Discovery of Submillisecond 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 submillisecond oscillations found in a celestial X-ray source. The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) come from Sco X-1 and have a frequency of ~1100 Hz and amplitudes of 0.6%-1.2% (rms) and are relatively coherent, with Q up to ~102. The frequency of the QPOs 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 QPOs. We also report the discovery of QPOs with a frequency near 800 Hz that occur, simultaneously with the 1100 Hz QPOs, 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 QPOs, most prominent in the middle of the normal branch, which might be magnetospheric beat-frequency QPOs.

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