X-ray photons below 1 keV, where NICER's sensitivity peaks. We interpret the excessas a combination of reprocessing by the strongly photoionized disk and enhancement of the pre-burstpersistent flux, possibly due to Poynting Robertson drag or coronal reprocessing. This is the firstsuch detection for a short sub-Eddington burst. As these bursts are observed frequently, NICER willbe able to study how X-ray bursts affect the disk and corona for a range of accreting neutron starsystems and disk states.
Document ID
20190002427
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aab104
Authors
Keek, L. (Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Arzoumanian, Z. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Bult, P. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Cackett, E. M. (Wayne State Univ. Detroit, MI, United States)
Chakrabarty, D. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, MA, United States)
Chenevez, J. (Technical University of Denmark Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)
Fabian, A. C. (Institute of Astronomy Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Gendreau, K. C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Guillot, S. (Pontificia Univ. Catolica de Chile Santiago, Chile)
Güver, T. (İstanbul Üniversitesi İstanbul, Turkey)
Homan, J. (Eureka Scientific, Inc. Oakland, CA, United States)
Jaisawal, G. K. (Technical University of Denmark Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)
Lamb, F. K. (Illinois Univ. at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, United States)
Ludlam, R. M. (Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Mahmoodifar, S. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Markwardt, C. B. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Miller, J. M. (Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Prigozhin, G. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, MA, United States)
Soong, Y. (Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Strohmayer, T. E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Wolff, M. T. (Naval Research Lab. Washington, DC, United States)
Date Acquired
April 11, 2019
Publication Date
February 28, 2018
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Volume: 855
Issue: 1
ISSN: 2041-8205
e-ISSN: 2041-8213
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN66162
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: AST-1351222
CONTRACT_GRANT: PHY-1430152
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNH15CO48B
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.

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