1. A theoretical analysis of the observed features of iron emission lines in low-mass X-ray binaries
- Author
-
Chen Jun-feng and You Jun-han
- Subjects
Physics ,Electron density ,Scattering ,Thomson scattering ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Radius ,Astrophysics ,Plasma ,Redshift ,Space and Planetary Science ,Emission spectrum ,Atomic physics ,Line (formation) - Abstract
The 6–7 keV iron emission lines of low-mass, X-ray binaries have some characteristic features such as line broadening, redshift and asymmetrical profile. These features are possibly caused when emission-line photons of high-order iron ions (Fe XXVI or Fe XXV) pass through a “cooler” plasma surrounding the compact body and are Comptonized. In this paper we solved the diffusion equation of Comptonization according to this model and the theoretical line profile we obtained agrees well with the observed profile. The best-fit value of Thomson scattering depth of the plasma was τe ∼ 3, which corresponds to an electron density of Ne ∽ 1016cm−3 and a radius of the scattering sphere, R∽ 109cm.
- Published
- 1994
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