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We report on a recent bright outburst from the new X-ray binary transient MAXI J1631–479, observed in January 2019. In particular, we present the 30–200 keV analysis of spectral transitions observed with INTEGRAL /IBIS during its Galactic plane monitoring program. In the MAXI and BAT monitoring period, we observed two different spectral transitions between the high/soft and low/hard states. The INTEGRAL spectrum from data taken soon before the second transition is best described by a Comptonized thermal component with a temperature of kTe  ∼ 30 keV and a high-luminosity value of |$L_{2-200\, \mathrm{keV}}\sim 3\times 10^{38}$|  erg−1 (assuming a distance of 8 kpc). During the second transition, the source shows a hard, power-law spectrum. The lack of high energy cut-off indicates that the hard X-ray spectrum from MAXI J1631–479 is due to a non-thermal emission. Inverse Compton scattering of soft X-ray photons from a non-thermal or hybrid thermal/non-thermal electron distribution can explain the observed X-ray spectrum although a contribution to the hard X-ray emission from a jet cannot be determined at this stage. The outburst evolution in the hardness-intensity diagram, the spectral characteristics, and the rise and decay times of the outburst are suggesting that this system is a black hole candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the population of faint hard X-ray sources along the plane of the Galaxy is challenging because of high extinction and crowding, which make the identification of individual sources more difficult. IGR J18293-1213 is part of the population of persistent sources which have been discovered by the INTEGRAL satellite. We report on NuSTAR and Swift/XRT observations of this source, performed on 2015 September 11. We detected three eclipsing intervals in the NuSTAR light curve, allowing us to constrain the duration of these eclipses, Δt=30.8+6.3-0.0 min, and the orbital period of the system, T = 6.92 ± 0.01 h. Even though we only report an upper limit on the amplitude of a putative spin modulation, the orbital period and the hard thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum of IGR J18293-1213 provide strong evidence that this source is a magnetic cataclysmic variable. Our NuSTAR and Swift/XRT joint spectral analysis places strong constraints on the white dwarf mass Mwd=0.78+0.10-0.09 M⊙. Assuming that the mass to radius ratio of the companion star M*/R* = 1 (solar units) and using T, Δt, and Mwd, we derived the mass of the companion star M* = 0.82 ± 0.01 M⊙, the orbital separation of the binary system a = 2.14 ± 0.04 R⊙, and its orbital inclination compared to the line of sight i=(72°.2+2.4-0.0)±1°.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report on observations of two hard X-ray sources that were originally discovered with the INTEGRAL satellite: IGR J04059+5416 and IGR J08297-4250.We use the Chandra X-ray Observatory to localize the sources and then archival near-IR images to identify the counterparts. Both sources have counterparts in the catalogue of extended 2 Micron All-Sky Survey sources, and the counterpart to IGR J04059+5416 has been previously identified as a galaxy. Thus, we place IGR J04059+5416 in the class of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and we suggest that IGR J08297-4250 is also an AGN. If this identification is correct, the near-IR images suggest that the host galaxy of IGR J08297-4250 may be merging with a smaller nearby galaxy. For IGR J04059+5416, the 0.3-86 keV spectrum from Chandra and INTEGRAL is consistent with an absorbed power-law with a column density of NH = (3.1-1.5+2.0) x 1022 cm-2 and a photon index of Γ = 1.4 ± 0.7, and we suggest that it is a Seyfert galaxy. For IGR J08297-4250, the photon index is similar, Γ = 1.5 ± 0.8, but the source is highly absorbed (NH = (6.1-4.3+10.1) x 1023 cm-2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a 250 ks long X-ray observation of the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J16479−4514 performed with Suzaku in 2012 February. During this observation, about 80 per cent of the short orbital period (Porb ∼ 3.32 d) was covered as continuously as possible for the first time. The source light curve displays variability of more than two orders of magnitude, starting with a very low emission state (10−13 erg cm−2 s−1; 1–10 keV) lasting the first 46 ks, consistent with being due to the X-ray eclipse by the supergiant companion. The transition to the uneclipsed X-ray emission is energy dependent. Outside the eclipse, the source spends most of the time at a level of 6–7 × 10−12 erg cm−2 s−1 punctuated by two structured faint flares with a duration of about 10 and 15 ks, respectively, reaching a peak flux of 3–4 × 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1, separated by about 0.2 in orbital phase. Remarkably, the first faint flare occurs at a similar orbital phase of the bright flares previously observed in the system. This indicates the presence of a phase-locked large-scale structure in the supergiant wind, driving a higher accretion rate on to the compact object. The average X-ray spectrum is hard and highly absorbed, with a column density, NH, of 1023 cm−2, clearly in excess of the interstellar absorption. There is no evidence for variability of the absorbing column density, except that during the eclipse, where a less absorbed X-ray spectrum is observed. A narrow Fe Kα emission line at 6.4 keV is viewed along the whole orbit, with an intensity which correlates with the continuum emission above 7 keV. The scattered component visible during the X-ray eclipse allowed us to directly probe the wind density at the orbital separation, resulting in ρw = 7 × 10−14 g cm−3. Assuming a spherical geometry for the supergiant wind, the derived wind density translates into a ratio $\dot{M}_{w}/ v_{\infty }=7\times 10^{-17}$ M⊙ km−1 which, assuming terminal velocities in a large range 500–3000 km s−1, implies an accretion luminosity two orders of magnitude higher than that observed. As a consequence, a mechanism should be at work reducing the mass accretion rate. Different possibilities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT With frequent flaring activity of its relativistic jets, Cygnus X-3 (Cyg X-3) is one of the most active microquasars and is the only Galactic black hole candidate with confirmed high-energy γ-ray emission, thanks to detections by Fermi Large Area Telescope ( Fermi/LAT) and AGILE. In 2011, Cyg X-3 was observed to transit to a soft X-ray state, which is known to be associated with high-energy γ-ray emission. We present the results of a multiwavelength campaign covering a quenched state, when radio emission from Cyg X-3 is at its weakest and the X-ray spectrum is very soft. A giant (∼20 Jy) optically thin radio flare marks the end of the quenched state, accompanied by rising non-thermal hard X-rays. Fermi/LAT observations ( E≥ 100 MeV) reveal renewed γ-ray activity associated with this giant radio flare, suggesting a common origin for all non-thermal components. In addition, current observations unambiguously show that the γ-ray emission is not exclusively related to the rare giant radio flares. A three-week period of γ-ray emission is also detected when Cyg X-3 was weakly flaring in radio, right before transition to the radio quenched state. No γ-rays are observed during the ∼1-month long quenched state, when the radio flux is weakest. Our results suggest transitions into and out of the ultrasoft X-ray (radio-quenched) state trigger γ-ray emission, implying a connection to the accretion process, and also that the γ-ray activity is related to the level of radio flux (and possibly shock formation), strengthening the connection to the relativistic jets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on observations of the X-ray pulsar IGR J16320−4751 (also known as AX J1631.9−4752) performed simultaneously with International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory ( INTEGRAL) and XMM–Newton. We refine the source position and identify the most likely infrared counterpart. Our simultaneous coverage allows us to confirm the presence of X-ray pulsations at ∼1300 s, that we detect above 20 keV with INTEGRAL for the first time. The pulse fraction is consistent with being constant with energy, which is compatible with a model of polar accretion by a pulsar. We study the spectral properties of IGR J16320−4751 during two major periods occurring during the simultaneous coverage with both satellites, namely a flare and a non-flare period. We detect the presence of a narrow 6.4 keV iron line in both periods. The presence of such a feature is typical of supergiant wind accretors such as Vela X-1 or GX 301−2. We inspect the spectral variations with respect to the pulse phase during the non-flare period, and show that the pulse is solely due to variations of the X-ray flux emitted by the source and not due to variations of the spectral parameters. Our results are therefore compatible with the source being a pulsar in a High Mass X-ray Binary. We detect a soft excess appearing in the spectra as a blackbody with a temperature of ∼0.07 keV. We discuss the origin of the X-ray emission in IGR J16320−4751: while the hard X-rays are likely the result of Compton emission produced in the close vicinity of the pulsar, based on energy argument we suggest that the soft excess is likely the emission by a collisionally energized cloud in which the compact object is embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]