AN ULTRA-FAST X-RAY DISK WIND IN THE NEUTRON STAR BINARY GX 340+0
- 1. Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1104 (United States)
- 2. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- 3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, 666 W. Hancock Street, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States)
- 4. Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
Description
We present a spectral analysis of a brief Chandra /HETG observation of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 340+0. The high-resolution spectrum reveals evidence of ionized absorption in the Fe K band. The strongest feature, an absorption line at approximately 6.9 keV, is required at the 5 σ level of confidence via an F -test. Photoionization modeling with XSTAR grids suggests that the line is the most prominent part of a disk wind with an apparent outflow speed of v = 0.04 c . This interpretation is preferred at the 4 σ level over a scenario in which the line is H-like Fe xxvi at a modest redshift. The wind may achieve this speed owing to its relatively low ionization, enabling driving by radiation pressure on lines; in this sense, the wind in GX 340+0 may be the stellar-mass equivalent of the flows in broad absorption line quasars. If the gas has a unity volume filling factor, the mass ouflow rate in the wind is over 10−5 M ⊙ yr−1, and the kinetic power is nearly 1039 erg s−1 (or, 5–6 times the radiative Eddington limit for a neutron star). However, geometrical considerations—including a small volume filling factor and low covering factor—likely greatly reduce these values.
Availability note (English)
Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8205/822/1/L18Additional details
Identifiers
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Journal Volume
- 822
- Journal Issue
- 1
- Journal Page Range
- [6 p.]
- ISSN
- 2041-8205
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 48103253
- Subject category
- S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
- Descriptors DEI
- ABSORPTION; ACCRETION DISKS; APPROXIMATIONS; KINETICS; MASS; NEUTRON STARS; PHOTOIONIZATION; QUASARS; RADIATION PRESSURE; RED SHIFT; RESOLUTION; SIMULATION; SPECTRA; STELLAR WINDS; VELOCITY; X RADIATION
- Descriptors DEC
- CALCULATION METHODS; COSMIC RADIO SOURCES; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; IONIZATION; IONIZING RADIATIONS; RADIATIONS; SORPTION; STARS; STELLAR ACTIVITY