X-Ray Polarimetry as a Tool to Constrain Orbital Parameters in X-Ray Binaries



: Rankin John, Kravtsov Vadim, Muleri Fabio, Poutanen Juri, Marin Frédéric, Capitanio Fiamma, Matt Giorgio, Costa Enrico, Marco Alessandro Di, Fabiani Sergio, La Monaca Fabio, Marra Lorenzo, Soffitta Paolo

Publisher: The American Astronomical Society

: 2024

: Astrophysical Journal

: The Astrophysical Journal

: 34

: 962

: 1

: 1538-4357

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1991

: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1991

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/386840119

: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.16967


X-ray binary systems consist of a companion star and a compact object in close orbit. Thanks to their copious X-ray emission, these objects have been studied in detail using X-ray spectroscopy and timing. The inclination of these systems is a major uncertainty in the determination of the mass of the compact object using optical spectroscopic methods. In this paper, we present a new method to constrain the inclination of X-ray binaries, which is based on the modeling of the polarization of X-rays photons produced by a compact source and scattered off the companion star. We describe our method and explore the potential of this technique in the specific case of the low-mass X-ray binary GS 1826−238 observed by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer observatory.

Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 15:20