X-ray mapping of the stellar wind in the binary PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213

Citation:

Petropoulou M, Vasilopoulos G, Christie IM, Giannios D, Coe MJ. X-ray mapping of the stellar wind in the binary PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213. [Internet]. 2018;474:L22 - L26.

Abstract:

PSR J2032+4127 is a young and rapidly rotating pulsar on a highly eccentric orbit around the high-mass Be star MT91 213. X-ray monitoring of the binary system over an ∼4000 d period with Swift has revealed an increase of the X-ray luminosity which we attribute to the synchrotron emission of the shocked pulsar wind. We use Swift X-ray observations to infer a clumpy stellar wind with r-2 density profile and constrain the Lorentz factor of the pulsar wind to 105 < γw < 106. We investigate the effects of an axisymmetric stellar wind with polar gradient on the X-ray emission. Comparison of the X-ray light curve hundreds of days before and after the periastron can be used to explore the polar structure of the wind.

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