Anti-Correlated lags in a Neutron star Z source GX 5-1: AstroSat's View

TL;DR

This study uses AstroSat observations to analyze X-ray lags in the neutron star binary GX 5-1, revealing anti-correlated delays linked to accretion disc adjustments and constraining the corona size to tens of kilometers.

Contribution

First-time detection of soft-hard X-ray lags in GX 5-1 and estimation of the corona size using spectral and timing analysis.

Findings

Detected lags of tens to hundreds of seconds in GX 5-1.

Constrained the corona size to approximately 15-55 km.

Observed boundary layer size variation along the Horizontal Branch.

Abstract

We report the cross-correlation function studies of a Neutron star low mass X-ray binary, a Z source GX 5-1 using SXT and LAXPC energy bands onboard AstroSat. For the first time, we report the lag between soft (0.8-2.0 keV, SXT) and hard X-ray energy bands (10-20 keV and 16-40 keV, LAXPC) in GX 5-1 and detected lags of the order of a few tens to hundreds of seconds in the Horizontal branch. We interpreted them as the readjustment time scale of the inner region of the accretion disc. We used various two components and three-component spectral models to unfold the spectra and observed the changes in soft and hard component fluxes which were exhibiting Horizontal Branch Oscillation variations. It was observed that the bbody component assumed to be originating from the boundary layer over the NS, was also found to vary along with the HBO variation where lags were detected. We constrained the size of the Comptonizing region of the order 15-55 km assuming that lags were due to variation in the size of the corona. We noticed a similar size of the Comptonizing region after employing other models and suggest that the overall size of corona must be of the order of a few tens of km to explain the lags, HBO variation, and respective spectral variations. In a case study, it was noted that the BL size increases as GX 5-1 vary from the top of the HB to the upper vertex.