AAS 199th meeting, Washington, DC, January 2002
Session 95. Accreting Neutron Stars
Display, Wednesday, January 9, 2002, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall

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[95.02] Activity cycles among the X-ray Pulsar population of the SMC

S. Laycock (Southampton University UK), R. H. D. Corbet (GSFC/USRA), M. J. Coe (Southampton University UK), F. Marshall, J. Lochner (GSFC)

3 years of weekly observations using RXTE PCA reveal many transient X-ray outbursts from the SMC's prodigious pulsar population. These observations show that a number of sources exhibit recurring outbursts, with approximately regular intervals between recurrences providing an estimate of orbital periods in these proposed High Mass X-ray binary systems. These results are exciting because for the first time cycles of activity are being seen in a well defined population of systems outside our galaxy. The project is shedding light on the period and luminosity distribution of the SMC pulsar population and in doing so providing more detailed pictures of individual systems.


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