1,494 research outputs found
The dominant X-ray wind in massive star binaries
We investigate which shocked wind is responsible for the majority of the
X-ray emission in colliding wind binaries, an issue where there is some
confusion in the literature, and which we show is more complicated than has
been assumed. We find that where both winds rapidly cool (typically close
binaries), the ratio of the wind speeds is often more important than the
momentum ratio, because it controls the energy flux ratio, and the faster wind
is generally the dominant emitter. When both winds are largely adiabatic
(typically long-period binaries), the slower and denser wind will cool faster
and the stronger wind generally dominates the X-ray luminosity.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted by A&A Letter
Precursors of gamma-ray bursts: a clue to the burster's nature
In relativistic strongly magnetized winds outflowing from the fast-rotating
compact progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) there are three regions where
powerful high-frequency emission may be generated: (i) the thermal photosphere,
(ii) the region of the internal wind instability and (iii) the region of the
wind interaction with an ambient gas. This results in a multicomponent
structure of GRBs. The emission from the thermal photosphere may be observed as
a weak precursor to the main burst. The precursor should have a blackbody-like
spectrum with the mean energy of photons of MeV, and its intensity
should be tens to hundreds of times smaller than that of the main GRB emission.
Observations of such precursors with future -ray missions like GLAST
can clarify the nature of bursters.Comment: 5 pages, 3 postscript figures, submitted to ApJ Let
Drifting subpulses and inner acceleration regions in radio pulsars
The classical vacuum gap model of Ruderman & Sutherland, in which
spark-associated subbeams of subpulse emission circulate around the magnetic
axis due to the EB drift, provides a natural and plausible physical mechanism
of the subpulse drift phenomenon. Recent progress in the analysis of drifting
subpulses in pulsars has provided a strong support to this model by revealing a
number of subbeams circulating around the magnetic axis in a manner compatible
with theoretical predictions. However, a more detailed analysis revealed that
the circulation speed in a pure vacuum gap is too high when compared with
observations. Moreover, some pulsars demonstrate significant time variations of
the drift rate, including a change of the apparent drift direction, which is
obviously inconsistent with the EB drift scenario in a pure vacuum gap. We
resolved these discrepancies by considering a partial flow of iron ions from
the positively charged polar cap, coexisting with the production of outflowing
electron-positron plasmas. By fitting the observationally deduced drift-rates
to the theoretical values, we managed to estimate polar cap surface
temperatures in a number of pulsars. The estimated surface temperatures
correspond to a small charge depletion of the order of a few percent of the
corotational charge density. We also argue that if the thermionic electron
outflow from the surface of a negatively charged polar cap is slightly below
the Goldreich-Julian density, then the resulting small charge depletion will
have similar consequences as in the case of the ions outflow. We thus believe
that the sparking discharge of a partially shielded acceleration potential drop
occurs in all pulsars, with both positively (``pulsars'') and negatively
(``anti-pulsars'') charged polar caps
Real and virtual photons in an external constant electromagnetic field of most general form
The photon behavior in an arbitrary superposition of constant magnetic and
electric fields is considered on most general grounds basing on the first
principles like Lorentz- gauge- charge- and parity-invariance. We make model-
and approximation-independent, but still rather informative, statements about
the behavior that the requirement of causal propagation prescribes to massive
and massless branches of dispersion curves, and describe the way the eigenmodes
are polarized. We find, as a consequence of Hermiticity in the transparency
domain, that adding a smaller electric field to a strong magnetic field in
parallel to the latter causes enhancement of birefringence. We find the
magnetic field produced by a point electric charge far from it (a manifestation
of magneto-electric phenomenon). We establish degeneracies of the polarization
tensor that (under special kinematic conditions) occur due to space-time
symmetries of the vacuum left after the external field is imposed.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, 57 equations, reference list of 38 item
Yet Another Model of Gamma-Ray Bursts
Sari and Piran have demonstrated that the time structure of gamma-ray bursts
must reflect the time structure of their energy release. A model which
satisfies this condition uses the electrodynamic emission of energy by the
magnetized rotating ring of dense matter left by neutron star coalescence; GRB
are essentially fast, high field, differentially rotating pulsars. The energy
densities are large enough that the power appears as an outflowing equilibrium
pair plasma, which produces the burst by baryon entrainment and subsequent
internal shocks. I estimate the magnetic field and characteristic time scale
for its rearrangement, which determines the observed time structure of the
burst. There may be quasi-periodic oscillations at the rotational frequencies,
which are predicted to range up to 5770 Hz (in a local frame). This model is
one of a general class of electrodynamic accretion models which includes the
Blandford and Lovelace model of AGN, and which can also be applied to black
hole X-ray sources of stellar mass. The apparent efficiency of nonthermal
particle acceleration is predicted to be 10--50%, but higher values are
possible if the underlying accretion flow is super-Eddington. Applications to
high energy gamma-ray observations of AGN are briefly discussed.Comment: 21pp, latex, uses aaspp4.st
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