X-ray timing analysis of Cyg X-3 using AstroSat/LAXPC: Detection of milli-hertz quasi-periodic oscillations during the flaring hard X-ray state

TL;DR

This study analyzes X-ray timing of Cyg X-3 with AstroSat/LAXPC, detecting milli-hertz quasi-periodic oscillations during the flaring hard X-ray state, revealing insights into accretion processes and orbital dynamics.

Contribution

First detection of mHz QPOs in Cyg X-3 during the flaring hard state using AstroSat/LAXPC observations.

Findings

QPOs at ~5-8 mHz, ~12-14 mHz, ~18-24 mHz detected during rising phase

QPOs absent during decay phase, indicating state-dependent behavior

Energy-dependent time-lags show soft lag at QPO frequencies

Abstract

We present here results from the X-ray timing and spectral analysis of the X-ray binary Cyg X-3 using observations from Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) on-board AstroSat. Consecutive lightcurves observed over a period of one year show the binary orbital period of 17253.56 +/- 0.19 sec. Another low-amplitude, slow periodicity of the order of 35.8 +/- 1.4 days is observed which may be due to the orbital precession as suggested earlier by Molteni et al. (1980). During the rising binary phase, power density spectra from different observations during flaring hard X-ray state show quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at ~5-8 mHz, ~12-14 mHz, ~18-24 mHz frequencies at the minimum confidence of 99%. However, during the consecutive binary decay phase, no QPO is detected up to 2-sigma significance. Energy-dependent time-lag spectra show soft lag (soft photons lag hard photons) at the mHz QPO frequency and the fractional rms of the QPO increases with the photon energy. During the binary motion, the observation of mHz QPOs during the rising phase of the flaring hard state may be linked to the increase in the supply of the accreting material in the disk and corona via stellar wind from the companion star. During the decay phase, the compact source moves in the outer wind region causing the decrease in the supply of material for accretion. This may cause weakening of the mHz QPOs below the detection limit. This is also consistent with the preliminary analysis of the orbital phase-resolved energy spectra presented in this paper.