Probing the geometry and outflows of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 with multi-band polarimetry
Abstract
We present VLT/FORS2 R- and I-band imaging polarimetry of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAXJ1808.4-3658 during its 2025 outburst, coordinated with the first X-ray polarimetric observations of this source with IXPE. We detect significant optical linear polarisation at every epoch (polarisation degree P~0.3-1.5%, angle Phi ~ 8-48°), consistent with the only prior optical polarimetric campaign of this source, obtained during a previous outburst. The average optical polarisation angle is offset by ~16-24° from the IXPE angle of the persistent X-ray emission, which pulse-profile modelling shows to trace the spin axis. A fast-timing sequence reveals the optical polarisation angle swinging by up to ~40° within minutes, disfavouring scattering in the disc. A colour-magnitude diagram and the dependence of the optical polarisation on the red colour excess over the disc emission, which we attribute to the jet, instead point to a jet origin during the main outburst, consistent with contemporaneous radio detections. The offset, with the same mean optical angle as in the previous outburst, can arise from emission near a wide jet base, where the Doppler-boosted side of the cone dominates. At the onset of the reflaring stage the optical polarisation degree is highest and its angle coincides with the IXPE one, while the disc likely dominates the optical flux. We discuss a polarisation flare of the fading jet, scattering in an outflow, and synchrotron emission at the disc-magnetosphere boundary as possible origins, tentatively favouring the last.
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BibTeX
@misc{baglio2026probing,
title = {{Probing the geometry and outflows of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 with multi-band polarimetry}},
author = {M. C. Baglio and G. Illiano and A. Papitto and D. M. Russell and A. Di Marco and K. Alabarta and C. Ballocco and S. Campana and S. Covino and P. D'Avanzo and R. P. Fender and K. Gasealahwe and F. Lewis and M. M. Messa and S. Motta and P. Saikia},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.00221},
eprint = {2611.00221},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.00221},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Probing the geometry and outflows of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 with multi-band polarimetry
AU - M. C. Baglio
AU - G. Illiano
AU - A. Papitto
AU - D. M. Russell
AU - A. Di Marco
AU - K. Alabarta
AU - C. Ballocco
AU - S. Campana
AU - S. Covino
AU - P. D'Avanzo
AU - R. P. Fender
AU - K. Gasealahwe
AU - F. Lewis
AU - M. M. Messa
AU - S. Motta
AU - P. Saikia
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.00221
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.00221
AB - We present VLT/FORS2 R- and I-band imaging polarimetry of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAXJ1808.4-3658 during its 2025 outburst, coordinated with the first X-ray polarimetric observations of this source with IXPE. We detect significant optical linear polarisation at every epoch (polarisation degree P~0.3-1.5%, angle Phi ~ 8-48°), consistent with the only prior optical polarimetric campaign of this source, obtained during a previous outburst. The average optical polarisation angle is offset by ~16-24° from the IXPE angle of the persistent X-ray emission, which pulse-profile modelling shows to trace the spin axis. A fast-timing sequence reveals the optical polarisation angle swinging by up to ~40° within minutes, disfavouring scattering in the disc. A colour-magnitude diagram and the dependence of the optical polarisation on the red colour excess over the disc emission, which we attribute to the jet, instead point to a jet origin during the main outburst, consistent with contemporaneous radio detections. The offset, with the same mean optical angle as in the previous outburst, can arise from emission near a wide jet base, where the Doppler-boosted side of the cone dominates. At the onset of the reflaring stage the optical polarisation degree is highest and its angle coincides with the IXPE one, while the disc likely dominates the optical flux. We discuss a polarisation flare of the fading jet, scattering in an outflow, and synchrotron emission at the disc-magnetosphere boundary as possible origins, tentatively favouring the last.
ER -