4,948 research outputs found
Probing X-ray burst -- accretion disk interaction in low mass X-ray binaries through kilohertz quasiperiodic oscillations
The intense radiation flux of Type I X-ray bursts is expected to interact
with the accretion flow around neutron stars. High frequency quasiperiodic
oscillations (kHz QPOs), observed at frequencies matching orbital frequencies
at tens of gravitational radii, offer a unique probe of the innermost disk
regions. In this paper, we follow the lower kHz QPOs, in response to Type I
X-ray bursts, in two prototypical QPO sources, namely 4U 1636-536 and 4U
1608-522, as observed by the Proportional Counter Array of the Rossi X-ray
Timing Explorer. We have selected a sample of 15 bursts for which the kHz QPO
frequency can be tracked on timescales commensurable with the burst durations
(tens of seconds). We find evidence that the QPOs are affected for over ~200 s
during one exceptionally long burst and ~100 s during two others (although at a
less significant level), while the burst emission has already decayed to a
level that would enable the pre-burst QPO to be detected. On the other hand,
for most of our burst-kHz QPO sample, we show that the QPO is detected as soon
as the statistics allow and in the best cases, we are able to set an upper
limit of ~20 s on the recovery time of the QPO. This diversity of behavior
cannot be related to differences in burst peak luminosity. We discuss these
results in the framework of recent findings that accretion onto the neutron
star may be enhanced during Type I X-ray bursts. The subsequent disk depletion
could explain the disappearance of the QPO for ~100 s, as possibly observed in
two events. However, alternative scenarios would have to be invoked for
explaining the short recovery timescales inferred from most bursts. Clearly the
combination of fast timing and spectral information of Type I X-ray bursts
holds great potential in the study of the dynamics of the inner accretion flow
around neutron stars.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, appears in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 567,
id.A80, published 07/201
Monte-Carlo simulations of the background of the coded-mask camera for X- and Gamma-rays on-board the Chinese-French GRB mission SVOM
For several decades now, wide-field coded mask cameras have been used with
success to localise Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In these instruments, the event
count rate is dominated by the photon background due to their large field of
view and large effective area. It is therefore essential to estimate the
instrument background expected in orbit during the early phases of the
instrument design in order to optimise the scientific performances of the
mission. We present here a detailed study of the instrument background and
sensitivity of the coded-mask camera for X- and Gamma-rays (CXG) to be used in
the detection and localisation of high-redshift GRBs on-board the international
GRB mission SVOM. To compute the background spectrum, a Monte-Carlo approach
was used to simulate the primary and secondary interactions between particles
from the main components of the space environment that SVOM will encounter
along its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (with an altitude of 600 km and an inclination
of ~ 30 deg) and the body of the CXG. We consider the detailed mass model of
the CXG in its latest design. According to our results, i) the design of the
passive shield of the camera ensures that in the 4-50 keV imaging band the
cosmic X-Gamma-ray background is dominant whilst the internal background should
start to become dominant above 70-90 keV; ii) the current camera design ensures
that the CXG camera will be more sensitive to high-redshift GRBs than the Swift
Burst Alert Telescope thanks to a low-energy threshold of 4 keV.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures (1 colour), accepted for publication in Nuclear
Instruments and Methods in Physics Research: Section
Unauthorized Practice of Law--The Full Service Bank That Was: Bank Cashier Enjoined from Preparing Real Estate Mortgages to Secure Bank Loans
RXTE Studies of X-ray Spectral Variations with Accretion Rate in 4U 1915-05
We present the results of detailed spectral studies of the ultra-compact low
mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1915-05 carried out with the Rossi X-ray Timing
Explorer (RXTE) during 1996. 4U 1915-05 is an X-ray burster (XRB) known to
exhibit a ~199-day modulation in its 2--12 keV flux. Observations were
performed with the PCA and HEXTE instruments on RXTE at roughly one-month
intervals to sample this long-term period and study accretion rate-related
spectral changes. We obtain good fits with a model consisting of a blackbody
and an exponentially cut-off power law. The spectral parameters are strongly
correlated with both the broad-band (2--50 keV) luminosity and the position in
the color-color diagram, with the source moving from a low hard state to a high
soft state as the accretion rate increases. The blackbody component appears to
drive the spectral evolution. Our results are consistent with a geometry in
which the soft component arises from an optically thick boundary layer and the
hard component from an extended Comptonizing corona. Comparing our results with
those of a similar study of the brighter source 4U 1820-30 (Bloser et al.
2000), we find that the two ultra-compact LMXBs occupy similar spectral states
even though the transitions occur at very different total luminosities.Comment: 27 pages LaTeX, 8 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
X-ray sources and their optical counterparts in the globular cluster M 22
Using XMM-Newton EPIC imaging data, we have detected 50 low-luminosity X-ray
sources in the field of view of M 22, where 5 +/- 3 of these sources are likely
to be related to the cluster. Using differential optical photometry, we have
identified probable counterparts to those sources belonging to the cluster.
Using X-ray spectroscopic and timing studies, supported by the optical colours,
we propose that the most central X-ray sources in the cluster are cataclysmic
variables, millisecond pulsars, active binaries and a blue straggler. We also
identify a cluster of galaxies behind this globular cluster.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Constraining the equation of state of supra-nuclear dense matter from XMM-Newton observations of neutron stars in globular clusters
We report on the detailed modelling of the X-ray spectra of three likely
neutron stars. The neutron stars, observed with XMM-Newton are found in three
quiescent X-ray binaries in the globular clusters: omega Cen, M 13 and NGC
2808. Whether they are accreting at very low rates or radiating energy from an
accretion heated core, their X-ray spectra are expected to be those of a
hydrogen atmosphere. We use and compare publicly available hydrogen atmosphere
models, with constant and varying surface gravities to constrain the masses and
radii of the neutron stars. Thanks to the high XMM-Newton throughput, and the
accurate distances available for these clusters, using the latest science
analysis software release and calibration of the XMM-Newton EPIC cameras, we
derive the most stringent constraints on the masses and radii of the neutron
stars obtained to date from these systems. A comparison of the models indicate
that previously used hydrogen atmosphere models (assuming constant surface
gravity) tend to underestimate the mass and overestimate the radius of neutron
stars. Our data constrain the allowed equations of state to those which concern
normal nucleonic matter and one possible strange quark matter model, thus
constraining radii to be from 8 km and masses up to 2.4 M.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted to be published in The Astrophysical
Journa
An ADM 3+1 formulation for Smooth Lattice General Relativity
A new hybrid scheme for numerical relativity will be presented. The scheme
will employ a 3-dimensional spacelike lattice to record the 3-metric while
using the standard 3+1 ADM equations to evolve the lattice. Each time step will
involve three basic steps. First, the coordinate quantities such as the Riemann
and extrinsic curvatures are extracted from the lattice. Second, the 3+1 ADM
equations are used to evolve the coordinate data, and finally, the coordinate
data is used to update the scalar data on the lattice (such as the leg
lengths). The scheme will be presented only for the case of vacuum spacetime
though there is no reason why it could not be extended to non-vacuum
spacetimes. The scheme allows any choice for the lapse function and shift
vectors. An example for the Kasner cosmology will be presented and it
will be shown that the method has, for this simple example, zero discretisation
error.Comment: 18 pages, plain TeX, 5 epsf figues, gzipped ps file also available at
http://newton.maths.monash.edu.au:8000/preprints/3+1-slgr.ps.g
INTEGRAL observations of the Be/X-ray binary EXO 2030+375 during outburst
We present a type-I outburst of the high-mass X-ray binary EXO 2030+375,
detected during INTEGRAL's Performance and Verification Phase in December 2002
(on-source time about 10e+06 seconds). In addition, six more outbursts have
been observed during INTEGRAL's Galactic Plane Scans. X-ray pulsations have
been detected with a pulse period of 41.691798+-0.000016 s. The X-ray
luminosity in the 5-300 keV energy range was 9.7*10e+36 erg/s, for a distance
of 7.1 kpc. Two unusual features were found in the light curve, with an initial
peak before the main outburst and another possible spike after the maximum.
RXTE observations confirm only the existence of the initial spike. Although the
initial peak appears to be a recurrent feature, the physical mechanisms
producing it and the possible second spike are unknown. Moreover, a four-day
delay between periastron passage and the peak of the outburst is observed. We
present for the first time a 5-300 keV broad-band spectrum of this source. It
can be modelled by the sum of a disk black body (kT_bb~8 keV) with either a
power law model with Gamma=2.04+-0.11 keV or a Comptonized component (spherical
geometry, kT_e=30 keV, tau=2.64, kT_W=1.5 keV).Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, to be published in A&
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