X-Ray Spectra of The High-Mass X-RAY Binary 4U~1700-37 using BeppoSAX, Suzaku and RXTE Observations

Abstract

We present an X-ray spectral analysis of the high-mass binary 4U~1700-37 during its hard-soft state evolution. We use the BeppoSAX, Suzaku and RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer), Suzaku and BeppoSAX observations for this investigation. We argue that the X-ray broad-band spectra during all spectral states can be adequately reproduced by a model, consisting of a low-temperature Blackbody component, two Comptonized components both due to the presence of a Compton cloud (CC) that up-scatters seed photons of $T_{s1}$~< 1.4 keV, and $T_{s2}<$1 keV, and an iron-line component. We find using this model that the photon power-law index is almost constant, $\Gamma_{1}\sim 2$ for all spectral states. However, $\Gamma_{2}$ shows a behavior depending on the spectral state. Namely, $\Gamma_{2}$ is quasi-constant at the level of $\Gamma_{2}\sim 2$ while the CC plasma temperature $kT^{(2)}_e$ is less than 40 keV; on the other hand, $\Gamma_{2}$ is in the range of $1.3<\Gamma_{2}<2$, when $kT^{(2)}_e$ is greater than 40 keV. We explain this quasi-stability of $\Gamma$ during most of hard-soft transitions of 4U~1700-37 in a framework of the model in which the resulting spectrum is described by two Comptonized components. We find that these Comptonized spectral components of the HMXB 4U~1700-37 are similar to those previously found in NS sources. This index dependence versus both mass accretion rate and $kT_e$ revealed in 4U~1700-37 is a universal observational evidence for the presence of a NS in 4U 1700-37.