# Discovery of a Third Harmonic Cyclotron Resonance Scattering Feature in the X-ray Spectrum of 4U 0115+63

## 1. Introduction

The transient X–ray source 4U 0115+63 is an accreting X–ray pulsar in an eccentric 24 day orbit (Bildsten et al. (1997)) with the O9e star, V635 Cassiopeiae (Unger et al. (1998)). X–ray outbursts have been observed from 4U 0115+63 with *Uhuru* (Forman, Jones & Tananbaum (1976)), HEAO-1 (Wheaton et al. (1979); Rose et al. (1979)), Ginga (e.g. Tamura et al. (1992)), and CGRO/BATSE (Bildsten et al. (1997)).

A cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF) in 4U 0115+63 was first noted near 20 keV by Wheaton, et al. (1979) with the UCSD/MIT hard X–ray (10-100 keV) experiment aboard HEAO-1. White, Swank & Holt (1983) analyzed concurrent data from the lower energy (2-50 keV) HEAO-1/A2 experiment and found an additional feature at $``$12 keV. Two outbursts of 4U 0115+63 were observed with Ginga, in 1990 February and 1991 April (Nagase et al. (1991); Tamura et al. (1992); Mihara (1995)). The pattern of absorption features differed dramatically in the two outbursts. A pair of features similar to the HEAO-1 results in the 1990 outburst gave way to a single feature near 17 keV in 1991 (Mihara, Makishima & Nagase (1998)).

We discuss here spectral and timing analyses of observations of the 1999 March outburst (Wilson, Harmon & Finger (1999); Heindl & Coburn (1999)) obtained with the *Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer* (RXTE).

## 2. Observations and Analysis

Observations were made with the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) (Jahoda et al. (1996)) and High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE) (Rothschild et al. (1998)) on board RXTE. The PCA is a set of 5 Xenon proportional counters sensitive in the energy range 2–60 keV with a total effective area of $``$7000 $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$. HEXTE consists of two arrays of 4 NaI(Tl)/CsI(Na) phoswich scintillation counters (15-250 keV) totaling $``$1600 $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$. The HEXTE alternates between source and background fields in order to measure the background. The PCA and HEXTE fields of view are collimated to the same 1 full width half maximum (FWHM) region.

Beginning on 1999 March 3, daily, short ($``$1 ks) monitoring observations were carried out. In addition, we performed four long pointings (duration $``$15-35 ks, labeled A – D in Fig. 1) to search for CRSFs. Observation B, on 1999 March 11.87-12.32, spanned periastron passage at March 11.95 (Bildsten et al. (1997)). Figure 1 shows the RXTE/All Sky Monitor (ASM, 1.5–12 keV) light curve of 4U 0115+63 together with the times of the pointed observations. In this work, we concentrate on observation B.

### 2.1. Spectral Analysis

The spectrum of 4U 0115+63 varies significantly with neutron star rotation phase (Nagase et al. (1991)), making fits to the average spectrum difficult to interpret. In order to study the evolution of the spectrum through the pulse, we corrected photon arrival times to both the solar system and the binary system barycenters using the ephemeris of Bildsten, et al. (1997). We then applied a Z<sup>2</sup> period search (Buccheri et al. (1983)) to the HEXTE data to determine the pulse period. Figure 2 shows folded light curves derived from spectra in 50 pulse phase bins for observation B, where the period was 3.614512(33)s. The folded light curve has a sharp main peak, followed by a broader, softer second peak, similar to earlier reports (White, Swank & Holt (1983); Bildsten et al. (1997)). In searching for CRSFs, we followed the spectral analysis methods described in Kreykenbohm, et al. (1998).

Because CRSFs at $``$12 and $``$22 keV are known in 4U 0115+63 (White, Swank & Holt (1983); Nagase et al. (1991)), we first concentrated on the HEXTE data where higher harmonics might appear. We fit a “cut-off power law” (a power law times an exponential) to the HEXTE spectra in 20 phase bins. The reduced $`\chi ^2`$ of these fits ranged from 1.3 to 12.3 (62 degrees of freedom, “dof”). Concentrated at the main pulse and through the rise and peak of the second, there were significant residuals resembling absorption features near 20–25 keV. In the fall of the second peak, residuals appeared between 30–40 keV. We then fit for an absorption feature near 20–25 keV, resulting in reduced $`\chi ^2`$s between 0.7 and 2.0 (59 dof). We used a simple Gaussian model for the optical depth profile. Fig. 2, shows the result of an F-Test for adding this line. In the cases where no line was allowed by the fit, the points are plotted with a value of $`10^0`$. Next, we allowed a CRSF between 28–45 keV. This significantly improved the fits in about half of the phase bins, including some near the main peak where large $``$20 keV residuals in the initial fits masked the presence of this line. The corresponding F-test results are also plotted in Fig. 2. Although there is strong evidence for multiple lines at other phases, the phase range 0.70–0.76 shared both a significant $``$20 keV line as well as the most clearly line-like residuals in 30–40 keV in the no-lines fit. We therefore chose to concentrate on this phase in this *Letter*. We plan to perform detailed analysis of all phases and all four long (A–D) observations in a future paper.

Next, we jointly fit the HEXTE and PCA data for phase 0.70–0.76. To account for uncertainties in the response matrix, 1% systematic errors were applied to the PCA data. None of the continuum models (high energy cut-off power law, Fermi-Dirac cut-off (FDCO) times a power law, and Negative and Positive power law Exponential (NPEX); see Kreykenbohm, et al. 1998) typically used for accreting pulsar spectra provided an acceptable fit without the inclusion of absorption features. A black body with kT$``$0.4 keV and photoelectric absorption were required to describe the data. No Fe-K line was required. Ultimately, it was necessary to include CRSFs at $``$12, $``$21, and $``$34 keV in the joint spectrum. The fitted line parameters were insensitive to the details of the continuum model used. The results given here used a Fermi-Dirac cut-off (FDCO) times a power law, given by $`F(E)(1+e^{(EE_c)/E_f})^1\times E^\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. F is the photon flux, $`\mathrm{E}_\mathrm{c}`$ the cutoff energy, $`\mathrm{E}_\mathrm{f}`$ the folding energy, and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ the photon index. $`\mathrm{E}_\mathrm{c}`$ was fixed at zero. An F-Test for the significance of adding the $``$34 keV line to a model with only two absorption features gave a chance probability of $`10^{17}`$.

### 2.2. Temporal Variability

Along with standard Fourier techniques, we analyzed the data in the time domain using the linear state space model (LSSM) formalism described by König & Timmer (1997) and Pottschmidt, et al. (1998). Parameters of the LSSM are related to dynamical timescales of the system such as oscillation periods, decay times of damped oscillators and stochastic noise. As shown in Figure 4, the data are well described by a LSSM of order 2. This model, based on an auto-regressive process, is dominated by a stochastically driven sinusoid of period 552 s which exponentially decays with an e-folding time of $`P_{\mathrm{fold}}=282`$ s. This short $`P_{\mathrm{fold}}`$ accounts for the broad QPO peak seen in the PSD (Fig. 5). A Kolmogoroff-Smirnoff test shows that the difference between the data and the LSSM is purely attributable to white noise. The light curve is thus consistent with a single exponentially decaying sinusoid, driven by a white noise process.

## 3. Results and Discussion

### 3.1. Spectrum and CRSFs

Fig. 3 shows the best fit joint count spectrum from pulse phase 0.70–0.76. Also plotted is the inferred incident photon spectrum. Best fit parameters are given in Table 1, and the reduced $`\chi ^2`$ of the fit is 1.66 (74 dof). This is the first time that a fundamental and two harmonic CRSFs have been detected in a single accreting X–ray pulsar spectrum. Previously, at most a fundamental and second harmonic have been seen: 4U 1907+09 (Cusumano et al. (1998)); or suggested: Vela X-1 (Kreykenbohm et al. (1998)), A0535+25 (Kendziorra et al. (1994)), 1E 2259+586 (Iwasawa, Koyama & Halpern (1992)). Those earlier observations lacked the broad-band sensitivity of RXTE. Furthermore, simple fits to the phase-resolved HEXTE spectra show that the X–ray spectrum varies rapidly with neutron star rotation. We observe significant variations between consecutive phase bins which cover only 2% of the pulse phase. This suggests complex spatial variations of conditions near the neutron star polar cap. Since the 35 keV CRSF is only present in about half of the pulse (predominantly during the fall of the second, weaker pulse), and both the 22 and 35 keV lines are only present together in 3 of 20 coarse phase bins, averaging over large phase angles would likely have washed out the line in the variable continuum.

The fundamental energy of 12.4 keV implies a neutron star surface field of $`1.1\times 10^{12}(1+\mathrm{z})`$ G. Contrary to simple Landau theory, the observed line spacing is not quite harmonic. The ratio of the $`2^{\mathrm{nd}}`$ and $`3^{\mathrm{rd}}`$ harmonics to the fundamental are $`1.73\pm 0.08`$ and $`2.71\pm 0.13`$ respectively. We tried fits with the $`2^{\mathrm{nd}}`$ and $`3^{\mathrm{rd}}`$ lines constrained to be exact harmonics of the first, whose energy was allowed to vary. The resulting fit was unacceptable (reduced $`\chi ^2`$ of 6.7 with 76 dof). We did, however, find a reasonable fit with the $`3^{\mathrm{rd}}`$ harmonic tied to the first but the second free to vary. Nevertheless, an F-test comparing this fit to our best model gives a chance improvement probability of $`2\times 10^4`$ for allowing the non-integer energy ratio of the first and third lines.

In addition to relativistic shifts, line energies may deviate from harmonic for a number of reasons. The main scattering for the harmonics may take place in regions of different magnetic field, either resulting from optical depth effects in the mound of accreting matter, or for lines primarily produced at opposite magnetic poles. It is interesting to note (see Fig. 2) that the second and third harmonics are most significant in the main and secondary pulses, respectively, possibly indicating origins at opposite poles.

In our initial fits to the HEXTE data alone, we observed that the 20 keV CRSF varied in both strength and energy (by 20%) through the pulse phase. This was first observed with Ginga by Nagase, et al. (1991) in the 1990 Feb. outburst. The line is strongest and the energy highest ($``$24 keV), on the falling edge of the main pulse, which is similar to the behavior of the CRSFs in Cen X-3 and 4U 1626-67 (Heindl & Chakrabarty (1999)). The Ginga data showed significant $``$11 and $``$22 keV lines at all 8 pulse phases analyzed (Mihara (1995)). The HEXTE data find that the $``$20 keV line is not required just before the rise of the main pulse (Fig. 2). However, with the addition of the PCA data, which constrain the continuum and fundamental line, it is possible that this line will be required at all phases. In any case, strong long term variability of the lines is known (Mihara (1995)), so differences between these results and earlier observations are not surprising.

### 3.2. Temporal Variability: a 2 mHz QPO

Figures 4 and 5 show the PCA light curve of observation B and its power spectral density (PSD), respectively. Strong variability with an $``$500 s period is obvious. At frequencies above 5 mHz, the PSD can be described by an overall power law $`f^1`$ plus peaks at the neutron star rotational frequency and its multiples. Some accreting pulsars have shown a QPO at the beat frequency between the neutron star rotation and the Keplerian orbit at the inner edge of the accretion disk (Finger, Wilson & Harmon (1996)). Using the relations in Finger, Wilson & Harmon (1996) with a surface B field strength of $`1.3\times 10^{12}`$ G, a distance of 6 kpc (Negueruela (1999)), and a total flux of $`2.1\times 10^8`$$`\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$, the expected beat QPO frequency is 0.8 Hz. Overtones of the rotational frequency confuse the search for QPOs in this region (see Fig. 5), and no obvious peaks apart from the pulsation were seen in the 1 ks short pointings or in observation B.

Below 5 mHz, the PSD is dominated by a broad QPO feature from the 500 s oscillation. The shape of this feature is complex and asymmetric, it can neither be described by a Lorentzian line nor by the superposition of two Lorentzian lines. The feature peaks at $``$1.5 mHz and has a FWHM of 1 mHz ($`Q=f_0/\mathrm{\Delta }f1.5`$). The excess power of the QPO with respect to the underlying red noise component in the range from 1 mHz to 4 mHz is $``$5% RMS. The $``$500 s period of this oscillation is longer than any X–ray QPO previously reported in an accreting X–ray pulsar. Soong & Swank (1989) reported a broad 0.062 Hz QPO in HEAO-1 observations of a flaring state in 4U 0115+63 that also did not fit into the beat frequency model.

The QPO was probably present in several of the short ($``$1 ks) observations as well, as there was apparent, slow variability on a several hundred second timescale. In observation A, the QPO was at most present weakly, as no clear peak is evident in the PSD. Two possible explanations for the QPO are: 1) modulation of the accretion flow, and 2) occultation of the beam by intervening matter in an accretion disk. It seems unlikely that the variability is due to modulation of the accretion flow itself. The timescales at the neutron star pole (milliseconds) and the inner edge of the disk (seconds) are too fast. Furthermore, the rotation period (days) of V635Cas is too long.

We compared PCA spectra at minima of the 500 s cycle to the spectra of the following maxima. The spectral shape is unchanged from 2.5 – 5 keV, and only $``$20% deviations appear at higher energies. Because the spectrum below 5 keV is steady through the QPO and the flux varies by a factor of two from peak to minimum, the QPO mechanism cannot be absorption in *cold* material. If it were, the low energy spectrum would be highly modified by photoelectric absorption. It is possible that Thomson scattering in ionized matter causes the variability. We suggest two possible mechanisms, which both require that the accretion disk be viewed nearly edge on. Both are consistent with a second order LSSM process. First, an azimuthal warp propagating around the disk could cause the ionized disk surface to intervene in the line of sight. In this case, the 500 s timescale is the time for the wave to circle the disk (assuming a single-peaked warp). In the second picture, the absorption takes place in a lump in the disk which orbits at a Kepler period of 500 s.

## 4. Summary

We have made two discoveries in the RXTE observations of the 1999 March outburst of 4U 0115+63. The HEXTE data have revealed for the first time in any pulsar a third harmonic CRSF. The line spacing between the fundamental and second harmonic and between the second and third harmonics are not equal, and are not multiples of the fundamental line energy. We have also discovered the slowest (2 mHz) QPO yet observed from an accreting pulsar. It was most pronounced during an observation spanning periastron passage of the neutron star around its massive companion. Based on the timescale, amplitude, and energy spectrum of the oscillation, it is most likely due to obscuration of the neutron star by hot accretion disk matter. The longest QPO previously observed had a timescale of 100 s in SMC X-1 (Angelini, Stella & White (1991)).

We thank E. Smith, J. Swank, and C. Williams-Heikkila for rapidly scheduling the observations and supplying the realtime data. ASM data are provided by the RXTE/ASM teams at MIT and at the RXTE SOF and GOF at NASA’s GSFC. This work was supported by NASA grants NAS5-30720 and NAG5-7339, DFG grant Sta 173/22, and a travel grant from the DAAD.