THE PECULIAR GALACTIC CENTER NEUTRON STAR X-RAY BINARY XMM J174457–2850.3

The recent discovery of a millisecond radio pulsar experiencing an accretion outburst similar to those seen in low mass X-ray binaries, has opened up a new opportunity to investigate the evolutionary link between these two different neutron star manifestations. The remarkable X-ray variability and hard X-ray spectrum of this object can potentially serve as a template to search for other X-ray binary/radio pulsar transitional objects. Here we demonstrate that the transient X-ray source XMM J174457–2850.3 near the Galactic center displays similar X-ray properties. We report on the detection of an energetic thermonuclear burst with an estimated duration of ≃2 hr and a radiated energy output of ≃ 5 × 1040 erg, which unambiguously demonstrates that the source harbors an accreting neutron star. It has a quiescent X-ray luminosity of LX ≃ 5 × 1032(D/6.5 kpc)2 erg s−1 and exhibits occasional accretion outbursts during which it brightens to LX ≃ 1035–1036(D/6.5 kpc)2 erg s−1 for a few weeks (2–10 keV). However, the source often lingers in between outburst and quiescence at LX ≃ 1033–1034(D/6.5 kpc)2 erg s−1. This peculiar X-ray flux behavior and its relatively hard X-ray spectrum, a power law with an index of Γ ≃ 1.4, could possibly be explained in terms of the interaction between the accretion flow and the magnetic field of the neutron star.

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