Fast rotation of neutron stars and equation of state of dense matter

Fast rotation of compact stars (at submillisecond period) and, in particular, their stability, are sensitive to the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter. Recent observations of XTE J1739-285 suggest that it contains a neutron star rotating at 1122 Hz (Kaaret et al. 2007). At such rotational frequency the effects of rotation on star's structure are significant. We study the interplay of fast rotation, EOS and gravitational mass of a submillisecond pulsar. We discuss the EOS dependence of spin-up to a submillisecond period, via mass accretion from a disk in a low-mass X-ray binary.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of the "Jean-Pierre Lasota, X-ray binaries, accretion disks and compact stars" conference, edited by M. Abramowicz and O. Straub, New Astronomy Reviews (Elsevier 2008), in pres

Evidence for 3XMM J185246.6+003317 as a massive magnetar with a low magnetic field

3XMM J185246.6+003317 is a transient magnetar located in the vicinity of the supernova remnant Kes\,79. So far, observations have only set upper limits to its surface magnetic field and spindown, and there is no estimate for its mass and radius. Using ray-tracing modelling and Bayesian inference for the analysis of several light curves spanning a period of around three weeks, we have found that it may be one of the most massive neutron stars to date. In addition, our analysis suggests a multipolar magnetic field structure with a subcritical field strength and a carbon atmosphere composition. Due to the time-resolution limitation of the available light curves, we estimate the surface magnetic field and the mass to be $\log_{10} (B/{\rm G}) = 11.89^{+0.19}_{-0.93}$ and $M=2.09^{+0.16}_{-0.09}$~$M_{\odot}$ at $1\sigma$ confidence level, while the radius is estimated to be $R=12.02^{+1.44}_{-1.42}$ km at $2\sigma$ confidence level. They were verified by simulations, i.e., data injections with known model parameters, and their subsequent recovery. The best-fitting model has three small hot spots, two of them in the southern hemisphere. These are, however, just first estimates and conclusions, based on a simple ray-tracing model with anisotropic emission; we also estimate the impact of modelling on the parameter uncertainties and the relevant phenomena on which to focus in more precise analyses. We interpret the above best-fitting results as due to accretion of supernova layers/interstellar medium onto 3XMM J185246.6+003317 leading to burying and a subsequent re-emergence of the magnetic field, and a carbon atmosphere being formed possibly due to hydrogen/helium diffusive nuclear burning. Finally, we briefly discuss some consequences of our findings for superdense matter constraints.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in Journal of High Energy Astrophysics (JHEAP

Crustal Failure as a Tool to Probe Hybrid Stars

It is currently unknown if neutron stars (NSs) are composed of nucleons only or are hybrid stars, i.e., in addition to nucleonic crusts and outer cores, they also possess quark cores. Quantum chromodynamics allows for such a possibility, but accurate calculations relevant for compact stars are still elusive. Here we investigate some crust-breaking aspects of hybrid stars. We show that the crust-breaking frequency and maximum fiducial ellipticity are sensitive to the quark–hadron density jump and equation of state stiffness. Remarkably, the crust-breaking frequency related to static tides scales linearly with the mass of the star (for a given companion mass), and its slope encompasses information about the microphysics of the star. However, for precise crust-breaking frequency predictions, relativistic corrections to Kepler’s third law and the Newtonian tidal field should not be ignored. When a liquid quark core touches an elastic hadronic phase (the result of a significant energy density jump), the maximum ellipticity can increase by around an order of magnitude when compared to a liquid quark core touching a liquid hadronic phase. That is relevant because it would increase the odds of detecting continuous gravitational waves from NSs. Our order-of-magnitude analysis also suggests that a given upper limit to the ellipticity (crust-breaking frequency) could have representatives in stars with either small or intermediate (large) energy density jumps. Therefore, when upper limits to the ellipticity for isolated stars are better constrained or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., gamma-ray precursors) is detected along with gravitational waves in inspiraling binary systems, they may help constrain some aspects of phase transitions in NSs

Accurate Ray-tracing of Realistic Neutron Star Atmospheres for Constraining Their Parameters

International audienceThermal-dominated X-ray spectra of neutron stars in quiescent, transient X-ray binaries and neutron stars that undergo thermonuclear bursts are sensitive to mass and radius. The mass–radius relation of neutron stars depends on the equation of state (EoS) that governs their interior. Constraining this relation accurately is therefore of fundamental importance to understand the nature of dense matter. In this context, we introduce a pipeline to calculate realistic model spectra of rotating neutron stars with hydrogen and helium atmospheres. An arbitrarily fast-rotating neutron star with a given EoS generates the spacetime in which the atmosphere emits radiation. We use the Lorene/nrotstar code to compute the spacetime numerically and the Atm24 code to solve the radiative transfer equations self-consistently. Emerging specific intensity spectra are then ray-traced through the neutron star’s spacetime from the atmosphere to a distant observer with the Gyoto code. Here, we present and test our fully relativistic numerical pipeline. To discuss and illustrate the importance of realistic atmosphere models, we compare our model spectra to simpler models like the commonly used isotropic color-corrected blackbody emission. We highlight the importance of considering realistic model-atmosphere spectra together with relativistic ray-tracing to obtain accurate predictions. We also insist upon the crucial impact of the star’s rotation on the observables. Finally, we close a controversy that has been ongoing in the literature in the recent years, regarding the validity of the Atm24 code