Spectral evolution of RX J0440.9+4431 during the 2022–2023 giant outburst observed with Insight-HXMT

In 2022–2023, the Be/X-ray binary X-ray pulsar RX J0440.9+4431 underwent a Type II giant outburst, reaching a peak luminosity of LX ∼ × 1037 erg s−1. In this work, we utilized Insight-HXMT data to analyze the spectral evolution of RX J0440.9+4431 during the giant outburst. By analyzing the variation in the X-ray spectrum during the outburst using standard phenomenological models, we find that as the luminosity approaches the critical luminosity, the spectrum becomes flatter, with the photon enhancement predominantly concentrated around ∼2 keV and 20–40 keV. The same behavior has also been noted in Type II outbursts from other sources. While the phenomenological models provide good fits to the spectrum, it is sometimes difficult to gain insight into details of the fundamental accretion physics using this approach. Hence, we also analyzed spectra obtained during high and low phases of the outburst using a new, recently developed physics-based theoretical model that allows us to study the variations in the physical parameters during the outburst, such as the temperature, density, and magnetic field strength. Application of the theoretical model reveals that the observed spectrum is dominated by Comptonized bremsstrahlung emission emitted from the column walls in both the high and low states. We show that the spectral flattening observed at high luminosities results from a decrease in the electron temperature, combined with a compactification of the emission zone, which reduces the efficiency of bulk Comptonization. We also demonstrate that when the source is at maximum luminosity, the spectrum tends to harden around the peak of the pulse profile, and we discuss possible theoretical explanations for this behavior. We argue that the totality of the behavior in this source can be explained if the accretion column is in a quasi-critical state at the time of maximum luminosity during the outburst.