Simultaneous NICER and NuSTAR Observations of the Ultracompact X-Ray Binary 4U 1543–624

Abstract

We present the first joint NuSTAR and NICER observations of the ultracompact X-ray binary (UCXB) 4U 1543−624 obtained in 2020 April. The source was at a luminosity of L_(0.5−50 keV) = 4.9(D/7 kpc)² × 1036 erg s⁻¹ and showed evidence of reflected emission in the form of an O viii line, Fe K line, and Compton hump within the spectrum. We used a full reflection model, known as xillverCO, that is tailored for the atypical abundances found in UCXBs, to account for the reflected emission. We tested the emission radii of the O and Fe line components and conclude that they originate from a common disk radius in the innermost region of the accretion disk (R_(in) ≤ 1.07 R_(ISCO)). Assuming that the compact accretor is a neutron star (NS) and the position of the inner disk is the Alfvén radius, we placed an upper limit on the magnetic field strength to be B ≤ 0.7(D/7 kpc) × 10⁸ G at the poles. Given the lack of pulsations detected and position of R_(in), it was likely that a boundary layer region had formed between the NS surface and inner edge of the accretion disk with an extent of 1.2 km. This implies a maximum radius of the neutron star accretor of R_(NS) ≤ 12.1 km when assuming a canonical NS mass of 1.4 M_⊙.

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