4,467 research outputs found
The role of General Relativity in the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries
We study the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) and of millisecond
binary radio pulsars (MSPs), with numerical simulations that keep into account
the evolution of the companion, of the binary system and of the neutron star.
According to general relativity, when energy is released, the system loses
gravitational mass. Moreover, the neutron star can collapse to a black hole if
its mass exceeds a critical limit, that depends on the equation of state. These
facts have some interesting consequences: 1) In a MSP the mass-energy is lost
with a specific angular momentum that is smaller than the one of the system,
resulting in a positive contribution to the orbital period derivative. If this
contribution is dominant and can be measured, we can extract information about
the moment of inertia of the neutron star, since the energy loss rate depends
on it. Such a measurement can therefore help to put constraints on the equation
of state of ultradense matter. 2) In LMXBs below the bifurcation period (\sim
18 h), the neutron star survives the period gap only if its mass is smaller
than the maximum non-rotating mass when the companion becomes fully convective
and accretion pauses. Therefore short period (P < 2h) millisecond X-ray pulsar
like SAX J1808.4-3658 can be formed only if either a large part of the
accreting matter has been ejected from the system, or the equation of state of
ultradense matter is very stiff. 3) In Low Mass X-ray binaries above the
bifurcation period, the mass-energy loss lowers the mass transfer rate. As side
effect, the inner core of the companion star becomes 1% bigger than in a system
with a non-collapsed primary. Due to this difference, the final orbital period
of the system becomes 20% larger than what is obtained if the mass-energy loss
effect is not taken into account.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted by the MNRA
The puzzling case of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J00291+5934: flaring optical emission during quiescence
We present an optical (gri) study during quiescence of the accreting
millisecond X-ray pulsar IGR J00291+5934 performed with the 10.4m Gran
Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in August 2014. Despite the source being in
quiescence at the time of our observations, it showed a strong optical flaring
activity, more pronounced at higher frequencies (i.e. the g band). Once the
flares were subtracted, we tentatively recovered a sinusoidal modulation at the
system orbital period in all bands, even if a significant phase shift with
respect to an irradiated star, typical of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars
is detected. We conclude that the observed flaring could be a manifestation of
the presence of an accretion disc in the system. The observed light curve
variability could be explained by the presence of a superhump, which might be
another proof of the formation of an accretion disc. In particular, the disc at
the time of our observations was probably preparing to the new outburst of the
source, that happened just a few months later, in 2015.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&
A self-consistent approach to the reflection component in 4U 1705-44
High-resolution spectroscopy has recently revealed in many neutron-star Low-Mass X-ray binaries that the shape of the broad iron line observed in the 6.4-6.97 keV range is consistently well fitted by a relativistically smeared line profile. We show here spectral fitting results using a newly developed self-consistent reflection model on XMM-Newton data of the LMXB 4U 1705-44 during a period when the source was in a bright soft state. This reflection model adopts a blackbody prescription for the shape of the impinging radiation field, that we physically associate with the boundary layer emission. \ua9 2010 American Institute of Physics
The BeppoSAX 0.1 - 100 keV Spectrum of the X-ray Pulsar 4U 1538-52
We report the results of temporal and spectral analysis performed on the X-ray pulsar 4U 1538-52 observed by BeppoSAX. We obtained a new estimate of the spin period of the neutron star P=528.24 \pm 0.01 s (corrected for the orbital motion of the X-ray source): the source is still in the spin-up state, as since 1988. The pulse profile is double peaked, although significant variations of the relative intensity of the peaks with energy are present. The broad band (0.12-100 keV) out-of-eclipse spectrum is well described by an absorbed power law modified by a high energy cutoff at \sim 16 keV (e-folding energy \sim 10 keV) plus an iron emission line at \sim 6.4 keV. A cyclotron line at \sim 21 keV is present. The width of the line is consistent with thermal Doppler broadening at the temperature of the exponential cutoff. We searched for the presence of the second harmonic, previously reported for this source. We found no evidence of lines at \sim 42 keV, although an absorption feature at 51 keV seems to be present (at 99% confidence level). A soft excess, modelled by a blackbody with a temperature of \sim 0.08 keV could be present, probably emitted by the matter at the magnetosphere. We also performed a spectral analysis during the X-ray eclipse. The spectral evolution during the eclipse can be well described by a progressive covering of the primary Comptonization spectrum that is scattered into the line of sight. During the deep eclipse this spectrum also softens, suggesting that the dust-scattered component becomes important. An alternative, more complex model, with an emission iron line and scattered components (as the one that has been used to fit the eclipse of Centaurus X-3), also gives a good fit of the deep-eclipse data
SAX J1808.4-3658, an accreting millisecond pulsar shining in gamma rays?
We report the detection of a possible gamma-ray counterpart of the accreting
millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The analysis of ~6 years of data from the
Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi-LAT)
within a region of 15deg radius around the position of the pulsar reveals a
point gamma-ray source detected at a significance of ~6 sigma (Test Statistic
TS = 32), with position compatible with that of SAX J1808.4-3658 within 95%
Confidence Level. The energy flux in the energy range between 0.6 GeV and 10
GeV amounts to (2.1 +- 0.5) x 10-12 erg cm-2 s-1 and the spectrum is
well-represented by a power-law function with photon index 2.1 +- 0.1. We
searched for significant variation of the flux at the spin frequency of the
pulsar and for orbital modulation, taking into account the trials due to the
uncertainties in the position, the orbital motion of the pulsar and the
intrinsic evolution of the pulsar spin. No significant deviation from a
constant flux at any time scale was found, preventing a firm identification via
time variability. Nonetheless, the association of the LAT source as the
gamma-ray counterpart of SAX J1808.4-3658 would match the emission expected
from the millisecond pulsar, if it switches on as a rotation-powered source
during X-ray quiescence.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRA
Chandra Observation of the Big Dipper X 1624-490
We present the results of a 73 ks long Chandra observation of the dipping source X 1624-490. During the observation a complex dip lasting 4 hours is observed. We analyse the persistent emission detecting, for the first time in the 1st-order spectra of X 1624-490, an absorption line associated to \ion{Ca}{xx}. We confirm the presence of the \ion{Fe}{xxv} K and \ion{Fe}{xxvi} K absorption lines with a larger accuracy with respect to a previous XMM observation. Assuming that the line widths are due to a bulk motion or a turbulence associated to the coronal activity, we estimate that the lines have been produced in a photoionized absorber between the coronal radius and the outer edge of the accretion disk
On the maximum efficiency of the propeller mass-ejection mechanism
Aims. We derive simple estimates of the maximum efficiency with which matter can be ejected by the propeller mechanism in disk-fed, rotating magnetic neutron stars. Some binary evolution scenarios envisage that this mechanism is responsible for expelling to infinity the mass inflowing at a low rate from the companion star, therefore limiting the total amount of mass that can be accreted by the neutron star. Methods. We demonstrate that, for typical neutron star parameters, a maximum of \eta_{pro} < 5.7 (P_{-3})^{1/3} times more matter than accreted can be expelled through the propeller mechanism at the expenses of the neutron star rotational energy (P_{-3} is the NS spin period in unit of 10E-3 s). Approaching this value, however, would require a great deal of fine tuning in the system parameters and the properties of the interaction of matter and magnetic field at the magnetospheric boundary. Results. We conclude that some other mechanism must be invoked in order to prevent that too much mass accretes onto the neutron stars of some low mass X-ray binaries
An XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL view on the hard state of EXO 1745-248 during its 2015 outburst
CONTEXT - Transient low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) often show outbursts
lasting typically a few-weeks and characterized by a high X-ray luminosity
( erg/sec), while for most of the time they are
found in X-ray quiescence ( erg/sec). EXO 1745-248
is one of them. AIMS - The broad-band coverage, and the sensitivity of
instrument on board of {\xmm} and {\igr}, offers the opportunity to
characterize the hard X-ray spectrum during {\exo} outburst. METHODS - In this
paper we report on quasi-simultaneous {\xmm} and {\igr} observations of the
X-ray transient {\exo} located in the globular cluster Terzan 5, performed ten
days after the beginning of the outburst (on 2015 March 16th) shown by the
source between March and June 2015. The source was caught in a hard state,
emitting a 0.8-100 keV luminosity of ~{\lumcgs}. RESULTS - The
spectral continuum was dominated by thermal Comptonization of seed photons with
temperature keV, by a cloud with moderate optical depth
and electron temperature keV. A weaker soft
thermal component at temperature --0.7 keV and compatible
with a fraction of the neutron star radius was also detected. A rich emission
line spectrum was observed by the EPIC-pn on-board {\xmm}; features at energies
compatible with K- transitions of ionized sulfur, argon, calcium and
iron were detected, with a broadness compatible with either thermal Compton
broadening or Doppler broadening in the inner parts of an accretion disk
truncated at gravitational radii from the neutron star. Strikingly, at
least one narrow emission line ascribed to neutral or mildly ionized iron is
needed to model the prominent emission complex detected between 5.5 and 7.5
keV. (Abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure, 2 tables. Accepted for publication on A&A
(21/03/2017
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