Probing the Properties of Neutron Stars with Type-I X-Ray Bursts
نویسنده
چکیده
The increase in spin frequency as the burning atmospheres of Type I X-ray bursts cool provides a strong constraint on the radius of the underlying neutron star. If the change in spin frequency is due to a change in the thickness of the atmosphere, the radius of the star must exceed 3GM/c for any equation of state and approximately 3.5GM/c for most physically reasonable equations of state. This constraint arises because the direction of the Coriolis force for radial motion reverses for R < G/c(M + I/R). Furthermore, the marked change in the magnitude of the Coriolis force near compact stars provides a straightforward explanation for why the frequency of the quickly rotating bursters shifts by the same amount as the slow rotators; they are slightly more massive, 1.6 M⊙ versus 1.4 M⊙.
منابع مشابه
Oscillations during Thermonuclear X-ray Bursts: a New Probe of Neutron Stars
Observations of thermonuclear (also called Type I) X-ray bursts from neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) have revealed large amplitude, high coherence X-ray brightness oscillations with frequencies in the 300 600 Hz range. Substantial spectral and timing evidence point to rotational modulation of the X-ray burst flux as the cause of these ...
متن کاملWhat can we learn from long term monitoring of X-ray bursters?
The last few years have seen the discovery of a number of new aspects of Type I X-ray bursts: the extremely energetic and long duration superbursts, intermediate duration bursts at low luminosities, mHz QPOs, and burst oscillations. These discoveries promise a new understanding of nuclear burning on accreting neutron stars, and offer a chance to use observations to probe neutron star properties...
متن کاملForty Years of X-Ray Binaries
In 2012 it was forty years ago that the discovery of the first X-ray binary Centaurus X-3 became known. That same year it was discovered that apart from the High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) there are also Low-Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs), and that Cygnus X-1 is most probably a black hole. By 1975 also the new class of Be/X-ray binaries was discovered. After this it took 28 years before ESAs INTE...
متن کاملX-Ray Bursts from Neutron Stars
I review our understanding of the thermonuclear instabilities on accreting neutron stars that produce Type I X-Ray bursts. I emphasize those observational and theoretical aspects that should interest the broad audience of this meeting. The easily accessible timescales of the bursts (durations of tens of seconds and recurrence times of hours to days) allow for a very stringent comparison to theo...
متن کاملMillisecond Oscillations and Photospheric Radius Expansion in Thermonuclear X-ray Bursts
We use archival data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer to examine 125 type I X-ray bursts from the 9 weakly magnetic accreting neutron stars where millisecond oscillations have been detected during some bursts. We find that oscillations from the 6 “fast” (≃ 600 Hz) sources are almost always observed during radius expansion bursts, whereas oscillations from the 3 “slow” (≃ 300 Hz) sources are...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2000