A transient ultraviolet outflow in the short-period X-ray binary UW CrB

Abstract

ABSTRACT Accreting low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are capable of launching powerful outflows such as accretion disc winds. In disc winds, vast amounts of material can be carried away, potentially greatly impacting the binary and its environment. Previous studies have uncovered signatures of disc winds in the X-ray, optical, near-infrared, and recently even the ultraviolet (UV) band, predominantly in LMXBs with large discs (Porb ≥ 20 h). Here, we present the discovery of transient UV outflow features in UW CrB, a high-inclination (i ≥ 77°) neutron star LMXB (NS-LMXB) with an orbital period of only Porb ≈ 111 min. We present P-Cygni profiles identified for Si iv 1400 Å and tentatively for N v 1240 Å in one 15 min exposure, which is the only exposure covering orbital phase ϕ ≈ 0.7–0.8, with a velocity of ≈1500 km s−1. We show that due to the presence of blackbody emission from the neutron star surface and/or boundary layer, a thermal disc wind can be driven despite the short Porb, but explore alternative scenarios as well. The discovery that thermal disc winds may occur in NS-LMXBs with Porb as small as ≈111 min, and can potentially be transient on time-scales as short as ≈15 min, warrants further observational and theoretical work.