Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are X-ray binaries radiating above theEddington luminosity. An increasing sample of ULXs are known to be powered byaccreting pulsars (PULXs), and it is currently unclear if their observedemission is amplified by strong radiation beaming or it denotes a genuinesuper-Eddington mass accretion rate. In the second case, the large mass transferrequired is expected to produce detectable effects on the binary orbit, whichwere tentatively detected in past observations. In this program, we use pulsartiming to track the orbital evolution of the first discovered PULX, M82 X-2,producing a strong constraint on the mass transfer and finally discriminatebetween the beaming and the extreme super-Eddington models.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2021-10-17T08:56:53Z/2022-04-07T09:44:20Z
Version
19.17_20220121_1250
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 Matteo Bachetti, 2023, 'TRACKING THE ORBITAL ADVANCE OF THE FIRST ULTRALUMINOUS PULSAR M82 X-2', 19.17_20220121_1250, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-zlv2tjh
