The Chaotic Long-term X-ray Variability of 4U 1705--44

TL;DR

This study analyzes the long-term X-ray variability of the binary system 4U 1705-44 using topological methods, revealing it behaves similarly to a nonlinear Duffing oscillator, which aids in understanding its underlying physics.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates that the long-term X-ray variability of 4U 1705-44 can be modeled by a Duffing oscillator, providing a new physical perspective on its complex behavior.

Findings

The phase-space of 4U 1705-44 resembles a Duffing oscillator.

Topological properties of 4U 1705-44 match those of the Duffing system.

The results suggest a common underlying dynamic template.

Abstract

The low-mass X-ray binary 4U1705-44 exhibits dramatic long-term X-ray time variability with a timescale of several hundred days. The All-Sky Monitor (ASM) aboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and the Japanese Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) aboard the International Space Station together have continuously observed the source from December 1995 through May 2014. The combined ASM-MAXI data provide a continuous time series over fifty times the length of the timescale of interest. Topological analysis can help us identify 'fingerprints' in the phase-space of a system unique to its equations of motion. The Birman-Williams theorem postulates that if such fingerprints are the same between two systems, then their equations of motion must be closely related. The phase-space embedding of the source light curve shows a strong resemblance to the double-welled nonlinear Duffing oscillator. We explore a range of parameters for which the Duffing oscillator closely mirrors the time evolution of 4U1705-44. We extract low period, unstable periodic orbits from the 4U1705-44 and Duffing time series and compare their topological information. The Duffing and 4U1705-44 topological properties are identical, providing strong evidence that they share the same underlying template. This suggests that we can look to the Duffing equation to help guide the development of a physical model to describe the long-term X-ray variability of this and other similarly behaved X-ray binary systems.