472 research outputs found
A continuous Flaring- to Normal-branch transition in Sco X-1
We report the first resolved rapid transition from a Flaring Branch
Oscillation to a Normal Branch Oscillation in the RXTE data of the Z source Sco
X-1. The transition took place on a time scale of ~100 seconds and was clearly
associated to the Normal Branch-Flaring Branch vertex in the color-color
diagram. We discuss the results in the context of the possible association of
the Normal Branch Oscillation with other oscillations known both in
Neutron-Star and Black-Hole systems, concentrating on the similarities with the
narrow 4-6 Hz oscillations observed at high flux in Black-Hole Candidates.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
The Peculiar Evolutionary History of IGR J17480-2446 in Terzan 5
The low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) IGR J17480-2446 in the globular cluster
Terzan 5 harbors an 11 Hz accreting pulsar. This is the first object discovered
in a globular cluster with a pulsar spinning at such low rate. The accreting
pulsar is anomalous because its characteristics are very different from the
other five known slow accreting pulsars in galactic LMXBs. Many features of the
11 Hz pulsar are instead very similar to those of accreting millisecond
pulsars, spinning at frequencies >100 Hz. Understanding this anomaly is
valuable because IGR J17480-2446 can be the only accreting pulsar discovered so
far which is in the process of becoming an accreting millisecond pulsar. We
first verify that the neutron star (NS) in IGR J17480-2446 is indeed spinning
up by carefully analyzing X-ray data with coherent timing techniques that
account for the presence of timing noise. We then study the present Roche lobe
overflow epoch and the two previous spin-down epochs dominated by magneto
dipole radiation and stellar wind accretion. We find that IGR J17480-2446 is
very likely a mildly recycled pulsar and suggest that it has started a spin-up
phase in an exceptionally recent time, that has lasted less than a few 10^7 yr.
We also find that the total age of the binary is surprisingly low (<10^8 yr)
when considering typical parameters for the newborn NS and propose different
scenarios to explain this anomaly.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, in pres
ROSAT Observations of the Vela Pulsar
The ROSAT HRI was used to monitor X-ray emission from the Vela Pulsar. Six
observations span 2-1/2 years and 3 glitches. The summed data yield a
determination of the pulse shape, and X-ray emission from the pulsar is found
to be 12 % pulsed with one broad and two narrow peaks. One observation occurred
15 days after a large glitch. No change in pulse structure was observed and any
change in X-ray luminosity, if present, was less than 3 %. Implications for
neutron star structure are discussed.Comment: To be publisned in the Astrophysical Journa
Damping of differential rotation in neutron stars
We derive the transport relaxation times for quasiparticle-vortex scattering
processes via nuclear force, relevant for the damping of differential rotation
of superfluids in the quantum liquid core of a neutron star. The proton
scattering off the neutron vortices provides the dominant resistive force on
the vortex lattice at all relevant temperatures in the phase where neutrons
only are in the paired state. If protons are superconducting, a small fraction
of hyperons and resonances in the normal state would be the dominant source of
friction on neutron and proton vortex lattices at the core temperatures K.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, Phys. Rev. D 58, Rapid Communication, in pres
Microscopic structure of a vortex line in superfluid neutron star matter
The microscopic structure of an isolated vortex line in superfluid neutron
star matter is studied by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. Our
calculation, which is the starting point for a microscopic calculation of
pinning forces in neutron stars, shows that the size of the vortex core varies
differently with density, and is in general smaller than assumed in some
earlier calculations of vortex pinning in neutron star crusts. The implications
of this result are discussedComment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Transcutaneous immunisation assisted by low-frequency ultrasound.
Low-frequency ultrasound application is known to increase the skin's permeability to large molecules such as vaccines, and to enable transcutaneous immunisation. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) - a skin irritant - is often included in the coupling medium at 1% (w/v), as this has been found to enhance skin permeability. In this paper we show, for the first time, the feasibility of low-frequency ultrasound-assisted transcutaneous immunisation in the absence of SDS. Antibody titres were strongly influenced by experimental conditions. SDS presence in the coupling medium increased antibody titres, though a lower concentration of 0.5% (w/v) generated much higher titres than the commonly used 1% (w/v), despite causing less skin damage. A lower ultrasound duty cycle of 10% generated higher antibody titres than a duty cycle of 20%, also despite causing lower skin damage. Such lack of correlation between skin damage and immune responses indicates that enhancement of skin permeability to topically applied antigen (as indicated by changes in skin integrity) was not the main mechanism of low-frequency ultrasound-assisted skin immunisation
The rigidity of crystalline color superconducting quark matter
We calculate the shear modulus of crystalline color superconducting quark
matter, showing that this phase of dense, but not asymptotically dense,
three-flavor quark matter responds to shear stress like a very rigid solid. To
evaluate the shear modulus, we derive the low energy effective Lagrangian that
describes the phonons that originate from the spontaneous breaking of
translation invariance by the spatial modulation of the gap parameter .
These massless bosons describe space- and time-dependent fluctuations of the
crystal structure and are analogous to the phonons in ordinary crystals. The
coefficients of the spatial derivative terms of the phonon effective Lagrangian
are related to the elastic moduli of the crystal; the coefficients that encode
the linear response of the crystal to a shearing stress define the shear
modulus. We analyze the two particular crystal structures which are
energetically favored over a wide range of densities, in each case evaluating
the phonon effective action and the shear modulus up to order in a
Ginzburg-Landau expansion, finding shear moduli which are 20 to 1000 times
larger than those of neutron star crusts. The crystalline color superconducting
phase has long been known to be a superfluid -- by picking a phase its order
parameter breaks the quark-number symmetry spontaneously. Our results
demonstrate that this superfluid phase of matter is at the same time a rigid
solid. We close with a rough estimate of the pinning force on the rotational
vortices which would be formed embedded within this rigid superfluid upon
rotation. Our results raise the possibility that (some) pulsar glitches could
originate within a quark matter core deep within a neutron star.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures. v3. Two new paragraphs in Section V
(Conclusion); some additional small changes. A paragraph discussing
supercurrents added in Section I (Introduction). Version to appear in Phys.
Rev.
X-Ray and Infrared Enhancement of Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1E 2259+58
The long term (~1.5 years) X-ray enhancement and the accompanying infrared
enhancement light curves of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 2259+58 following the
major bursting epoch can be accounted for by the relaxation of a fall back disk
that has been pushed back by a gamma-ray flare. The required burst energy
estimated from the results of our model fits is low enough for such a burst to
have remained below the detection limits. We find that an irradiated disk model
with a low irradiation efficiency is in good agreement with both X-ray and
infrared data. Non-irradiated disk models also give a good fit to the X-ray
light curve, but are not consistent with the infrared data for the first week
of the enhancement.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The effect of realistic equations of state and general relativity on the "snowplow" model for pulsar glitches
Many pulsars are observed to "glitch", i.e. show sudden jumps in their
rotational frequency , some of which can be as large as in a subset of pulsars known as giant
glitchers. Recently Pizzochero (2011) has shown that an analytic model based on
realistic values for the pinning forces in the crust and for the angular
momentum transfer in the star can describe the average properties of giant
glitches, such as the inter-glitch waiting time, the step in frequency and that
in frequency derivative. In this paper we extend the model (originally
developed in Newtonian gravity and for a polytropic equation of state) to
realistic backgrounds obtained by integrating the relativistic equations of
stellar structure and using physically motivated equations of state to describe
matter in the neutron star. We find that this more detailed treatment still
reproduces the main features of giant glitches in the Vela pulsar and allows us
to set constraints on the equation of state. In particular we find that stiffer
equations of state are favoured and that it is unlikely that the Vela pulsar
has a high mass (larger than ).Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submitted to MNRA
Timing behavior of the Magnetically Active Rotation-Powered Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant Kestevan 75
We report a large spin-up glitch in PSR J1846-0258 which coincided with the
onset of magnetar-like behavior on 2006 May 31. We show that the pulsar
experienced an unusually large glitch recovery, with a recovery fraction of
Q=8.7+/- 2.5, resulting in a net decrease of the pulse frequency. Such a glitch
recovery has never before been observed in a rotation-powered pulsar, however,
similar but smaller glitch over-recovery has been recently reported in the
magnetar AXP 4U~0142+61 and may have occurred in the SGR 1900+14. We also
report a large increase in the timing noise of the source. We discuss the
implications of the unusual timing behavior in PSR J1846-0258 on its status as
the first identified magnetically active rotation-powered pulsar.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal. Incorporates changes from an anonymous referee; additional analysis
and discussion include
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