High-Mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Abstract

The last comprehensive catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was published about ten years ago. Since then new such systems were discovered, mainly by X-ray observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton. For the majority of the proposed HMXBs in the SMC no X-ray pulsations were discovered as yet, and unless other properties of the X-ray source and/or the optical counterpart confirm their HMXB nature, they remain only candidate HMXBs. From a literature search we collected a catalogue of 148 confirmed and candidate HMXBs in the SMC and investigated their properties to shed light on their real nature. Based on the sample of well-established HMXBs (the pulsars), we investigated which observed properties are most appropriate for a reliable classification. We defined different levels of confidence for a genuine HMXB based on spectral and temporal characteristics of the X-ray sources and colour-magnitude diagrams from the optical to the infrared of their likely counterparts. We also took the uncertainty in the X-ray position into account. We identify 27 objects that probably are misidentified because they lack an infrared excess of the proposed counterpart. They were mainly X-ray sources with a large positional uncertainty. This is supported by additional information obtained from more recent observations. Our catalogue comprises 121 relatively high-confidence HMXBs (the vast majority with Be companion stars). About half of the objects show X-ray pulsations, while for the rest no pulsations are known as yet. A comparison of the two subsamples suggests that long pulse periods in excess of a few 100 s are expected for the "non-pulsars", which are most likely undetected because of aperiodic variability on similar timescales and insufficiently long X-ray observations. (abbreviated)

17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, new version after language editing and minor changes

References in corpus (15)

• Spitzer SAGE-SMC Infrared Photometry of Massive Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• A Long Look at the Be/X-Ray Binaries of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Spectral distribution of Be/X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• XMM-Newton observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Be/X-ray binary pulsars active between October 2006 and June 2007
• Discovery of 5000 Active Galactic Nuclei behind the Magellanic Clouds
• The Be/X-ray transient 4U 0115+63/V635 Cassiopeiae. III. Quasi-cyclic variability
• On the Spin Period Distribution in Be/X-ray Binaries
• SXP 5.05 = IGR J00569-7226 : using X-rays to explore the structure of a Be stars circumstellar disk
• 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
• X-ray bright sources in the Chandra Small Magellanic Cloud Wing Survey - detection of two new pulsars
• INTEGRAL observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Discovery of SXP265, a Be/X-ray binary pulsar in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Optical Follow-up of New SMC Wing Be/X-ray Binaries
• X-ray and optical study of the new SMC X-ray binary pulsar system SXP7.92 and its probable optical counterpart, AzV285

Cited by in corpus (98)

• Testing Physical Models for Cosmic Ray Transport Coefficients on Galactic Scales: Self-Confinement and Extrinsic Turbulence at GeV Energies
• Be X-ray binaries in the SMC as indicators of mass transfer efficiency
• Star-formation history and X-ray binary populations: the case of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Science objectives of the Einstein Probe mission
• Advances in Understanding High-Mass X-ray Binaries with INTEGRAL and Future Directions
• Study of Recent outburst in the Be/X-ray binary RX J0209.6-7427 with AstroSat: A new ultraluminous X-ray pulsar in the Magellanic Bridge?
• Evidence for an abundant old population of Galactic ultra long period magnetars and implications for fast radio bursts
• The young massive SMC cluster NGC 330 seen by MUSE. I. Observations and stellar content
• The young massive SMC cluster NGC 330 seen by MUSE II. Multiplicity properties of the massive-star population
• A Comprehensive Library of X-ray Pulsars in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Time Evolution of their Luminosities and Spin Periods
• The 2016 super-Eddington outburst of SMC X-3: X-ray and optical properties and system parameters
• gamma Cas stars: Normal Be stars with disks impacted by the wind of a helium-star companion?
• Combined analysis of neutron star natal kicks using proper motions and parallax measurements for radio pulsars and Be X-ray binaries
• Runaway OB Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Dynamical Versus Supernova Ejections
• Resolved Kinematics of Runaway and Field OB Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Deep Chandra survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud. III. Formation efficiency of High-Mass X-ray binaries
• Nuclear timescale mass transfer in models of supergiant and ultra-luminous X-ray binaries
• Binarity at LOw Metallicity (BLOeM): a spectroscopic VLT monitoring survey of massive stars in the SMC
• The First Year of S-CUBED: The Swift Small Magellanic Cloud Survey
• Swift J011511.0-725611: Discovery of a rare Be Star / White Dwarf binary system in the SMC
• The ASKAP-EMU Early Science Project: 888 MHz Radio Continuum Survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• A dearth of young and bright massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Measurement of the core-collapse progenitor mass distribution of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Discovery of a very young high-mass X-ray binary associated with the supernova remnant MCSNRJ0513-6724 in the LMC
• Formation Timescales for High-Mass X-ray Binaries in M33
• Orbital and super-orbital periods in ULX pulsars, disc-fed HMXBs, Be/X-ray binaries and double-periodic variables
• The Missing Link Between Black Holes in High-Mass X-ray Binaries and Gravitational-Wave Sources: Observational Selection Effects
• dart_board: Binary Population Synthesis with Markov Chain Monte Carlo
• Discovery of a putative supernova remnant around the long-period X-ray pulsar SXP 1323 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• A multi-wavelength study of SXP 1062, the long period X-ray pulsar associated with a supernova remnant
• Cool, Luminous, and Highly Variable Stars in the Magellanic Clouds from ASAS-SN: Implications for Thorne-Żytkow Objects and Super-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars
• XMMU J050722.1-684758: Discovery of a new Be X-ray binary pulsar likely associated with the supernova remnant MCSNR J0507-6847
• Three new high-mass X-ray binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Discovery of a Pulsar-powered Bow Shock Nebula in the Small Magellanic Cloud Supernova Remnant DEMS5
• EXTraS discovery of two pulsators in the direction of the LMC: a Be/X-ray binary pulsar in the LMC and a candidate double-degenerate polar in the foreground
• Classical OBe Stars as Post-Supernova Runaways: Confirming Binary Origins
• Black Holes and Neutron Stars in Nearby Galaxies: Insights from NuSTAR
• Multi-wavelength properties of IGR J05007-7047 (LXP 38.55) and identification as a Be X-ray binary pulsar in the LMC
• Cosmological implications of the composite spectra of galactic X-ray binaries constructed using MAXI data
• Binarity at Low Metallicity (BLOeM) -- Multiplicity properties of Oe and Be stars
• Neutron Stars and Black Holes in the Small Magellanic Cloud: The SMC NuSTAR Legacy Survey
• Discovery of a 26.2 day period in the long-term X-ray light curve of SXP 1323: a very short orbital period for a long spin period pulsar
• The low luminosity behaviour of the 4U 0115+63 Be/X-ray transient
• Identification of two new HMXBs in the LMC: a $\sim$2013 s pulsar and a probable SFXT
• Average bolometric corrections and optical to X-ray flux measurements as a function of accretion rate for X-ray binaries
• RX J0529.8-6556: a BeXRB pulsar with an evolving optical period and out of phase X-ray outbursts
• Cool, Luminous, and Highly Variable Stars in the Magellanic Clouds. II: Spectroscopic and Environmental Analysis of Thorne-Żytkow Object and Super-AGB Star Candidates
• Populations of evolved massive binary stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud I: Predictions from detailed evolution models
• On the cyclotron absorption line and evidence of the spectral transition in SMC X-2 during 2022 giant outburst
• Binarity at LOw Metallicity (BLOeM): The multiplicity properties and evolution of BAF-type supergiants
• Fast flaring observed from XMMU J053108.3-690923 by eROSITA: a supergiant fast X-ray transient in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Discovery of accretion-driven pulsations in the prolonged low X-ray luminosity state of the Be/X-ray transient GX 304-1
• The radio pulsar population of the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Populations of evolved massive binary stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud II: Predictions from rapid binary evolution
• Deep Chandra Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud. II. Timing Analysis of X-ray Pulsars
• Multiwavelength Characterization of the High Mass X-ray Binary Population of M33
• Confirmation of six Be X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Effects of the core-collapse supernova ejecta impact on a rapidly rotating massive companion star
• SALT observations of the supernova remnant MCSNR J0127-7332 and its associated Be X-ray binary SXP 1062 in the SMC
• The TRAPUM Small Magellanic Cloud pulsar survey with MeerKAT: I. Discovery of seven new pulsars and two Pulsar Wind Nebula associations
• Superorbital periods of Be/X-ray binaries driven by stellar spin precession
• The Luminosity Phase Space of Galactic and Extragalactic X-ray Transients Out to Intermediate Redshifts
• SRG/eROSITA discovery of 164 s pulsations from the SMC Be/X-ray binary XMMU J010429.4-723136
• A multi-observatory database of X-ray pulsars in the Magellanic Clouds
• IKT16: Discovery of a 22 ms energetic rotation-powered pulsar in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• X-Ray Views of Galactic Accreting Pulsars in High-Mass X-Ray Binaries
• Pulse phase-resolved analysis of SMC X-3 during its 2016--2017 super-Eddington outburst
• Swift monitoring of the massive X-ray binary SAX J0635.2+0533
• SRG/eROSITA-triggered XMM-Newton observations of three Be/X-ray binaries in the LMC: Discovery of X-ray pulsations
• Evidence for low kick velocities among high-mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud from the spatial correlation function
• Optical and X-ray study of the peculiar high mass X-ray binary XMMU J010331.7-730144
• The Spatial Correlation of High Mass X-ray Binaries and Young Star Clusters in Nearby Star-Forming Galaxies
• XTE J1906+090: a persistent low luminosity Be X-ray Binary
• Measuring the magnetic dipole moment and magnetospheric fluctuations of SXP 18.3 with a Kalman filter
• Broadband study and the discovery of pulsations from the Be/X-ray binary eRASSU J052914.9-662446 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• New transient Galactic bulge intermediate polar candidate XMMU J175035.2-293557
• A deep $XMM-Newton$ observation of the X-Persei-like binary system CXOU J225355.1+624336
• NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of SXP 59 during its 2017 giant outburst
• The Be/neutron star system Swift J004929.5-733107 in the Small Magellanic Cloud -- X-ray characteristics and optical counterpart candidates
• An X-ray view of the 2021 outburst of SXP 15.6: constraints on the binary orbit and magnetic field of the Neutron Star
• Kinematic distinction of the two subpopulations of X-ray pulsars
• New Field OB and OBe Binaries of the SMC Wing: Observational Properties and Population Modeling
• Measuring the magnetic dipole moment and magnetospheric fluctuations of accretion-powered pulsars in the Small Magellanic Cloud with an unscented Kalman filter
• The eROSITA extragalactic CalPV serendipitous catalog
• Red Be stars in the Magellanic Clouds?
• Spectral analysis of SXP59.0 during its 2017 outburst and properties of the soft excess in X-ray binary pulsars
• Constraints on the number of X-ray Pulsars in IC 10 from a deep XMM-Newton Observation
• TRAPUM pulsar and transient search in the Sextans A and B galaxies and discovery of background FRB 20210924D
• Disentangling the neighbouring pulsars SXP 15.3 and SXP 305
• A rare outburst from the stealthy BeXRB system Swift J0549.7-6812
• Spectral and timing analysis of BeXRB eRASSU J050810.4-660653 recently discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)
• Monitoring the X-ray Variability of Bright X-ray Sources in M33
• Discovery of a magnetar candidate X-ray pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Spectral and Timing properties of the recently discovered Be/X-ray pulsar eRASSUJ 052914.9-662446
• Super-critical accretion of BeXRB SXP 15.3
• SXP 15.6 -- an accreting pulsar close to spin equilibrium?
• Non-periodic type I Be/X-ray binary outbursts
• Losing a minute every two years: SRG X-ray view on the rapidly accelerating X-ray pulsar SXP1323