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Magnetic field of accreting neutron stars determines their overall behaviourincluding the maximum possible luminosity. Some models require an above-averagemagnetic field strength (> 10^13 G) in order to explain super-Eddington massaccretion rate in the recently discovered class of pulsating ultraluminousX-ray sources (ULX). The peak luminosity of SMC X-3 during its major outburstin 2016-2017 reached ~2.5x10^39 erg/s comparable to that in ULXs thus makingthis source the nearest ULX-pulsar. SMC X-3 belongs to the class of transientX-ray pulsars with Be optical companions, and exhibited a giant outburst inJuly 2016 - February 2017. The source has been observed during the entireoutburst with the Swift/XRT and Fermi/GBM telescopes, as well as the NuSTARobservatory. Collected data allowed us to estimate the magnetic field strengthof the neutron star in SMC X-3 using several independent methods. Spinevolution of the source during and between the outbursts and the luminosity ofthe transition to so-called propeller regime in the range of (0.3 - 7)x10^35erg/s imply relatively weak dipole field of (1 - 5)x10^12 G. On the other hand,there is also evidence for much stronger field in the immediate vicinity of theneutron star surface. In particular, transition from super- to sub-criticalaccretion regime associated with cease of the accretion column, absence ofcyclotron absorption features in the broadband X-ray spectrum of the sourceobtained with NuSTAR and very high peak luminosity favor an order of magnitudestronger field. This discrepancy makes SMC X-3 a good candidate to possessignificant non-dipolar components of the field, and an intermediate sourcebetween classical X-ray pulsars and accreting magnetars which may constitute anappreciable fraction of ULX population.

SMC X-3: the closest ultraluminous X-ray source powered by a neutron star with non-dipole magnetic field