Spin-disc misalignment drives periodic accretion and pulse profile asymmetry in X-ray pulsars

Abstract

We investigate magnetospheric accretion in disc-fed X-ray pulsars assuming that the neutron star spin axis is not perpendicular to the disc plane. We focus on X-ray pulsars, where a geometrically thin disc is truncated far from the stellar surface the channelled part of the accretion flow is expected to be guided by the large-scale dipolar magnetic field after coupling to it near the disc-magnetosphere boundary. Using numerical simulations of plasma motion from the inner disc edge to the neutron star surface, we show that a finite inclination between the disc normal and the stellar spin axis leads to periodic modulation of the mass accretion rate onto the magnetic poles even for a steady mass supply through the disc. This purely geometrical effect arises because stellar rotation changes the orientation of the magnetosphere relative to the disc, producing phase-dependent mass loading of magnetic field lines. The amplitude and shape of the modulation are determined by the system geometry and by the ratio of the stellar spin period to the flow time through the magnetosphere. The resulting variability affects the structure and luminosity of emitting regions near the neutron star surface and leads to asymmetric X-ray pulse profiles. Even without intrinsic asymmetries of the emission regions, this mechanism breaks the time-reversal symmetry expected for stationary accretion and naturally contributes to the observed asymmetry of pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectral features. The effect may also be relevant for ULX pulsars, where intrinsic accretion rate modulation can help preserve strong pulsations in the presence of geometric beaming.