Confirmation of the 62 Day X-Ray Periodicity from M82

Abstract

Using 400 days of new X-ray monitoring of M82, we confirm the 62 day periodicity previously reported. In the full data set spanning 1124 days, we find a period of 62.0 +/- 0.3 days and a coherence, Q = 22.3, that is consistent with a strictly periodic signal. We estimate that the probability of chance occurrence of our observed signal is 6E-7. The light curve folded at this period is roughly sinusoidal and has a peak to peak amplitude of (0.99 +/- 0.10) x 10^-11 erg cm^-2 s^-1. Confirmation of the periodicity strengthens our previous suggestion that the 62 day modulation is due to orbital motion within an X-ray binary.

4 pages, to appear in ApJ

References in corpus (3)

• X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries
• A 62 Day X-Ray Periodicity and an X-Ray Flare from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in M82
• The Orbital Period of the Ultraluminous X-ray Source in M82

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• A 78 Day X-ray Period Detected from NGC 5907 ULX1 by Swift
• Identification of the X-Ray Thermal Dominant State in an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in M82
• The hyperluminous X-ray source candidate in IC 4320: another HLX bites the dust
• A Possible 55-day X-ray Period of the Ultraluminous Accreting Pulsar M82 X-2
• The Local Environment of Ultraluminous X-ray Sources Viewed by XMM Newton's Optical Monitor