6533b872fe1ef96bd12d3b4d
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Long-term variability of high-mass X-ray binaries. I.Photometry
Juan FabregatPablo ReigPablo Reigsubject
PhysicsHigh Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)BrightnessAstrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaX-rayFOS: Physical sciencesAstronomy and AstrophysicsAstrophysicsPhotometry (optics)StarsWavelengthAmplitudeAstrophysics - Solar and Stellar AstrophysicsSpace and Planetary ScienceHigh massAstrophysics::Solar and Stellar AstrophysicsAstrophysics::Earth and Planetary AstrophysicsSupergiantAstrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaAstrophysics::Galaxy AstrophysicsSolar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)description
We present photometric observations of the field around the optical counterparts of high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to study the long-term photometric variability in correlation with their X-ray activity and derive a set of secondary standard stars that can be used for time series analysis. We find that the donors in Be/X-ray binaries exhibit larger amplitude changes in the magnitudes and colours than those hosting a supergiant companion. The amplitude of variability increases with wavelength in Be/X-ray binaries and remains fairly constant in supergiant systems. When time scales of years are considered, a good correlation between the X-ray and optical variability is observed. The X-rays cease when optical brightness decreases. These results reflect the fact that the circumstellar disk in Be/X-ray binaries is the main source of both optical and X-ray variability. We also derive the colour excess, E (B − V ), selecting data at times when the contribution of the circumstellar disk was supposed to be at minimum, and we revisit the distance estimates.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-01-20 |