An Empirical Method for Improving the Quality of RXTE PCA Spectra

Abstract

We fitted all of the several hundred {\it RXTE} PCA spectra of the Crab individually to a simple power-law model; the total number of counts in the composite spectrum is $>10^9$. We then used the spectrum of residuals to derive a calibration tool, called {\tt pcacorr}, that we apply to large samples of spectra for GX~339--4, H1743--322, and XTE J1550--564. Application of the tool improved the quality of all the fits, and the improvement is dramatic for spectra with $\gtrsim 10^7$ counts. The Crab residual spectrum is somewhat different for each of the five PCA detectors, but it was relatively stable over the course of the mission. We recommend that {\tt pcacorr} be routinely applied to spectra with $\gtrsim 10^6$ counts and that one include a systematic error of 0.1\%, rather than the 0.5--1\% value that has customarily been used. We expect that application of the tool will result in an increase in sensitivity of the PCA to faint spectral features by up to an order of magnitude.

arXiv comment11 pages, 16 figures. Accepted in ApJ

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• Testing the Kerr metric using X-ray reflection spectroscopy: spectral analysis of GX 339-4
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• X-ray Spectral Analysis of the Steady States of GRS 1915+105
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• Accretion Disc Evolution in GRO J1655-40 and LMC X-3 with Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Disc Models
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• Testing Relativistic Accretion Disk Models with GRO J1655-40