255 research outputs found
Dynamical stability of strange quark stars
We show that the mass-radius
relation corresponding to the MIT bag models of strange quark matter
(SQM) and the models obtained by Day et al (1998) do not provide the necessary
and sufficient condition for dynamical stability for the equilibrium
configurations, since such configurations can not even fulfill the necessary
condition of hydrostatic equilibrium provided by the exterior Schwarzschild
solution. These findings will remain unaltered and can be extended to any other
sequence of pure SQM. This study explicitly show that although the strange
quark matter might exist in the state of zero pressure and temperature, but the
models of pure strange quark `stars' can not exist in the state of hydrostatic
equilibrium on the basis of General Relativity Theory. This study can affect
the results which are claiming that various objects like - RX J1856.5-3754, SAX
J1808.4-3658, 4U 1728-34, PSR 0943+10 etc. might be strange stars.Comment: 7 pages (including 6 tables and 1 figure) in MNRAS styl
BeppoSAX Observations of the Maser Sy2 Galaxy: ESO103-G35
We have made BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 2/1.9 galaxy ESO103-G35,
which contains a nuclear maser source and is known to be heavily absorbed in
the X-rays. Analysis of the X-ray spectra observed by SAX in October 1996 and
1997 yields a spectral index 0.74+/-0.07, typical of Seyfert galaxies and
consistent with earlier observations of this source. The strong, soft X-ray
absorption has column density 1.79E(23)/cm^2, again consistent with earlier
results. The best fitting spectrum is that of a power law with a high energy
cutoff at 29+/-10 keV, a cold, marginally resolved Fe Kalpha line with EW 290
eV (1996) and a mildly ionized Fe K-edge at 7.37 keV. The Kalpha line and cold
absorption are consistent with origin in a accretion disk/torus through which
our line-of-sight passes at a radial distance of pc. The Fe K-edge is
mildly ionized suggesting the presence of ionized gas probably in the inner
accretion disk, close to the central source or in a separate warm absorber. The
data quality is too low to distinguish between these possibilities but the
edge-on geometry implied by the water maser emission favors the former.
Comparison with earlier observations of ESO103-G35 shows little/no change in
spectral parameters while the flux changes by factors of a few on timescales of
a few months. The 2--10 keV flux decreased by a factor of 2.7 between Oct 1996
and Oct 1997 with no detectable change in the count rate >20 keV suggesting a
constant or delayed response reflection component. The high energy cutoff is
lower than the typical 300keV values seen in Seyfert galaxies. A significant
subset of similar sources would affect current models of the AGN contribution
to the cosmic X-ray background which generally assume a high energy cutoff of
300 keV.Comment: 22 pages, postscript file, accepted for publication in Ap
Maximum mass of a cold compact star
We calculate the maximum mass of the class of compact stars described by
Vaidya-Tikekar \cite{VT01} model. The model permits a simple method of
systematically fixing bounds on the maximum possible mass of cold compact stars
with a given value of radius or central density or surface density. The
relevant equations of state are also determined. Although simple, the model is
capable of describing the general features of the recently observed very
compact stars. For the calculation, no prior knowledge of the equation of state
(EOS) is required. This is in contrast to the earlier calculations for maximum
mass which were done by choosing first the relevant EOSs and using those to
solve the TOV equation with appropriate boundary conditions. The bounds
obtained by us are comparable and, in some cases, more restrictive than the
earlier results.Comment: 18 pages including 4 *.eps figures. Submitted for publicatio
An unusual interplay among disorder, Kondo-effect and spin-glass behavior in the Kondo lattices, CeAuCoSi
We report the results of magnetic measurements for the solid solution
CeAuCoSi. The results reveal that this solid solution is
characterized by a magnetic phase diagram (plot of magnetic transition
temperature versus ) unusual for Kondo lattices. In particular, the
spin-glass freezing induced by disorder is observed only for the compositions
at the weak coupling limit; as one approaches the quantum critical point by a
gradual replacement of Au by Co, this disorder effect is surprisingly
suppressed in favor of long range antiferro-magnetic ordering in contrast to
expectations. This unusual interplay between disorder, spin-glass freezing and
the Kondo-effect calls for further refinement of theories on competition
between magnetism and the Kondo effect.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
BATSE Observations of the Piccinotti Sample of AGN
BATSE Earth occultation data have been used to search for emission in the
20-100 keV band from all sources in the Piccinotti sample, which represents to
date the only complete 2-10 keV survey of the extragalactic sky down to a
limiting flux of 3.1 x 10^(-11) erg cm^(-2)$ s^(-1). Nearly four years of
observations have been analyzed to reach a 5sigma sensitivity level of about
7.8x 10^(-11) erg cm^(-2) s^(-1) in the band considered. Of the 36 sources in
the sample, 14 have been detected above 5sigma confidence level while marginal
detection (3<sigma<5) can be claimed for 13 sources; for 9 objects 2sigma upper
limits are reported. Comparison of BATSE results with data at higher energies
is used to estimate the robustness of our data analysis: while the detection
level of each source is reliable, the flux measurement maybe overestimated in
some sources by as much as 35%, probably due to incomplete data cleaning.
Comparison of BATSE fluxes with X-ray fluxes, obtained in the 2-10 keV range
and averaged over years, indicates that a canonical power law of photon index
1.7 gives a good description of the broad band spectra of bright AGNs and that
spectral breaks preferentially occur above 100 keV.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication on Apj
Population synthesis of neutron stars, strange (quark) stars and black holes
We compute and present the distribution in mass of single and binary neutron
stars, strange stars, and black holes. The calculations were performed using a
stellar population synthesis code. We follow all phases of single and binary
evolution, starting from a ZAMS binary and ending in the creation of one
compact object (neutron star, black hole, strange star) and a white dwarf, or
two compact objects (single or binary). We assume that neutron stars are formed
in the collapse of iron/nickel cores in the mass range M0 < M < M1, quark stars
in the range M1 M2 and find that
the population of quark stars can easily be as large as the population of black
holes, even if there is only a small mass window for their formation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The 4th Integral
Workshop
On surface tension for compact stars
In an earlier treatment it was demonstrated that general relativity gives
higher values of surface tension in strange stars with quark matter than
neutron stars.We generate the modified Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation to
incorporate anisotropic matter and use this to show that pressure anisotropy
provides for a wide range of behaviour in the surface tension than is the case
with isotropic pressures. In particular it is possible that anisotropy
drastically decreases the value of the surface tension.Comment: 8 pages, To appear in J. Astrophys. Astro
Surface photon emissivity of bare strange stars
We consider the bremsstrahlung surface photon emissivity of strange quark
stars, by sistematically taking into account the effects of the multiple
scatterings of the highly relativistic quarks in a dense medium (the
Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect). Due to interference between amplitudes of
nearby interactions, the bremsstrahlung emissivity from strange star surface is
suppressed for frequencies smaller than a critical frequency. The range of the
suppressed frequencies is a function of the quark matter density at the star's
surface and of the QCD coupling constant. For temperatures much smaller than
the Fermi energy of the quarks the bremsstrahlung spectrum has the same
temperature dependence as the equilibrium black body radiation. Multiple
collisions could reduce the intensity of the bremsstrahlung radiation by an
order of magnitude. The effect of the thin electron layer at the surface of the
quark star on the bremsstrahlung spectrum is also analyzed in detail. It is
shown that absorption in the semi-degenerate electron gas can also
significantly reduce the intensity of the quark-quark bremsstrahlung radiation
and, consequently, the surface emissivity. Hence the combined effects of
multiple collisions and absorption in the electron layer could make the soft
photon surface radiation of quark stars six orders of magnitude smaller than
the equilibrium black body radiation.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Ap
Variable X-ray Absorption in the Seyfert 2 Galaxy Mrk 348
We present RXTE monitoring observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 348
spanning a 6 month period. The time-averaged spectrum in the 3-20 keV band
shows many features characteristic of a Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxy, namely a
hard underlying power-law continuum (photon index = 1.8) with heavy soft X-ray
absorption (N_h ~ 10^23 cm^-2) plus measureable iron line emission (equivalent
width ~ 100 eV) and, at high energy, evidence for a reflection component (R <
1). During the first half of the monitoring period the X-ray continuum flux
from Mrk 348 remained relatively steady. However this was followed by a
significant brightening of the source (by roughly a factor of 4) with the
fastest change corresponding to a doubling of its X-ray flux on a timescale of
about 20 days. The flux increase was accompanied by a marked softening of X-ray
spectrum most likely attributable to a factor 3 decline in the intrinsic
line-of-sight column density. In contrast the iron line and the reflection
components showed no evidence of variability. These observations suggest a
scenario in which the central X-ray source is surrounded by a patchy
distribution of absorbing material located within about a light-week of the
nucleus of Mrk 348. The random movement of individual clouds within the
absorbing screen, across our line of sight, produces substantial temporal
variations in the measured column density on timescales of weeks to months and
gives rise to the observed X-ray spectral variability. However, as viewed from
the nucleus the global coverage and typical thickness of the cloud layer
remains relatively constant.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
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