INTEGRAL spectroscopy of the accreting millisecond pulsar XTE J1807-294 in outburst

• Published in: Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2005-06, Vol.436 (2), p.647-652
• Main Authors: Falanga, M., Bonnet-Bidaud, J. M., Poutanen, J., Farinelli, R., Martocchia, A., Goldoni, P., Qu, J. L., Kuiper, L., Goldwurm, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accretion; accretion disks; stars: individual: XTE J1807-294; stars: neutron; X-rays: binaries
• ISSN: 0004-6361; 1432-0746
• DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20042575

The transient X-ray accreting millisecond pulsar XTE J1807-294 was observed during its February/March 2003 outburst by INTEGRAL, partly simultaneously with the XMM-Newton and RXTE satellites. We present here the first study of the 0.5-200 keV broad-band spectra of the source. On February 28, the source spectrum was consistent with thermal Comptonization by electrons of temperature ~40 keV, considerably higher than the value (~10 keV) previously derived from the low energy XMM-Newton data alone. The source is detected by INTEGRAL up to 200 keV with a luminosity in the energy band (0.1-200) keV of $1.3 \times 10^{37}$ erg s-1 (assuming a distance of 8 kpc). 22 days later the luminosity dropped to $3.6 \times 10^{36}$ erg s-1. A re-analysis of XMM-Newton data yields the orbital Doppler variations of the pulse period and refines the previous ephemeris. For this source, with shortest orbital period of any known binary radio or X-ray millisecond pulsar, we constrain the companion mass $M_{\rm c} < 0.022~M_{\odot}$, assuming minimum mass transfer driven by gravitational radiation. Only evolved dwarfs with a C/O composition are consistent with the Roche lobe and gravitational radiation constraints, while He dwarfs require an unlikely low inclination.