Multi-wavelength observations of the Be/X-ray binary IGR J01217-7257 (=SXP 2.16) during outburst

TL;DR

This study presents multi-wavelength observations of the Be/X-ray binary IGR J01217-7257 during outbursts, revealing correlations between outbursts, optical flux, and stellar pulsations, and providing insights into the system's orbital and stellar dynamics.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed multi-wavelength analysis of IGR J01217-7257 during outbursts, linking optical, X-ray, and stellar pulsation data to understand outburst mechanisms.

Findings

Detected a 2.1652 s neutron star spin period.

Identified an 82.5-day orbital period from X-ray data.

Correlated outbursts with increased I-band flux and stellar pulsations.

Abstract

We present simultaneous, multi-wavelength observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud Be/XRB IGR J01217-7257 (=SXP 2.16) during outbursts in 2014, 2015 and 2016. We also present the results of RXTE observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud during which the source was initially discovered with a periodicity of 2.1652$\pm$0.0001 seconds which we associate with the spin period of the neutron star. A systematic temporal analysis of long term Swift/BAT data reveals a periodic signal of 82.5$\pm$0.7 days, in contrast with a similar analysis of long base line OGLE I-band light curves which reveals an 83.67$\pm$0.05 days also found in this work. Interpreting the longer X-ray periodicity as indicative of binary motion of the neutron star, we find that outbursts detected by INTEGRAL and Swift between 2014 and 2016 are consistent with Type I outbursts seen in Be/XRBs, occurring around periastron. Comparing these outbursts with the OGLE data, we see a clear correlation between outburst occurrence and increasing I-band flux. A periodic analysis of subdivisions of OGLE data reveals three epochs during which short periodicities of $\sim$1 day are significantly detected which we suggest are non-radial pulsations (NRPs) of the companion star. These seasons immediately precede those exhibiting clear outburst behaviour, supporting the suggested association between the NRPs, decretion disk growth and the onset of Type I outbursts.