68,654 research outputs found
Black-Hole Transients and the Eddington Limit
I show that the Eddington limit implies a critical orbital period P_crit(BH)
= 2d beyond which black-hole LMXBs cannot appear as persistent systems. The
unusual behaviour of GRO J1655-40 may result from its location close to this
critical period.Comment: 3 pages, no figures; to appear in MNRA
Magnetic Fields, Accretion, and the Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts
I briefly review magnetic effects in accretion physics, and then go on to
discuss a possible central engine for gamma-ray bursts. A rotating black hole
immersed in a non-axisymmetric magnetic field experiences a torque trying to
align spin and field. I suggest that gamma-ray burst hosts may provide
conditions where this effect allows rapid extraction of a significant fraction
of the hole's rotational energy. I argue that much of the electromagnetic
emission is in two narrow beams parallel and antiparallel to the asymptotic
field direction. This picture suggests that only a mass 10^-5 Msun is expelled
in a relativistic outflow, as required by the fireball picture.Comment: 8 pages, Invited talk to appear in the Proceedings of Magnetic Fields
in the Universe, Angra dos Reis, Brazil, November 28 - December 3 200
Masses, Beaming and Eddington Ratios in Ultraluminous X-ray Sources
I suggest that the beaming factor in bright ULXs varies as , where is the Eddington ratio for accretion. This is required
by the observed universal relation between
soft--excess luminosity and temperature, and is reasonable on general physical
grounds. The beam scaling means that all observable properties of bright ULXs
depend essentially only on the Eddington ratio , and that these systems
vary mainly because the beaming is sensitive to the Eddington ratio. This
suggests that bright ULXs are stellar--mass systems accreting at Eddington
ratios of order 10 -- 30, with beaming factors b \ga 0.1. Lower--luminosity
ULXs follow bolometric (not soft--excess) correlations and
probably represent {\it sub}--Eddington accretion on to black holes with masses
\sim 10\msun. High--mass X-ray binaries containing black holes or neutron
stars and undergoing rapid thermal-- or nuclear--timescale mass transfer are
excellent candidates for explaining both types. If the
scaling for bright ULXs can be extrapolated to the Eddington ratios found in
SS433, some objects currently identified as AGN at modest redshifts might
actually be ULXs (`pseudoblazars'). This may explain cases where the active
source does not coincide with the centre of the host galaxy.Comment: MNRAS Letters, in pres
The Spin Period of EX Hydrae
We show that the spin period of the white dwarf in the magnetic CV EX Hydrae
represents an equilibrium state in which the corotation radius is comparable
with the distance from the white dwarf to the inner Lagrange point. We also
show that a continuum of spin equilibria exists at which Pspin is significantly
longer than \sim 0.1 Porb. Most systems occupying these equilibrium states
should have orbital periods below the CV period gap, as observed.Comment: MNRAS, accepte
Black Hole Winds
We show that black holes accreting at or above the Eddington rate probably
produce winds which are optically thick in the continuum, whether in quasars or
X-ray binaries. The photospheric radius and outflow speed are proportional to
\mo^2 and \mo^-1 respectively, where \mo is the mass outflow rate. The outflow
momentum rate is always of order L_Edd/c. Blackbody emission from these winds
may provide the big blue bump in some quasars and AGN, as well as ultrasoft
X-ray components in ULXs.Comment: 3 pages, no figures; MNRAS, in press (with minor corrections applied
The Virtual Runner Learning Game
A learning game has been developed which allows learners to study and learn about the significance of three important variables in human physiology (lactate, glycogen, and hydration) and their influence on sports performance during running. The player can control the speed of the runner, and as a consequence the resulting physiological processes are simulated in real-time. The performance degradation of the runner due to these processes requires that different strategies for pacing the running speed are applied by the player, depending on the total length of the run. The game has been positively evaluated in a real learning context of academic physiology teaching
The standstill luminosity in Z Cam systems
We consider accretion discs in close binary systems. We show that heating of
a disc at the impact point of the accretion stream contributes significantly to
the local energy budget at its outer edge. As a result the thermal balance
relation between local accretion rate and surface density (the `S-curve')
changes; the critical mass transfer rate above which no dwarf nova outbursts
occur can be up to 40% smaller than without impact heating. Standstills in ZCam
systems thus occur at smaller mass transfer rates than otherwise expected, and
are rather fainter than the peak luminosity during the dwarf nova phase as a
result.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Fuelling Active Galactic Nuclei
We suggest that most nearby active galactic nuclei are fed by a series of
small--scale, randomly--oriented accretion events. Outside a certain radius
these events promote rapid star formation, while within it they fuel the
supermassive black hole. We show that the events have a characteristic time
evolution. This picture agrees with several observational facts. The expected
luminosity function is broadly in agreement with that observed for
moderate--mass black holes. The spin of the black hole is low, and aligns with
the inner disc in each individual feeding event. This implies radio jets
aligned with the axis of the obscuring torus, and uncorrelated with the
large--scale structure of the host galaxy. The ring of young stars observed
about the Galactic Centre are close to where our picture predicts that star
formation should occur.Comment: MNRAS, in pres
Black Widow Pulsars: the Price of Promiscuity
The incidence of evaporating 'black widow' pulsars (BWPs) among all
millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is far higher in globular clusters than in the
field. This implies a special formation mechanism for them in clusters. Cluster
MSPs in wide binaries with WD companions exchange them for turnoff-mass stars.
These new companions eventually overflow their Roche lobes because of
encounters and tides. The millisecond pulsars eject the overflowing gas from
the binary, giving mass loss on the binary evolution timescale. The systems are
only observable as BWPs at epochs where this evolution is slow, making the mass
loss transparent and the lifetime long. This explains why observed BWPs have
low-mass companions. We suggest that at least some field BWPs were ejected from
globular clusters or entered the field population when the cluster itself was
disrupted.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS in pres
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