Searching for transient propeller-phase neutron star ULXs
Abstract
An open question in the study of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) is how many of the population may be super-Eddington accreting neutron stars (NSs). One method of finding candidate NSs in the ULX population is to search for sources that demonstrate a distinctive bimodal flux distribution over multiple observations resulting from the intermittent onset of the 'propeller effect', in which accretion is halted at the magnetospheric radius. We propose 10 observations each of 3 ULX-rich galaxies in order to identify the ULXs that exhibit flux bimodality from a sample of >= 25 ULXs. This will allow us to better characterise this class of source, including quantifying their duty cycles and beginning to place observational limits on the proportion of the ULX population that is made up of NSs.
- Publication:
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Chandra Proposal
- Pub Date:
- September 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020cxo..prop.5840E
- Keywords:
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- Chandra Proposal ID #22400554