XRISM Resolve Spectroscopy of GX 5-1: Constraints on Iron Spectral Features in a Luminous Neutron-Star Binary

@misc{hayashi2026xrism,
  title = {{XRISM Resolve Spectroscopy of GX 5-1: Constraints on Iron Spectral Features in a Luminous Neutron-Star Binary}},
  author = {Tasuku Hayashi and Shinya Yamada and Shun Inoue and Teruaki Enoto and Noriko Yamasaki and Shunji Kitamoto and Shogo Kobayashi and Yusuke Sakai and Shintaro Kaneko and Rin Ebisawa and Haruto Aoki and Kota Miyawaki and Misaki Mizumoto and Hiromitsu Takahashi},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.39842},
  eprint = {2609.39842},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39842},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - XRISM Resolve Spectroscopy of GX 5-1: Constraints on Iron Spectral Features in a Luminous Neutron-Star Binary
AU  - Tasuku Hayashi
AU  - Shinya Yamada
AU  - Shun Inoue
AU  - Teruaki Enoto
AU  - Noriko Yamasaki
AU  - Shunji Kitamoto
AU  - Shogo Kobayashi
AU  - Yusuke Sakai
AU  - Shintaro Kaneko
AU  - Rin Ebisawa
AU  - Haruto Aoki
AU  - Kota Miyawaki
AU  - Misaki Mizumoto
AU  - Hiromitsu Takahashi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.39842
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39842
AB  - GX 5-1 is one of the brightest persistent neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries in the Galaxy and one of the classical Z sources accreting at luminosities close to or above the Eddington limit. We present the first high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic study of GX 5-1 with the Resolve micro-calorimeter onboard the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), based on a 50 ks AO1 observation. With an energy resolution of approximately 5 eV at 6 keV, Resolve enables a sensitive non-dispersive search for weak and narrow spectral features in this luminous source. During the observation, GX 5-1 was located on the horizontal branch of the Z track. Although rapid spectral variability is detected on timescales of tens of ks, the variability is dominated by changes in the continuum spectral shape. No statistically significant emission or absorption features are detected in the time-averaged spectrum. Using matched-filter searches and time-resolved spectroscopy, we place stringent upper limits on the equivalent widths of low-ionization Fe K-alpha emission and highly ionized Fe XXV and Fe XXVI K-alpha transitions of EW ≲ a few eV. These results reinforce the picture that, in GX 5-1, classical Fe K diagnostics such as reflection- or wind-related features are either intrinsically weak, strongly ionized, geometrically diluted, or suppressed by rapid continuum variability. Placed in the context of the long observational history of GX 5-1 as a continuum-dominated Z source, the present XRISM result shows that this picture continues to hold even at calorimeter resolution. GX 5-1 therefore provides an important benchmark for high-resolution studies of luminous neutron-star accretion flows and demonstrates the capability of XRISM to place meaningful constraints on line formation even when no significant features are detected.
ER  -