A dataset provided by the European Space Agency

Proposal ID 0320049
Obs ID 03200490001
Title Target of Opportunity Observations of an Outburst in A 0535+26
Download Data Associated to the proposal https://isla.esac.esa.int/tap/download/bundle?format=ascii_curl&product_id=prop_id:0320049
DOI https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-cotqp7k
Author Kretschmar
Abstract Renewing our accepted TOO proposal of AO1 and AO2, we propose to observe an outburst in the Be/X-ray binary pulsar A 0535+26 in two stages, each with a 200 ks observation. The first stage is triggered by a normal outburst (200 mCrab, 2-10 keV); the second stage is to be done if the outburst develops turns out to be a giant outburst (>=1 Crab).The first observation will measure the broad-band, phase averaged spectrum with high significance up to ~200 keV, testing the presence of a 55 keV cyclotron line at half the energy of the known 110 keV line. With the high energy resolution of SPI and ISGRI , we will study in detail the line shapes. Previous instruments, mostly scintillators, lacked the energy resolution for these studies.The possible second observation, when A 0535+26 is significantly brighter than the Crab below 200 keV,will allow us to perform detailed phase-resolved spectral studies. By comparing the evolution of the spectrum with pulse phase to Monte-Carlo simulations of cyclotron line formation, we hope to infer details of the emission region, such as the overall geometry, the optical depth, and the viewing angle of the observer to the magnetic dipole axis.Finally, we will search for redshifted gamma-ray lines, particularly 2.2 MeV photons from deuterium formation, from nuclear processes at the neutron star polar cap. This has the exciting possibility of determining the redshift at the neutron star surface, thereby constraining the neutron star equation of state.Because of the typically long (few year) intervals between major outbursts, it is possible that only one such event will occur during the Integral mission lifetime. It is therefore important that it be a preassigned TOO in order that any outburst be optimally observed.
Publications
Temporal Coverage 2005-08-31T11:07:06Z / 2005-09-02T21:20:59Z
Version 1.0
Mission Description The INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) mission, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on October 17, 2002, was designed to study high-energy phenomena in the universe. INTEGRAL was operating until february 2025 and it was equipped with three high-energy instruments: the Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite (IBIS), the Spectrometer on INTEGRAL (SPI), and the JEM-X (Joint European Monitor for X-rays). Its Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) provided optical V-band magnitude measurements, complementing the high-energy observations.
Creator Contact https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/integral/helpdesk
Date Published 2025-03-25T09:54:32Z
Publisher And Registrant European Space Agency
Credit Guidelines European Space Agency, Kretschmar, 2025, 'Target of Opportunity Observations of an Outburst in A 0535+26', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-cotqp7k