Luminosity-dependent change of the emission diagram in the X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67

Abstract

We detect variability of the Fe K α emission line in the spectrum of X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67, correlated with changes in its luminosity and in the shape of its pulse profile. Analysis of archival Chandra and RXTE observations revealed the presence of an intrinsically narrow Fe K α emission line in the spectrum obtained during the source's current high-luminosity period. However, the line was not present during an XMM-Newton observation seven years earlier, when the source was ∼three times fainter. The line is resolved by the high-energy grating of Chandra at the 98 per cent confidence level, and its small intrinsic width, σ =36.4_{-11.3}^{+15.3} eV, suggests reflection off an accretion disc at the radius R≈ (7.5_{-3.8}^{+8.2})× 10^8 cm assuming a Keplerian disk, viewed at an inclination angle of 20°. This value is consistent with the radius of the magnetosphere of the pulsar, suggesting that the line originates near the inner edge of a disc that is truncated by the magnetic field of the neutron star. Timing analysis of the XMM-Newton and RXTE data revealed a major change in the pulse profile of the source from a distinct double-peaked shape during the high-luminosity state when the line was present, to a much more complex multipeak structure during the low-luminosity state. We argue that the appearance of the line and the change in the shape of the pulse profile are correlated and are the result of a major change in the emission diagram of the accretion column, from a pencil-beam pattern at low luminosity, to a fan-beam pattern at high luminosity.