We report on the optical identification of the neutron star burster EXO 1745-248 in Terzan 5. The identification was performed by exploiting Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys images acquired in Director's Discretionary Time shortly after (approximately one month) the Swift detection of the X-ray burst. The comparison between these images and previous archival data revealed the presence of a star that is currently brightened by ∼3 mag, consistent with expectations during an X-ray outburst. The centroid of this object well agrees with the position, in the archival images, of a star located in the turn-off/sub-giant-branch region of Terzan 5. This supports the scenario that the companion should have recently filled its Roche Lobe. Such a system represents the prenatal stage of a millisecond pulsar, an evolutionary phase during which heavy mass accretion on the compact object occurs, thus producing X-ray outbursts and re-accelerating the neutron star.
Probing the MSP Prenatal Stage: The Optical Identification of the X-Ray Burster EXO 1745-248 in Terzan 5 / Ferraro, F. R.; Pallanca, C.; Lanzoni, B.; Cadelano, M.; Massari, D.; Dalessandro, E.; Mucciarelli, A.. - In: THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS. - ISSN 2041-8205. - STAMPA. - 807:(2015), pp. 1-5. [10.1088/2041-8205/807/1/L1]
Probing the MSP Prenatal Stage: The Optical Identification of the X-Ray Burster EXO 1745-248 in Terzan 5
FERRARO, FRANCESCO ROSARIO;PALLANCA, CRISTINA;LANZONI, BARBARA;CADELANO, MARIO;Massari, D.;DALESSANDRO, EMANUELE;MUCCIARELLI, ALESSIO
2015
Abstract
We report on the optical identification of the neutron star burster EXO 1745-248 in Terzan 5. The identification was performed by exploiting Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys images acquired in Director's Discretionary Time shortly after (approximately one month) the Swift detection of the X-ray burst. The comparison between these images and previous archival data revealed the presence of a star that is currently brightened by ∼3 mag, consistent with expectations during an X-ray outburst. The centroid of this object well agrees with the position, in the archival images, of a star located in the turn-off/sub-giant-branch region of Terzan 5. This supports the scenario that the companion should have recently filled its Roche Lobe. Such a system represents the prenatal stage of a millisecond pulsar, an evolutionary phase during which heavy mass accretion on the compact object occurs, thus producing X-ray outbursts and re-accelerating the neutron star.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.