High-Mass X-Ray Binaries with Be Donors as Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources

Abstract

Since the detection of X-ray pulses from ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in 2014, neutron stars have been considered as their central objects. However, it remains unclear how neutron stars can be brighter than the Eddington luminosity, and no unified view exists on the magnetic field of neutron stars and the degree of beaming. Recent observations suggest that some X-ray pulsating ULXs have Be-type donors, and some of them occupy the same region as Be-type high-mass X-ray binaries (Be-HMXBs) on the Corbet diagram, which reveals the relation between spin and orbital periods. This suggests that at least some ULXs are special cases of Be-HMXBs. In this study, we use the framework of mass-accretion models for Be-HMXBs to investigate the conditions under which neutron stars achieve mass-accretion rates beyond the Eddington limit and become observable as ULXs. We show that a Be-HMXB may become a ULX if the magnetic field of the neutron star and the density of the Be disc meet certain conditions. We also show that, although a stronger magnetic field increases the brightness of a neutron star ULX with a Be donor, its brightness cannot exceed the Eddington limit by a more than a factor of ≈50. Finally, we propose a scenario whereby some normal Be-HMXBs may evolve into ULXs as the donor evolves into a giant.