Padilla, M.A., Rodríguez-Gil, P., Muñoz-Darias, T. et al. (7 more authors) (2022) A tentative 114 minute orbital period challenges the ultracompact nature of the X-ray binary 4U 1812–12. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 931 (1). L9. ISSN 2041-8205
Abstract
We present a detailed time-resolved photometric study of the ultracompact X-ray binary candidate 4U 1812–12. The multicolor light curves obtained with HiPERCAM on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias show a ≃114 minute modulation similar to a superhump. Under this interpretation, this period should lie very close to the orbital period of the system. Contrary to what its other observational properties suggest (namely, persistent dim luminosity, low optical-to-X-ray flux ratio, and lack of hydrogen features in the optical spectrum), this implies that 4U 1812–12 is most likely not an ultracompact X-ray binary, which is usually defined as a system with an orbital period lower than 80 minutes. We discuss the nature of the system, showing that a scenario in which 4U 1812–12 is the progenitor of an ultracompact X-ray binary may reconcile all the observables.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Science and Technology Facilities Council ST/V000853/1 European Research Council 340040 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 31 May 2022 11:29 |
Last Modified: | 31 May 2022 11:29 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IOP Publishing (on behalf of the American Astronomical Society) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3847/2041-8213/ac6d54 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187501 |