The spectral and beaming characteristics of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61

TL;DR

This paper models the X-ray emission and pulse profiles of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61 using a fallback disk and resonant cyclotron scattering, explaining observed spectra and pulse characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a fallback disk model with resonant cyclotron scattering to explain the energy-dependent pulse profiles and spectra of 4U 0142+61, linking magnetic field strength to observed features.

Findings

Main pulse is a fan beam detected up to 160 keV.

Secondary pulse shows a bump at 60 keV due to resonant scattering.

Model explains both soft and hard X-ray spectra and pulse profiles.

Abstract

AXPs and SGRs constitute a special population of young neutron stars, which are thought to be magnetars, i.e., neutron stars with super-strong magnetic fields (10^14 - 10^15 G). Assuming that AXPs and SGRs accrete matter from a fallback disk, we attempt to explain the energy-dependent pulse profiles of AXP 4U 0142+61, as well as its phase-dependent energy spectra. In the fallback disk model, the Thomson optical depth along the accretion funnel is significant and bulk-motion Comptonization operates efficiently. This is enhanced by resonant cyclotron scattering. The thus scattered photons escape mainly sideways and produce a fan beam, which is detected as a main pulse up to energies of ~160 keV. The approximately isotropic emission from the stellar surface (soft thermal photons and reflected hard X-ray ones) is detected as a secondary pulse. This secondary pulse shows a bump at an energy of ~60 keV, which may be interpreted as resonant cyclotron scattering of fan-beam photons at the neutron-star surface, implying a dipole magnetic field strength B ~7 x 10^12 (1+z) G, where z is the gravitational redshift. Our model explains the soft and hard X-ray spectra of 4U 0142+61 and its energy dependent pulse profiles of the quiescent emission, while the short bursts are due to magnetar-type processes taking place in superstrong multiple fields.