Intermittent millisecond X-ray pulsations from the neutron-star X-ray transient SAX J1748.9-2021 in the globular cluster NGC 6440

TL;DR

This paper reports on the detection of intermittent millisecond X-ray pulsations from the neutron-star binary SAX J1748.9-2021, revealing complex pulsation behavior and orbital parameters, and challenging the strict pulsating/non-pulsating classification.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of intermittent pulsations in SAX J1748.9-2021, including orbital parameters and potential companion star characteristics.

Findings

Intermittent pulsations observed during multiple outbursts.

Orbital period determined to be approximately 8.7 hours.

Possible more massive companion star compared to other similar systems.

Abstract

We report on intermittent X-ray pulsations with a frequency of 442.36 Hz from the neutron-star X-ray binary SAX J1748.9--2021 in the globular cluster NGC 6440. The pulsations were seen during both 2001 and 2005 outbursts of the source, but only intermittently, appearing and disappearing on timescales of hundreds of seconds. We find a suggestive relation between the occurrence of type-I X-ray bursts and the appearance of the pulsations but the relation is not strict. This behavior is very similar to that of the intermittent accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar HETE J1900.1--2455. The reason for the intermittence of the pulsations remains unclear. However it is now evident that a strict division between pulsating and non-pulsating does not exist. By studying the Doppler shift of the pulsation frequency we determine an orbit with a period of 8.7 hrs and an projected semi major axis of 0.39 lightsec. The companion star might be a main--sequence or a slightly evolved star with a mass of $\sim$1 $M_\odot$. Therefore, SAX J1748.9--2021 has a longer period and may have a more massive companion star than all the other accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars except for Aql X-1.