A pointed observation of the galactic high-mass X–ray binary 4U 0114+65 was carried out with BeppoSAX to compare the X–ray spectral and timing characteristics observed by this satellite over the broadest range of energies thus far ( 1.5–100 keV ) with the information previously obtained with other spacecraft .
The light curve of 4U 0114+65 shows a large flare at the beginning of the BeppoSAX pointing and no significant hardness evolution either during the flare or in the low state occurring after the flare itself .
The modulation at \sim 2.7 hours , attributed to the accreting neutron star ( NS ) spin periodicity , is not significantly detected in our data , although fluctuations with timescales of \sim 3 hours can be seen in the 2–10 keV light curve .
Shorter modulations down to timescales of minutes are also found and interpreted as due to accretion of matter onto the NS .
The flaring and the low state spectra of 4U 0114+65 can be equally well fitted either with a power law modulated by a high-energy exponential cutoff or with a Comptonization model .
During the low state the presence , although tentative , of a thermal component ( with kT \sim 0.3 keV ) at low energies , possibly produced by an ionized plasma cloud around the NS , can not be excluded .
Contrary to previous claims , a cyclotron resonant feature in absorption at \sim 22 keV was not detected in the BeppoSAX spectroscopic data , whereas evidence for a Fe emission line around 6.4 keV is found only during the low state emission .
Using all of the above information , a scenario for the system in which the NS is embedded in , and accreting from , a low angular momentum gas cloud is envisaged .