Optical and X-ray studies of Be/X-ray binary 1A 0535+262 during its 2020 giant outburst

TL;DR

This study combines optical and X-ray observations of the Be/X-ray binary 1A 0535+262 during its 2020 giant outburst, revealing disc evolution, pulsation behavior, and cyclotron features, providing insights into the system's accretion dynamics.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed optical and X-ray analysis of 1A 0535+262 during a giant outburst, highlighting disc precession, spectral variability, and cyclotron resonance detection.

Findings

Peak flux reached 11 Crab, the highest observed from this pulsar.

Optical spectra showed variable Halpha line with disc size changes.

X-ray pulsations detected at 103.55 s with energy-dependent profiles.

Abstract

We report results obtained from the optical and X-ray studies of the Be/X-ray binary 1A 0535+262/HD 245770 during the 2020 October giant X-ray outburst, using the 1.2 m telescope at Mount Abu Infrared observatory and AstroSat, respectively. The peak flux of the outburst was recorded to be around 11 Crab in the 15-50 keV range, the highest ever observed from the pulsar. We performed optical observations in the 6000-7200 angstroms band before, during, and after the outburst to investigate the evolution of the circumstellar disc of the Be star between 2020 February and 2022 February. Our optical spectra exhibit prominent emission lines at 6563 angstroms (H I), 6678 angstroms (He I), and 7065 angstroms (He I). We found a significantly variable Halpha line in the spectra. The single-peaked line profile appeared asymmetric with broad red- & blue-wings in the data before and during the outburst. The post-outburst observations, however, resulted in a double-peaked profile with asymmetry in the blue-wing. Our observations before the outburst confirmed a larger Be disc that decreased in size as the outburst progressed. Furthermore, the observed variabilities in the Halpha line profile and parameters suggest the presence of a highly misaligned, precessing, and warped Be disc. AstroSat observation of the pulsar detected pulsations at around 103.55 s in the light curve up to 110 keV. We found strongly energy-dependent pulse profiles with increasing contribution of the pulsing component in hard X-rays. The broadband spectral fitting in the 0.7-90.0 keV range confirmed the presence of the known cyclotron resonance scattering feature at around 46.3 keV.