SGR 0418+5729, Swift J1822.3-1606, and 1E 2259+586 as massive fast rotating highly magnetized white dwarfs

Following Malheiro et al. (2012) we describe the so-called low magnetic field magnetars, SGR 0418+5729, Swift J1822.3--1606, as well as the AXP prototype 1E 2259+586 as massive fast rotating highly magnetized white dwarfs. We give bounds for the mass, radius, moment of inertia, and magnetic field for these sources by requesting the stability of realistic general relativistic uniformly rotating configurations. Based on these parameters, we improve the theoretical prediction of the lower limit of the spindown rate of SGR 0418+5729; for a white dwarf close to its maximum stable we obtain the very stringent interval for the spindown rate of 4.1E-16< dP/dt < 6E-15, where the upper value is the known observational limit. A lower limit has been also set for Swift J1822.3-1606 for which a fully observationally accepted spin-down rate is still lacking. The white dwarf model provides for this source dP/dt> 2.13E-15, if the star is close to its maximum stable mass. We also present the theoretical expectation of the infrared, optical and ultraviolet emission of these objects and show their consistency with the current available observational data. We give in addition the frequencies at which absorption features could be present in the spectrum of these sources as the result of the scattering of photons with the quantized electrons by the surface magnetic field.Comment: to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Fundamental Frequencies in the Schwarzschild Spacetime

We consider the Keplerian, radial and vertical fundamental frequencies in the Schwarzschild spacetime to study the so-called kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations from low-mass X-ray binary systems. We show that, within the Relativistic Precession Model, the interpretation of observed kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in terms of the fundamental frequencies of test particles in the Schwarzschild spacetime, allows one to infer the total mass $M$ of the central object, the internal $R_{in}$ and external $R_{ex}$ radii of accretion disks, and innermost stable circular orbits $r_{ISCO}$ for test particles in a low-mass X-ray binary system. By constructing the relation between the upper and lower frequencies and exploiting the quasi-periodic oscillation data of the Z and Atoll sources we perform the non-linear model fit analysis and estimate the mass of the central object. Knowing the value of the mass we calculate the internal $R_{in}$ and external $R_{ex}$ radii of accretion disks and show that they are larger than $r_{ISCO}$, what was expected.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Quasinormal modes in the field of a dyon-like dilatonic black hole

Quasinormal modes of massless test scalar field in the background of gravitational field for a non-extremal dilatonic dyonic black hole are explored. The dyon-like black hole solution is considered in the gravitational $4d$ model involving two scalar fields and two 2-forms. It is governed by two 2-dimensional dilatonic coupling vectors $\vec{\lambda}_i$ obeying $\vec{\lambda}_i (\vec{\lambda}_1 + \vec{\lambda}_2) > 0$, $i =1,2$. The first law of black hole thermodynamics is given and the Smarr relation is verified. Quasinormal modes for a massless scalar (test) field in the eikonal approximation are obtained and analysed. These modes depend upon a dimensionless parameter $a$ ($0 < a \leq 2$) which is a function of $\vec{\lambda}_i$. For limiting strong ($a = +0$) and weak ($a = 2$) coupling cases, they coincide with the well-known results for the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstr\"om solutions. It is shown that the Hod conjecture, connecting the damping rate and the Hawking temperature, is satisfied for $0 < a \leq 1$ and all allowed values of parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 5 (double) figures, LaTex. Subsection 3.3 is extended; two typos in formulas (22) and (30) are eliminated; 2 figures and 3 references are added; a paragraph in Sec. 1 and Remark on page 10 are added; several phrases are modified. To be published in EPJ

The Erez-Rosen solution versus the Hartle-Thorne solution

In this work, we investigate the correspondence between the Erez-Rosen and Hartle-Thorne solutions. We explicitly show how to establish the relationship and find the coordinate transformations between the two metrics. For this purpose the two metrics must have the same approximation and describe the gravitational field of static objects. Since both the Erez-Rosen and the Hartle-Thorne solutions are particular solutions of a more general solution, the Zipoy-Voorhees transformation is applied to the exact Erez-Rosen metric in order to obtain a generalized solution in terms of the Zipoy-Voorhees parameter $\delta=1+sq$. The Geroch-Hansen multipole moments of the generalized Erez-Rosen metric are calculated to find the definition of the total mass and quadrupole moment in terms of the mass $m$, quadrupole $q$ and Zipoy-Voorhees $\delta$ parameters. The coordinate transformations between the metrics are found in the approximation of $\sim$q. It is shown that the Zipoy-Voorhees parameter is equal to $\delta=1-q$ with $s=-1$. This result is in agreement with previous results in the literature.Comment: Accepted for publication. 8 page

A white dwarf merger as progenitor of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61?

It has been recently proposed that massive fast-rotating highly-magnetized white dwarfs could describe the observational properties of some of Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars (AXPs). Moreover, it has also been shown that high-field magnetic (HFMWDs) can be the outcome of white dwarf binary mergers. The products of these mergers consist of a hot central white dwarf surrounded by a rapidly rotating disk. Here we show that the merger of a double degenerate system can explain the characteristics of the peculiar AXP 4U 0142+61. This scenario accounts for the observed infrared excess. We also show that the observed properties of 4U 0142+6 are consistent with an approximately 1.2 M_{\sun} white dwarf, remnant of the coalescence of an original system made of two white dwarfs of masses 0.6\, M_{\sun} and 1.0\, M_{\sun}. Finally, we infer a post-merging age $\tau_{\rm WD}\approx 64$ kyr, and a magnetic field $B\approx 2\times 10^8$ G. Evidence for such a magnetic field may come from the possible detection of the electron cyclotron absorption feature observed between the $B$ and $V$ bands at $\approx 10^{15}$ Hz in the spectrum of 4U 0142+61.Comment: to appear in ApJ Letter

Accretion Disk Luminosity for Black Holes Surrounded by Dark Matter with Anisotropic Pressure

We investigate the luminosity of the accretion disk of a static black hole surrounded by dark matter with anisotropic pressure. We calculate all basic orbital parameters of test particles in the accretion disk, such as angular velocity, angular momentum, energy, and radius of the innermost circular stable orbit as functions of the dark matter density, radial pressure, and anisotropic parameter, which establishes the relationship between the radial and tangential pressures. We show that the presence of dark matter with anisotropic pressure makes a noticeable difference in the geometry around a Schwarzschild black hole, affecting the radiative flux, differential luminosity, and spectral luminosity of the accretion disk

Tracing dark energy history with gamma ray bursts

Observations of gamma-ray bursts up to $z\sim 9$ are best suited to study the possible evolution of the Universe equation of state at intermediate redshifts. We apply the Combo-relation to a sample of 174 gamma ray bursts to investigate possible evidence of evolving dark energy parameter $w(z)$. We first build a gamma ray burst Hubble's diagram and then we estimate the set ($\Omega_m$, $\Omega_{\Lambda}$) in the framework of flat and non-flat $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. We then get bounds over the $w$CDM model, where $w$ is thought to evolve with redshift, adopting two priors over the Hubble constant in tension at $4.4$-$\sigma$, i.e. $H_0=(67.4\pm0.5)$ km/s/Mpc and $H_0=(74.03\pm1.42)$ km/s/Mpc. We show our new sample provides tighter constraints on $\Omega_m$ since at $z\leq1.2$ we see that $w(z)$ agrees within 1$\sigma$ with the standard value $w=-1$. The situation is the opposite at larger $z$, where gamma ray bursts better fix $w(z)$ that seems to deviate from $w=-1$ at $2$-$\sigma$ and $4$-$\sigma$ level, depending on the redshift bins. In particular, we investigate the $w(z)$ evolution through a piecewise formulation over seven redshift intervals. From our fitting procedure we show that at $z\geq 1.2$ the case $w<-1$ cannot be fully excluded, indicating that dark energy's influence is not negligible at larger $z$. We confirm the Combo relation as a powerful tool to investigate cosmological evolution of dark energy. Future space missions will significantly enrich the gamma ray burst database even at smaller redshifts, improving de facto the results discussed in this paper.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, ApJ submitte