912 research outputs found
Three Disk Oscillation Modes of Rotating Magnetized Neutron Stars
We discuss three specific modes of accretion disks around rotating magnetized
neutron stars which may explain the separations of the kilo Hertz quasi
periodic oscillations (QPO) seen in low mass X-ray binaries. The existence of
these modes requires that there be a maximum in the angular velocity of the
accreting material, and that the fluid is in stable, nearly circular motion
near this maximum rather than moving rapidly towards the star or out of the
disk plane into funnel flows. It is presently not known if these conditions
occur, but we are exploring this with 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations and
will report the results elsewhere. The first mode is a corotation mode which is
radially trapped in the vicinity of the maximum of the disk rotation rate and
is unstable. The second mode, relevant to relatively slowly rotating stars, is
a magnetically driven eccentric () oscillation of the disk excited at a
Lindblad radius in the vicinity of the maximum of the disk rotation. The third
mode, relevant to rapidly rotating stars, is a magnetically coupled eccentric
() and an axisymmetric () radial disk perturbation which has an inner
Lindblad radius also in the vicinity of the maximum of the disk rotation. We
suggest that the first mode is associated with the upper QPO frequency,
, the second with the lower QPO frequency, , and
the third with the lower QPO frequency, , where
is the star's rotation rate.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Accretion dynamics in the classical T Tauri star V2129 Oph
We analyze the photometric and spectroscopic variability of the classical T
Tauri star V2129 Oph over several rotational cycles to test the dynamical
predictions of magnetospheric accretion models. The photometric variability and
the radial velocity variations in the photospheric lines can be explained by
rotational modulation due to cold spots, while the radial velocity variations
of the He I (5876 \AA) line and the veiling variability are due to hot spot
rotational modulation. The hot and cold spots are located at high latitudes and
about the same phase, but the hot spot is expected to sit at the chromospheric
level, while the cold spot is at the photospheric level. Using the
dipole+octupole magnetic-field configuration previously proposed in the
literature for the system, we compute 3D MHD magnetospheric simulations of the
star-disk system. We use the simulation's density, velocity and scaled
temperature structures as input to a radiative transfer code, from which we
calculate theoretical line profiles at all rotational phases. The theoretical
profiles tend to be narrower than the observed ones, but the qualitative
behavior and the observed rotational modulation of the H\alpha and H\beta
emission lines are well reproduced by the theoretical profiles. The
spectroscopic and photometric variability observed in V2129 Oph support the
general predictions of complex magnetospheric accretion models with
non-axisymmetric, multipolar fields.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Propeller outflows from an MRI disc
We present the results of axisymmetric simulations of MRI-driven accretion
onto a rapidly rotating, magnetized star accreting in the propeller regime. The
stellar magnetosphere corotates with the star, forming a centrifugal barrier at
the disc-magnetosphere boundary which inhibits matter accretion onto the star.
Instead, the disc matter accumulates at the disc-magnetosphere interface and
slowly diffuses into the inner magnetosphere where it picks up angular momentum
and is quickly ejected from the system as an outflow. Due to the interaction of
the matter with the magnetosphere, this wind is discontinuous and is launched
as discrete plasmoids. If the ejection rate is lower than the disc accretion
rate, the matter accumulates at the disc-magnetosphere boundary faster than it
can be ejected. In this case, accretion onto the star proceeds through the
episodic accretion instability in which episodes of matter accumulation are
followed by simultaneous accretion and ejection. During the accretion phase of
this instability in which matter flows onto the star in funnel streams, we
observe a corresponding rise in the outflow rate. Both the accretion and
ejection processes observed in our simulations are highly non-stationary. The
stars undergo strong spin-down due to the coupling of the stellar field with
the disc and corona and we measure the spin-down timescales of around 1 Myr for
a typical CTTS in the propeller regime.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRA
Facing the wind of the pre-FUor V1331 Cyg
The mass outflows in T Tauri stars (TTS) are thought to be an effective
mechanism to remove angular momentum during the pre-main-sequence contraction
of a low-mass star. The most powerful winds are observed at the FUor stage of
stellar evolution. V1331 Cyg has been considered as a TTS at the pre-FUor
stage. We analyse high-resolution spectra of V1331 Cyg collected in 1998-2007
and 20-d series of spectra taken in 2012. For the first time the photospheric
spectrum of the star is detected and stellar parameters are derived: spectral
type G7-K0 IV, mass 2.8 Msun, radius 5 Rsun, vsini < 6 km/s. The photospheric
spectrum is highly veiled, but the amount of veiling is not the same in
different spectral lines, being lower in weak transitions and much higher in
strong transitions. The Fe II 5018, Mg I 5183, K I 7699 and some other lines of
metals are accompanied by a `shell' absorption at radial velocity of about -240
km/s. We show that these absorptions form in the post-shock gas in the jet,
i.e. the star is seen though its jet. The P Cyg profiles of H-alpha and H-beta
indicate the terminal wind velocity of about 500 km/s, which vary on
time-scales from several days to years. A model of the stellar wind is
developed to interpret the observations. The model is based on calculation of
hydrogen spectral lines using the radiative transfer code TORUS. The observed
H-alpha and H-beta line profiles and their variability can be well reproduced
with a stellar wind model, where the mass-loss rate and collimation (opening
angle) of the wind are variable. The changes of the opening angle may be
induced by small variability in magetization of the inner disc wind. The
mass-loss rate is found to vary within (6-11)x10^{-8} Msun/yr, with the
accretion rate of 2.0x10^{-6} Msun/yr.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS.
Typographical errors have been corrected after the proof stag
Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Dissipation in Relativistic Current Sheet of Pair Plasmas
We study linear and nonlinear development of relativistic and
ultrarelativistic current sheets of pair plasmas with antiparallel magnetic
fields. Two types of two-dimensional problems are investigated by
particle-in-cell simulations. First, we present the development of relativistic
magnetic reconnection, whose outflow speed is an order of the light speed c. It
is demonstrated that particles are strongly accelerated in and around the
reconnection region, and that most of magnetic energy is converted into
"nonthermal" part of plasma kinetic energy. Second, we present another
two-dimensional problem of a current sheet in a cross-field plane. In this
case, the relativistic drift kink instability (RDKI) occurs. Particle
acceleration also takes place, but the RDKI fast dissipates the magnetic energy
into plasma heat. We discuss the mechanism of particle acceleration and the
theory of the RDKI in detail. It is important that properties of these two
processes are similar in the relativistic regime of T > mc^2, as long as we
consider the kinetics. Comparison of the two processes indicates that magnetic
dissipation by the RDKI is more favorable process in the relativistic current
sheet. Therefore the striped pulsar wind scenario should be reconsidered by the
RDKI.Comment: To appear in ApJ vol. 670; 60 pages, 27 figures; References and typos
are fixe
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