The XMM-Newton/INTEGRAL monitoring campaign of IGR J16318-4848

Abstract

IGR J16318-4848 is the prototype and one of the more extreme examples of the new class of highly obscured Galactic X-ray sources discovered by INTEGRAL. A monitoring campaign on this source has been carried out by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL, consisting in three simultaneous observations performed in February, March and August 2004. The long-term variability of the Compton-thick absorption and emission line complexes will be used to probe the properties of the circumstellar matter. A detailed timing and spectral analysis of the three observations is performed, along with the reanalysis of the XMM-Newton observation performed in February 2003. The results are compared with predictions from numerical radiative transfer simulations to derive the parameters of the circumstellar matter. Despite the large flux dynamic range observed (almost a factor 3 between observations performed a few months apart), the source remained bright (suggesting it is a persistent source) and Compton-thick (NH >1.2x10^24 cm-2). Large Equivalent Width (EW) emission lines from Fe Kalpha, Fe Kbeta and Ni Kalpha were present in all spectra. The addition of a Fe Kalpha Compton Shoulder improves the fits, especially in the 2004 observations. Sporadic occurrences of rapid X-ray flux risings were observed in three of the four observations. The Fe Kalpha light curve followed the continuum almost instantaneously, suggesting that the emission lines are produced by illumination of small-scale optically-thick matter around the high-energy continuum source. Using the iron line EW and Compton Shoulder as diagnostic of the geometry of the matter, we suggest that the obscuring matter is in a flattened configuration seen almost edge-on.

arXiv commentaccepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics

References in corpus (12)

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• The INTEGRAL/IBIS Scientific Data Analysis
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• The iron Kalpha Compton Shoulder in transmitted and reflected spectra
• The optical/NIR counterpart of the INTEGRAL obscured source IGR J16318-4848 : a sgB[e] in a HMXB ?
• INTEGRAL discovery of a bright highly obscured galactic X-ray binary source IGR J16318-4848
• Iron and Nickel properties in the X-ray reflecting region of the Circinus Galaxy
• Detection of a Fully-resolved Compton Shoulder of the Iron K-alpha Line in the Chandra X-ray Spectrum of GX 301-2
• The properties of the absorbing and line emitting material in IGR J16318-4848
• IGR J16318-4848: an X-ray source in a dense envelope?
• Spectroscopic observations of the candidate sgB[e]/X-ray binary CI Cam
• INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of the X-ray pulsar IGR J16320-4751/AX J1631.9-4752

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• INTEGRAL: science highlights and future prospects
• IGRJ16479-4514: the first eclipsing supergiant fast X-ray transient?
• Radiative and Auger decay data for modelling nickel K lines
• Suzaku observation of IGR J16318-4848
• An XMM-Newton and NuSTAR study of IGR J18214-1318: a non-pulsating high-mass X-ray binary with a neutron star
• CI Camelopardalis: The first sgB[e]-High Mass X-ray Binary Twenty Years on, a Supernova Imposter in our own Galaxy?
• Glimpse of the highly obscured HMXB IGR J16318-4848 with Hitomi
• Orbital variations in intensity and spectral properties of the highly obscured sgHMXB IGR J16318-4848
• Optical and infrared study of the obscured B[e] supergiant high-mass X-ray binary IGR J16318-4848
• XMM-Newton discovery of very high obscuration in the candidate Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient AX J1714.1-3912