No Strong Geometric Beaming in the Ultraluminous Neutron Star Binary NGC 300 ULX-1 (SN 2010da) from Swift and Gemini

TL;DR

This study combines X-ray and optical observations of the ULX-1 neutron star system, finding minimal geometric beaming and consistent accretion-powered luminosity despite variable obscuration.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed multi-wavelength analysis indicating minimal beaming in a neutron star ULX, supporting accretion as the primary power source.

Findings

X-ray emission consistent with inhomogeneous wind obscuration

Luminosity remains stable despite variable absorption

Optical emission lines indicate neutron star photoionization

Abstract

We have obtained near-simultaneous Swift/XRT imaging and Gemini GMOS spectroscopy for the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC~300 ULX-1 (formerly designated SN~2010da). The observed X-ray emission is consistent with an inhomogeneous wind that partially obscures a central, bright inner accretion disk. We simultaneously fit eleven 0.3-10 keV spectra obtained over a $\sim$1 year time period (2016 April to 2017 July) using the same partial covering model, and find that although the covering fraction varies significantly (from 78% to consistent with 0%), the unabsorbed luminosity remains essentially constant across all observations ($2-6\times10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$). A relatively high 0.3-10 keV fractional variability amplitude ($F_{\rm var}$) of $\sim$30% is observed in all eleven observations. Optical spectra from Gemini exhibit numerous emission lines (e.g., H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, He II $\lambda$4686) which suggest that the neutron star primary is photoionizing material in the immediate vicinity of the binary. We compare the He II $\lambda$4686 line luminosity ($\sim7-9\times10^{35}$ erg s$^{-1}$) to the contemporaneous soft X-ray emission and find the X-ray emission is broadly consistent with the observed He II line luminosity. The combination of our X-ray observations and optical spectroscopy suggest that geometric beaming effects in the ULX-1 system are minimal, making ULX-1 one of only a few bona fide ULXs to be powered by accretion onto a neutron star.