Double-hump spectrum, pulse profile dip, and pulsed fraction spectra from the low-accretion regime in the X-ray pulsar MAXI J0655-013

TL;DR

This study investigates the spectral and timing properties of the low-luminosity X-ray pulsar MAXI J0655-013, revealing a double-hump spectrum, pulse profile dip, and energy-dependent pulsed fractions, advancing understanding of accretion physics at low luminosities.

Contribution

The paper presents the first detailed spectral and pulse profile analysis of MAXI J0655-013 in the low-luminosity regime, including a double Comptonization model and phase-connected timing solution.

Findings

Spectrum fitted by a double Comptonization model with two distinct bumps.

Pulse profile exhibits a broad peak with a sharp dip coinciding with increased hardness.

Pulsed fraction increases with energy up to 100% in 10-30 keV band.

Abstract

Accreting X-ray pulsars (XRPs) undergo different physical regimes depending on the mass accretion rate. Recent observations have shown a dramatic change in the emission properties of this class of sources observed at low luminosity. We explore the timing and spectral properties of the XRP MAXI J0655-013 observed in the low-luminosity regime (about 5x$10^{33}$ erg/s) to witness the corresponding spectral shape and pulse profiles. We employ recent $XMM$ and $NuSTAR$ pointed observations of the MAXI J0655-013 X-ray activity during the low-luminosity stage. We explore several spectral models to fit the data and test theoretical expectations of the dramatic transition of the spectral shape. We study the pulsating nature of the source and find a phase-connected timing solution. We explore the energy-resolved pulse profiles and the derived energy-dependence of different pulsed fraction estimators ($PF_{minmax}$ and $PF_{rms}$). We also obtain $NuSTAR$ pulsed fraction spectra (PFS) at different luminosity regimes. MAXI J0655-013 spectrum is well fitted by a double Comptonization model, in agreement with recent observational results and theoretical expectations that explain the observed spectrum as being composed of two distinct bumps, each dominated by different polarization modes. We measure a spin period of $1081.86\pm0.02$ s, consistent with the source spinning-up compared to previous observations, yielding an upper limit for the magnetic field strength of B<9x$10^{13}$ G. The pulse profiles show a single broad peak interrupted by a sharp dip that coincides with an increase in the hardness ratio. For the low-luminosity observation, the $PF_{minmax}$ increases with energy up to $\sim100\%$ in the 10-30 keV band, while the $PF_{rms}$ remains steady at $\sim60\%$. The PFS obtained at high luminosity shows evidence of an iron $K\alpha$ emission line but no indications of a cyclotron line.