Production of Millisecond Dips in Sco X-1 Count Rates by Dead Time Effects
Abstract
Chang and coworkers reported millisecond duration dips in the X-ray intensity of Sco X-1 and attributed them to occultations of the source by small trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). We have found multiple lines of evidence that these dips are not astronomical in origin, but rather the result of high-energy charged particle events in the RXTE PCA detectors. Our analysis of the RXTE data indicates that at most 10% of the observed dips in Sco X-1 could be due to occultations by TNOs, and, furthermore, we find no positive or supporting evidence for any of them being due to TNOs. We therefore believe that it is a mistake to conclude that any TNOs have been detected via occultation of Sco X-1.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1086/533581
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0710.0837
- Bibcode:
- 2008ApJ...677.1241J
- Keywords:
-
- Kuiper Belt;
- solar system: general;
- X-rays: general;
- X-rays: individual: Sco X-1;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Submitted to ApJ