Bibcode
Harris, Robert J.; Levine, Alan M.; Durant, Martin; Kong, Albert K. H.; Charles, Phil; Shahbaz, Tariq
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 696, Issue 2, pp. 1987-1997 (2009).
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2009
Journal
Citations
6
Refereed citations
5
Description
Results of observations of the Galactic bulge X-ray source GX 9+9 by the
All-Sky Monitor (ASM) and Proportional Counter Array (PCA) onboard the
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer are presented. The ASM results show that the
4.19 hr X-ray periodicity first reported by Hertz and Wood in 1987 was
weak or not detected for most of the mission prior to late 2004, but
then became strong and remained strong for approximately two years after
which it weakened considerably. When the modulation at the 4.19 hr
period is strong, it appears in folded light curves as an intensity dip
over lsim30% of a cycle and is distinctly nonsinusoidal. A number of PCA
observations of GX 9+9 were performed before the appearance of strong
modulation; two were performed in 2006 during the epoch of strong
modulation. Data obtained from the earlier PCA observations yield, at
best, limited evidence of the presence of phase-dependent intensity
changes, while the data from the later observations confirm the presence
of flux minima with depths and phases compatible with those apparent in
folded ASM light curves. Light curves from a Chandra observation of GX
9+9 performed in the year 2000 prior to the start of strong modulation
show the possible presence of shallow dips at the predicted times.
Optical observations performed in 2006 while the X-ray modulation was
strong do not show an increase in the degree of modulation at the 4.19
hr period. Implications of the changes in modulation strength in X-rays
and other observational results are considered.
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