Through its hard X-ray survey of the Galactic Plane, INTEGRAL has uncoveredlarge numbers of HMXBs, and many of them have not been well-studied to date. Wepropose to observe two INTEGRAL HMXBs that have not previously shown signaturesof having a neutron star: IGR J18214-1318 and IGR J08262-3736. With XMM-Newtonand NuSTAR, we will search for such signatures (pulsations, cyclotron lines,exponential cutoffs with e-folding energies below virgul20 keV). If these featuresare lacking and if the source instead has a power-law that extends to the top ofthe NuSTAR bandpass, this would be an excellent black hole candidate andmotivation would be very strong for follow-up optical or IR spectroscopy todetermine the mass of the compact object.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2014-09-18T02:11:03Z/2014-09-18T09:57:43Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr John Tomsick, 2015, 'Is there a Black Hole in any of the INTEGRAL HMXBsquestionMark', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-zg8m5gj
