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Highly Significant Detection of X-Ray Polarization from the Brightest Accreting Neutron Star Sco X-1
Stockholm University, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (Nordita). University of Turku, Finland.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5767-7253
Number of Authors: 1192024 (English)In: Astrophysical Journal Letters, ISSN 2041-8205, E-ISSN 2041-8213, Vol. 960, no 2, article id L11Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer measured with high significance the X-ray polarization of the brightest Z-source, Sco X-1, resulting in the nominal 2–8 keV energy band in a polarization degree of 1.0% ± 0.2% and a polarization angle of 8° ± 6° at a 90% confidence level. This observation was strictly simultaneous with observations performed by NICER, NuSTAR, and Insight-HXMT, which allowed for a precise characterization of its broadband spectrum from soft to hard X-rays. The source has been observed mainly in its soft state, with short periods of flaring. We also observed low-frequency quasiperiodic oscillations. From a spectropolarimetric analysis, we associate a polarization to the accretion disk at <3.2% at 90% confidence level, compatible with expectations for an electron scattering dominated optically thick atmosphere at the Sco X-1 inclination of ∼44°; for the higher-energy Comptonized component, we obtain a polarization of 1.3% ± 0.4%, in agreement with expectations for a slab of Thomson optical depth of ∼7 and an electron temperature of ∼3 keV. A polarization rotation with respect to previous observations by OSO-8 and PolarLight, and also with respect to the radio-jet position angle, is observed. This result may indicate a variation of the polarization with the source state that can be related to relativistic precession or a change in the corona geometry with the accretion flow.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. Vol. 960, no 2, article id L11
Keywords [en]
Polarimetry, Spectropolarimetry, Neutron stars, Accretion, Stellar accretion disks, Low-mass x-ray binary stars, X-ray telescopes
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-226343DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad132dISI: 001137090300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85182388102OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-226343DiVA, id: diva2:1835710
Available from: 2024-02-07 Created: 2024-02-07 Last updated: 2024-02-19Bibliographically approved

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Veledina, Alexandra

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