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Properties of X-ray binaries in the Magellanic Clouds from RXTE and Chandra observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2008

R. H. D. Corbet ,
M. J. Coe ,
K. E. McGowan ,
M. P. E. Schurch ,
L. J. Townsend ,
J. L. Galache  and
F. E. Marshall
R. H. D. Corbet
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, Baltimore County/CRESST, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
M. J. Coe
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
K. E. McGowan
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
M. P. E. Schurch
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
L. J. Townsend
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
J. L. Galache
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
F. E. Marshall
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
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Abstract

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The X-ray binary population of the SMC is very different from that of the Milky Way consisting, with one exception, entirely of transient pulsating Be/neutron star binaries. We have now been monitoring these SMC X-ray pulsars for over 10 years using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer with observations typically every week. The RXTE observations have been complemented with surveys made using the Chandra observatory. The RXTE observations are non-imaging but enable detailed studies of pulsing sources. In contrast, Chandra observations can provide precise source locations and detections of sources at lower flux levels, but do not provide the same timing information or the extended duration light curves that RXTE observations do. We summarize the results of these monitoring programs which provide insights into both the differences between the SMC and the Milky Way, and the details of the accretion processes in X-ray pulsars.

Keywords

stars: emission-lineBestars: neutronpulsars: generalMagellanic CloudsX-rays: binaries
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 4 , Symposium S256: The Magellanic System: Stars, Gas, and Galaxies , July 2008 , pp. 361 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2009

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