Swift/BAT measurements of the cyclotron line energy decay in the accreting neutron star Her X-1: indication of an evolution of the magnetic field?

TL;DR

This study uses Swift/BAT data to confirm a long-term decay in the cyclotron line energy of Her X-1, suggesting possible magnetic field evolution or structural changes in the neutron star's emission region.

Contribution

It provides the first homogeneous, long-term monitoring of the CRSF energy in Her X-1, confirming the decay trend with high significance.

Findings

CRSF energy in Her X-1 decays at about 0.3 keV per year

Decay trend is consistent across different instruments and observations

Short timescale (~100 years) suggests potential trend reversals or jumps

Abstract

Context: The magnetic field is a crucial ingredient of neutron stars. It governs the physics of accretion and of the resulting high-energy emission in accreting pulsars. Studies of the cyclotron resonant scattering features (CRSFs) seen as absorption lines in the X-ray spectra of the pulsars permit direct measuremets of the field strength. Aims: From an analysis of a number of pointed observations with different instruments, the energy of CRSF, Ecyc, has recently been found to decay in Her X-1, which is one of the best-studied accreting pulsars. We present our analysis of a homogeneous and almost uninterrupted monitoring of the line energy with Swift/BAT. Methods: We analyzed the archival Swift/BAT observations of Her X-1 from 2005 to 2014. The data were used to measure the CRSF energy averaged over several months. Results: The analysis confirms the long-term decay of the line energy. The downward trend is highly significant and consistent with the trend measured with the pointed observations: dEcyc/dt ~-0.3 keV per year. Conclusions: The decay of Ecyc either indicates a local evolution of the magnetic field structure in the polar regions of the neutron star or a geometrical displacement of the line-forming region due to long-term changes in the structure of the X-ray emitting region. The shortness of the observed timescale of the decay, -Ecyc/(dEcyc/dt) ~ 100 yr, suggests that trend reversals and/or jumps of the line energy might be observed in the future.