A Long Look at the Be/X-Ray Binaries of the Small Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This study monitored 41 Be/X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud over nine years, refining known orbital parameters, discovering new ones, and analyzing their X-ray orbital profiles to enhance understanding of their behaviors.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of orbital profiles across a wide range of periods and corrects previous pulsar misidentifications, advancing knowledge of Be/X-ray binary systems.

Findings

Confirmed and refined 10 known orbital ephemerides.

Determined 10 new orbital ephemerides.

Presented first-time X-ray orbital profiles for many systems.

Abstract

We have monitored 41 Be/X-ray binary systems in the Small Magellanic Cloud over ~9 years using PCA-RXTE data from a weekly survey program. The resulting light curves were analysed in search of orbital modulations with the result that 10 known orbital ephemerides were confirmed and refined, while 10 new ones where determined. A large number of X-ray orbital profiles are presented for the first time, showing similar characteristics over a wide range of orbital periods. Lastly, three pulsars: SXP46.4, SXP89.0 and SXP165 were found to be misidentifications of SXP46.6, SXP91.1 and SXP169, respectively.