Properties of X-ray Binaries in the Magellanic Clouds from RXTE and Chandra Observations

Abstract

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.

To appear in proceedings of IAU Symposium 256, The Magellanic System: Stars, Gas, and Galaxies

References in corpus (5)

• A Long Look at the Be/X-Ray Binaries of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• The Chandra Small Magellanic Cloud Wing Survey - the search for X-ray Binaries
• Optical and X-ray variability of two Small Magellanic Cloud X-ray binary pulsars - SXP46.6 and SXP6.85
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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Multi-wavelength observations of the Be/X-ray binary IGR J01217-7257 (=SXP 2.16) during outburst
• From Blackbirds to Black Holes: Investigating Capture-Recapture Methods for Time Domain Astronomy