Sign of hard X-ray pulsation from the gamma-ray binary system LS 5039

Abstract

To understand the nature of the brightest gamma-ray binary system LS 5039, hard X-ray data of the object, taken with the Suzaku and NuSTAR observatories in 2007 and 2016, respectively, were analyzed. The two data sets jointly gave tentative evidence for a hard X-ray periodicity, with a period of $\sim 9$ s and a period increase rate by $\sim 3\times 10^{-10}$ s s${}^{-1}$. Therefore, the compact object in LS 5039 is inferred to be a rotating neutron star, rather than a black hole. Furthermore, several lines of arguments suggest that this object has a magnetic field of several times $\sim 10^{10}$ T, two orders of magnitude higher than those of typical neutron stars. The object is hence suggested to be a magnetar, which would be the first to be found in a binary. The results also suggest that the highly efficient particle acceleration process, known to be operating in LS 5039, emerges through interactions between dense stellar winds from the massive primary star, and ultra-strong magnetic fields of the magnetar.

arXiv comment8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in PRL

References in corpus (25)

• The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
• Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) on Board Suzaku
• Gamma-ray binaries and related systems
• 3.9 day orbital modulation in the TeV gamma-ray flux and spectrum from the X-ray binary LS 5039
• A possible black hole in the gamma-ray microquasar LS 5039
• Changes in the X-ray Emission from the Magnetar Candidate 1E 2259+586 during its 2002 Outburst
• Fermi LAT Observations of LS 5039
• On the formation of TeV radiation in LS 5039
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• Modelling the high-energy emission from gamma-ray binaries using numerical relativistic hydrodynamics
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Cited by in corpus (29)

• NuSTAR observation of LS 5039
• Observation of the gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057 with the H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS telescopes
• Fast radio bursts by high-frequency synchrotron maser emission generated at the reverse shock of a powerful magnetar flare
• Discovery of 40.5 ks Hard X-ray Pulse-Phase Modulations from SGR 1900+14
• Radio absorption in high-mass gamma-ray binaries
• Modeling the effects of clumpy winds in the high-energy light curves of γ-ray binaries
• Galactic Observatory Science with the ASTRI Mini-Array at the Observatorio del Teide
• Study on the magnetic field strength of NGC 300 ULX1
• The Galactic high mass X-ray binary population with Fermi -LAT
• Broad-Band High-Energy Emission of the Gamma-ray Binary System LS 5039: Spectral and Temporal Features using NuSTAR and Fermi Observations
• Fast radio bursts at the dawn of the 2020s
• Properties of a hypothetical cold pulsar wind in LS~5039
• Phase-resolved hard X-ray emission of the high-mass binary LS 5039: a spectral hardening above 50 keV detected with INTEGRAL
• Possible TeV $\gamma$-ray binary origin of HESS J1828-099
• Polarization study of gamma-ray binary
• Optical and Near-Infrared Monitoring of Gamma-ray Binaries Hosting Be Stars
• High-Resolution Simulations of LS 5039
• Are there magnetars in high-mass X-ray binaries?
• Unveiling properties of the non-thermal X-ray production in the gamma-ray binary LS 5039 using the long-term pattern of its fast X-ray variability
• Relativistic astrospheres of gamma-ray binaries: modeling of non-thermal processes
• X-ray imaging observations of the high-mass gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057
• Further evidence for natal kick segregation by spectral type in high-mass X-ray binaries
• How many VHE gamma-ray binaries with young pulsars can be observed?
• Novel application to estimate the mass-loss and the dust-formation rates in O-type gamma-ray binaries using near-infrared photometry
• Probing the emission mechanism and nature of the pulsating compact object in the X-ray binary SAX J1324.4-6200
• On the origin of core radio emissions from black hole sources in the realm of relativistic shocked accretion flow
• INTEGRAL View of TeV Sources: A Legacy for the CTA Project
• Magnetar-like flares behind the high-energy emission in LS 5039
• Orbital Phase-resolved Analysis of X-ray and Gamma-ray Observations of the High-Mass Gamma-ray Binary 4FGL J1405.1-6119