Discovery of Sub-Millisecond Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the X-Ray Flux of Scorpius X-1

Abstract

We report the discovery, with NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), of the first sub-millisecond oscillation found in a celestial X-ray source. The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) come from Sco X-1 and have a frequency of approximately 1100 Hz, amplitudes of 0.6-1.2% (rms) and are relatively coherent, with Q up to ~10^2. The frequency of the QPO increases with accretion rate, rising from 1050 to 1130 Hz when the source moves from top to bottom along the normal branch in the X-ray color-color diagram, and shows a strong, approximately linear correlation with the frequency of the well-known 6-20 Hz normal/flaring branch QPO. We also report the discovery of QPO with a frequency near 800 Hz that occurs, simultaneously with the 1100 Hz QPO, in the upper normal branch. We discuss several possible interpretations, one involving a millisecond X-ray pulsar whose pulses we see reflected off accretion-flow inhomogeneities. Finally, we report the discovery of ~45 Hz QPO, most prominent in the middle of the normal branch, which might be magnetospheric beat-frequency QPO.