Revisiting the spectral and timing properties of 4U 1909+07 with NuSTAR and Astrosat

TL;DR

This study analyzes the spectral and timing properties of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1909+07 using NuSTAR and Astrosat data, revealing persistent emission features, energy-dependent pulse profiles, and insights into accretion processes.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the pulsar's energy-dependent pulse profile evolution, spectral characteristics, and phase-resolved absorption features, challenging previous claims of cyclotron lines.

Findings

Detected 604 s pulsations and long-term spin-up.

Observed energy-dependent pulse profile evolution.

No evidence for cyclotron absorption features.

Abstract

We present the results obtained from the analysis of high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1909+07 using NuSTAR and Astrosat observations in 2015 and 2017 July, respectively. X-ray pulsations at $\approx$604 s are clearly detected in our study. Based on the long term spin-frequency evolution, the source is found to spun up in the last 17 years. We observed a strongly energy-dependent pulse profile that evolved from a complex broad structure in soft X-rays into a profile with a narrow emission peak followed by a plateau in energy ranges above 20 keV. This behaviour ensured a positive correlation between the energy and pulse fraction. The pulse profile morphology and its energy-evolution are almost similar during both the observations, suggesting a persistent emission geometry of the pulsar over time. The broadband energy spectrum of the pulsar is approximated by an absorbed high energy exponential cutoff power law model with iron emission lines. In contrast to the previous report, we found no statistical evidence for the presence of cyclotron absorption features in the X-ray spectra. We performed phase-resolved spectroscopy by using data from the NuSTAR observation. Our results showed a clear signature of absorbing material at certain pulse-phases of the pulsar. These findings are discussed in terms of stellar wind distribution and its effect on the beam geometry of this wind-fed accreting neutron star. We also reviewed the subsonic quasi-spherical accretion theory and its implication on the magnetic field of 4U 1909+07 depending on the global spin-up rate.