On the disc reflection spectroscopy of NS LMXB Serpens~X-1: analysis of a recent NuSTAR observation

Abstract

We present \nustar{} observation of the atoll type neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) Serpens~X-1 (Ser~X-1) performed on 17 February 2018. We observed Ser~X-1 in a soft X-ray spectral state with 3-79 keV luminosity of $L_{\text{X}}\sim 0.4\times 10^{38}$ erg s${}^{-1}$ ($\sim 23\%$ of the Eddington luminosity), assuming a distance of 7.7 kpc. A positive correlation between intensity and hardness ratio suggests that the source was in the banana branch during this observation. The broadband 3-30 keV NuSTAR energy spectrum can be well described either by a three-component continuum model consisting of a disk blackbody, a single temperature blackbody and a power-law or by a two-component continuum model consisting of a disk blackbody and a Comptonization component. A broad iron line $\sim 5-8$ keV and the Compton back-scattering hump peaking at $\sim$10-20 keV band are clearly detected in the X-ray spectrum. These features are best interpreted by a self-consistent relativistic reflection model. Fits with relativistically blurred disc reflection model suggests that the inner disc radius $R_{in}$ is truncated prior to the ISCO at $(1.9-2.5)R_{ISCO}$ ($\simeq 11.4-15R_g\text{or}26-34$ km) and the accretion disc is viewed at an low inclination of $i\simeq 16^{\circ }-20^{\circ }$. The disc is likely to be truncated either by a boundary layer or by the magnetosphere. Based on the measured flux and the mass accretion rate, the maximum radial extension for the boundary layer is estimated to be $\sim 6.4R_g$ from the NS surface. The truncated inner disc in association with pressure from a magnetic field sets an upper limit of $B\le 1.9\times 10^9$ G.

11 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1902.02190