Cambridge University Press, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, S363(16), p. 263-266, 2020
DOI: 10.1017/s1743921322001740
Full text: Unavailable
AbstractPulsating Ultra Luminous X-ray sources (PULXs) are thought to be X-ray bright, accreting, magnetized neutron stars, and could be the first and only evidence for the existence of magnetars in binary systems. Their apparent soft (< 20 keV) X-ray luminosity can exceed the Eddington luminosity for a neutron star (NS) by a few orders of magnitude. Although several scenarios have been proposed to explain the different components observed in the X-ray spectra and the characteristics of the X-ray lightcurve of these system, detailed quantitative calculations are still missing. In particular, the observed soft X-ray lightcurves are almost sinuosidal and show an increase in the pulsed fraction (from 8% up to even 30%) with increasing energy. Here, we present how emission originating from an optically thick envelope, expected to be formed during super-Eddington accretion, can result in pulsed fractions similar to observations.