Long-term variability of high-mass X-ray binaries. I.Photometry

Abstract

We present photometric observations of the field around the optical counterparts of high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to study the long-term photometric variability in correlation with their X-ray activity and derive a set of secondary standard stars that can be used for time series analysis. We find that the donors in Be/X-ray binaries exhibit larger amplitude changes in the magnitudes and colours than those hosting a supergiant companion. The amplitude of variability increases with wavelength in Be/X-ray binaries and remains fairly constant in supergiant systems. When time scales of years are considered, a good correlation between the X-ray and optical variability is observed. The X-rays cease when optical brightness decreases. These results reflect the fact that the circumstellar disk in Be/X-ray binaries is the main source of both optical and X-ray variability. We also derive the colour excess, E(B-V), selecting data at times when the contribution of the circumstellar disk was supposed to be at minimum, and we revisit the distance estimates.

References in corpus (5)

• Determination of the mass of the neutron star in SMC X-1, LMC X-4 and Cen X-3 with VLT/UVES
• The Be/X-ray transient 4U 0115+63/V635 Cassiopeiae. III. Quasi-cyclic variability
• Neutron star masses from hydrodynamical effects in obscured sgHMXBs
• Periodicities in the high-mass X-ray binary system RX J0146.9+6121/LS I+61 235
• Optical variabilities in Be/X-ray binary system:GRO J2058+42

Cited by in corpus (20)

• Distances to Galactic X-ray Binaries with Gaia DR2
• The stellar and wind parameters of six prototypical HMXBs and their evolutionary status
• Correlation between the luminosity and spin-period changes during outbursts of 12 Be binary pulsars observed by the MAXI/GSC and the Fermi/GBM
• Optical counterpart to Swift J0243.6+6124
• Three new high-mass X-ray binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Average bolometric corrections and optical to X-ray flux measurements as a function of accretion rate for X-ray binaries
• SRG/ART-XC discovery of SRGA J204318.2+443815: towards the complete population of faint X-ray pulsars
• The origin of the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 2206+54/BD +53 2790
• Catalog of the Galactic population of X-ray pulsars in High-mass X-ray binary systems
• NuSTAR Hard X-ray Observation of the Gamma-ray Binary Candidate HESS J1832-093
• The optical counterpart to the Be/X-ray binary SAX J2239.3+6116
• The SMC X-ray binary SXP4.78 : a new Type II outburst and the identification and study of the optical counterpart
• Optical and X-ray study of the peculiar high mass X-ray binary XMMU J010331.7-730144
• Fast time optical variability in Be/X-ray binaries. Pulsation and rotation
• Multiwavelength observation of 1A 0535+262=HD 245770 from 2010 to 2021
• Long-term optical variability of the Be/X-ray binary GRO J2058+42
• Very-high-energy observations of the binaries V 404 Cyg and 4U 0115+634 during giant X-ray outbursts
• Optical microflares in LS I +61 303 and the search for their multiwavelength counterpart
• Further evidence for natal kick segregation by spectral type in high-mass X-ray binaries
• Long-term optical variability of high-mass X-ray binaries. III. Polarimetry