1. Quasi-periodic dipping in the ultraluminous X-ray source, NGC 247 ULX-1
- Author
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A. C. Fabian, Timothy P.L. Roberts, R. Sathyaprakash, A. Robba, P. Kosec, Matthew J. Middleton, Hannah P. Earnshaw, Ciro Pinto, Erin Kara, Fabio Pintore, Felix Fuerst, Dom Walton, W. N. Alston, Antonino D'Ai, M. Del Santo, Didier Barret, E. Ambrosi, Michael Parker, Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Ultraluminous X-ray source ,Stellar mass ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,Compact star ,01 natural sciences ,Spectral line ,symbols.namesake ,X-rays: binaries ,accretion ,0103 physical sciences ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) ,Physics ,Accretion (meteorology) ,010308 nuclear & particles physics ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Light curve ,accretion discs ,X-rays: individual: NGC 247 ULX-1 ,Neutron star ,Space and Planetary Science ,Eddington luminosity ,symbols ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] - Abstract
Most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are believed to be stellar mass black holes or neutron stars accreting beyond the Eddington limit. Determining the nature of the compact object and the accretion mode from broadband spectroscopy is currently a challenge, but the observed timing properties provide insight into the compact object and details of the geometry and accretion processes. Here we report a timing analysis for an 800 ks XMM-Newton campaign on the supersoft ultraluminous X-ray source, NGC 247 ULX-1. Deep and frequent dips occur in the X-ray light curve, with the amplitude increasing with increasing energy band. Power spectra and coherence analysis reveals the dipping preferentially occurs on $\sim 5$ ks and $\sim 10$ ks timescales. The dips can be caused by either the occultation of the central X-ray source by an optically thick structure, such as warping of the accretion disc, or from obscuration by a wind launched from the accretion disc, or both. This behaviour supports the idea that supersoft ULXs are viewed close to edge-on to the accretion disc., Comment: Accepted MNRAS version following minor comments. 8 pages, 6 figures
- Published
- 2021