February 10, 2000 Journal article Open Access

The 0.1-100 keV Spectrum of Centaurus X-3: Pulse Phase Spectroscopy of the Cyclotron Line and Magnetic Field Structure

A. La Barbera; T. Di Salvo; Matteo Guainazzi; Luciano Burderi; N. R. Robba

We report spectral and temporal analysis of the X-ray pulsar Centaurus X-3 out of eclipse observed by BeppoSAX. The broadband spectrum (0.12-100 keV) is well described by an absorbed power law modified by a high-energy rollover at ~14 keV (e-folding energy ~8 keV) plus an iron emission line at ~6.7 keV. A soft excess below 1 keV is also present. Interpreted as a blackbody (kT 0.1 keV), it corresponds to 58% of the total unabsorbed flux. This component seems to originate from reprocessing of the primary radiation by an opaque shell located at the magnetosphere. An absorption feature at ~30 keV is also present. Interpreted as a cyclotron line, after correction for gravitational redshift, this corresponds to a surface magnetic field of ~3.5 × 1012 G. Phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals a variation by about 8 keV of the cyclotron resonance energy along the pulse profile. In particular, the line energy decreases from ~36 to ~28 keV along the peak, starting from the ascent. The asymmetric variations of the cyclotron line energy can be explained by assuming an offset of the dipolar magnetic field with respect to the neutron star center. The spectral results are discussed in terms of emission from magnetic caps, where Comptonization of soft photons occurs. The soft photons could come from either magnetically resonant double Compton scattering or from illumination of the polar cap by the primary radiation reprocessed at the magnetospheric surface, a feedback mechanism similar to that proposed for the formation of black hole spectra.