The aperiodic broad-band X-ray variability of Cygnus X-3

Abstract

We study the soft X-ray variability of Cygnus X-3. By combining data from the All-Sky Monitor and Proportional Counter Array instruments on the RXTE satellite with EXOSAT/Medium Energy (ME) detector observations, we are able to analyse the power density spectrum (PDS) of the source from 10-9 to 0.1 Hz, thus covering time-scales from seconds to years. As the data on the longer time-scales are unevenly sampled, we combine traditional power spectral techniques with simulations to analyse the variability in this range. The PDS at higher frequencies (≳10-3 Hz) are for the first time compared for all states of this source. We find that it is for all states well described by a power law, with index ∼ -2 in the soft states and a tendency for a less steep power law in the hard state. At longer time-scales, we study the effect of the state transitions on the PDS, and find that the variability below ∼10-7 Hz is dominated by the transitions. Furthermore, we find no correlation between the length of a high/soft-state episode and the time since the previous high/soft state. On intermediate time-scales, we find evidence for a break in the PDS at time-scales of the order of the orbital period. This may be interpreted as evidence for the existence of a tidal resonance in the accretion disc around the compact object, and constraining the mass ratio to M2/M1 ≲ 0.3. © 2009 RAS.