Thermal emission areas of heated neutron star polar caps

A simplified model provided the framework for our investigation into the distribution of energy and charge densities above the polar caps of a rotating neutron star. We assumed a neutron star withm= 1.4M⊙,r= 10km, dipolar field |B0| = 1012G,B||Ω and Ω = 2Π · (0.5s)−1. The effects of general relativity were disregarded. The induced accelerating electric fieldE||reachesE0= 2.5 · 1013V m−1at the surface near the magnetic poles. The current density along the field lines has an upper limitnGJ, when the electric field of the charged particle flow cancels the induced electric field: At the polesnGJ(r=rns,θ= 0) = 1.4 · 1017m−3.The work function(surface potential barrier)EWis approximated by the Fermi energyEFof magnetised matter. Following Abrahams and Shapiro (1992) one needs to revise the surface density from the canonical 1.4 · 108kg m−3down toρFe = 2.9 · 107kg m−3. Withwe obtain a value ofEF=Ew= 417eV. There are two relevant particle emission processes:Field (cold cathode) emissionby quantum-mechanical tunneling of charges through the surface potentialandthermal emissionwhich is a purely classical process. In strong electric fields it is enhanced by the lowering of the potential barrier due to the Schottky effect. The combined Dushman-Schottky equationwithtells us, thatat temperatures> 2 · 105K the the Goldreich-Julian current can be supplied thermal emission alone. The surface temperature however has a lower limit in the order of 105K due to the rotational braking. Therefore, in most cases a sufficient supply of charges for the Goldreich-Julian current is available and the electrical field accelerating the particles will be quenched as a result of their abundance. Otherwise a residual equilibrium electric field Eeqremains with:and hence the equilibrium density is:n=nfieid(Eeq,EW) +nDS(Eeq,EW,T) For a temperature just below the onset of thermal emission (T= 1.85 · 105K) the charge density is found to vary almost linearly with the work functionEWfor values ofEWbetween 0.3 and 2 keV. At the chosen value forEWof 417 eVthe residual electric field amounts to only 8.5% of the vacuum value. Even in the residual electric field the particles are rapidly accelerated to relativistic energies balanced by inverse Compton and curvature radiation losses.

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Thermal emission areas of heated neutron star polar caps

Astrophysics and Space Science ◽

10.1007/s10509-007-9332-z ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 308 (1-4) ◽

pp. 419-422

Author(s):

M. Ruderman ◽

A. M. Beloborodov

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Polar Caps

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Neutron star radius measurement from the ultraviolet and soft X-ray thermal emission of PSR J0437−4715

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stz2941 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 490 (4) ◽

pp. 5848-5859 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Denis González-Caniulef ◽

Sebastien Guillot ◽

Andreas Reisenegger

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Hydrogen Atmosphere ◽

Large Radius ◽

X Ray ◽

Dust Extinction ◽

Polar Caps ◽

Bulk Surface ◽

Neutron Star Radius ◽

Rule Out

ABSTRACT We analysed the thermal emission from the entire surface of the millisecond pulsar PSR J0437−4715 observed in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray bands. For this, we calculated non-magnetized, partially ionized atmosphere models of hydrogen, helium, and iron compositions and included plasma frequency effects that may affect the emergent spectrum. This is particularly true for the coldest atmospheres composed of iron (up to a few per cent changes in the soft X-ray flux). Employing a Markov chain Monte Carlo method, we found that the spectral fits favour a hydrogen atmosphere, disfavour a helium composition, and rule out iron atmosphere and blackbody models. By using a Gaussian prior on the dust extinction, based on the latest 3D map of Galactic dust, and accounting for the presence of hot polar caps found in the previous work, we found that the hydrogen atmosphere model results in a well-constrained neutron star radius ${R_{\rm NS}}= 13.6^{+0.9}_{-0.8}{\, {\rm km}}$ and bulk surface temperature ${T_{\rm eff}^{\infty }}=\left(2.3\pm 0.1\right){\times 10^{5}}{\, {\rm K}}$. This relatively large radius favours a stiff equation of state and disfavours a strange quark composition inside neutron stars.

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XMM–Newton observations of a gamma-ray pulsar J0633+0632: pulsations, cooling and large-scale emission

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa287 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 493 (2) ◽

pp. 1874-1887 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A Danilenko ◽

A Karpova ◽

D Ofengeim ◽

Yu Shibanov ◽

D Zyuzin

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Large Scale ◽

Gamma Ray ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Absorption Feature ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Pulse Profile ◽

X Ray ◽

Polar Caps ◽

Star Surface

ABSTRACT We report results of XMM–Newton observations of a γ-ray pulsar J0633+0632 and its wind nebula. We reveal, for the first time, pulsations of the pulsar X-ray emission with a single sinusoidal pulse profile and a pulsed fraction of 23 ± 6 per cent in the 0.3–2 keV band. We confirm previous Chandra findings that the pulsar X-ray spectrum consists of thermal and non-thermal components. However, we do not find the absorption feature that was previously detected at about 0.8 keV. Thanks to the greater sensitivity of XMM–Newton, we get stronger constraints on spectral model parameters compared to previous studies. The thermal component can be equally well described by either blackbody or neutron star atmosphere models, implying that this emission is coming from either hot pulsar polar caps with a temperature of about 120 eV or from the colder bulk of the neutron star surface with a temperature of about 50 eV. In the latter case, the pulsar appears to be one of the coolest among other neutron stars of similar ages with estimated surface temperatures. We discuss cooling scenarios relevant to this neutron star. Using an interstellar absorption–distance relation, we also constrain the distance to the pulsar to the range of 0.7–2 kpc. Besides the pulsar and its compact nebula, we detect regions of weak large-scale diffuse non-thermal emission in the pulsar field and discuss their possible nature.

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3D magnetized jet break-out from neutron-star binary merger ejecta: afterglow emission from the jet and the ejecta

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/stab115 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 502 (2) ◽

pp. 1843-1855

Author(s):

Antonios Nathanail ◽

Ramandeep Gill ◽

Oliver Porth ◽

Christian M Fromm ◽

Luciano Rezzolla

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Opening Angle ◽

Hollow Core ◽

Binary Neutron Star ◽

Vlbi Observations ◽

Superluminal Motion ◽

General Relativistic ◽

Star Binary ◽

Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

ABSTRACT We perform 3D general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to model the jet break-out from the ejecta expected to be produced in a binary neutron-star merger. The structure of the relativistic outflow from the 3D simulation confirms our previous results from 2D simulations, namely, that a relativistic magnetized outflow breaking out from the merger ejecta exhibits a hollow core of θcore ≈ 4°, an opening angle of θjet ≳ 10°, and is accompanied by a wind of ejected matter that will contribute to the kilonova emission. We also compute the non-thermal afterglow emission of the relativistic outflow and fit it to the panchromatic afterglow from GRB170817A, together with the superluminal motion reported from VLBI observations. In this way, we deduce an observer angle of $\theta _{\rm obs}= 35.7^{\circ \, \, +1.8}_{\phantom{\circ \, \, }-2.2}$. We further compute the afterglow emission from the ejected matter and constrain the parameter space for a scenario in which the matter responsible for the thermal kilonova emission will also lead to a non-thermal emission yet to be observed.

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UV and X-ray observations of the neutron star LMXB EXO 0748–676 in its quiescent state

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa3734 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 501 (1) ◽

pp. 1453-1462

Author(s):

A S Parikh ◽

N Degenaar ◽

J V Hernández Santisteban ◽

R Wijnands ◽

I Psaradaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Hubble Space Telescope ◽

Dense Matter ◽

Continuum Emission ◽

Quiescent State ◽

X Ray ◽

Low Level ◽

Low Mass ◽

Different Origins

ABSTRACT The accretion behaviour in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) at low luminosities, especially at <1034 erg s−1, is not well known. This is an important regime to study to obtain a complete understanding of the accretion process in LMXBs, and to determine if systems that host neutron stars with accretion-heated crusts can be used probe the physics of dense matter (which requires their quiescent thermal emission to be uncontaminated by residual accretion). Here, we examine ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray data obtained when EXO 0748–676, a crust-cooling source, was in quiescence. Our Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy observations do not detect the far-UV continuum emission, but do reveal one strong emission line, C iv. The line is relatively broad (≳3500 km s−1), which could indicate that it results from an outflow such as a pulsar wind. By studying several epochs of X-ray and near-UV data obtained with XMM–Newton, we find no clear indication that the emission in the two wavebands is connected. Moreover, the luminosity ratio of LX/LUV ≳ 100 is much higher than that observed from neutron star LMXBs that exhibit low-level accretion in quiescence. Taken together, this suggests that the UV and X-ray emission of EXO 0748–676 may have different origins, and that thermal emission from crust-cooling of the neutron star, rather than ongoing low-level accretion, may be dominating the observed quiescent X-ray flux evolution of this LMXB.

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Thermal X-ray emission identified from the millisecond pulsar PSR J1909–3744

Astronomy and Astrophysics ◽

10.1051/0004-6361/201732040 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 627 ◽

pp. A141 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

N. A. Webb ◽

D. Leahy ◽

S. Guillot ◽

N. Baillot d’Etivaux ◽

D. Barret ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Equation Of State ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Black Body ◽

Millisecond Pulsar ◽

Distance Measurements ◽

Millisecond Pulsars ◽

X Ray ◽

Link Type

Context. Pulsating thermal X-ray emission from millisecond pulsars can be used to obtain constraints on the neutron star equation of state, but to date only five such sources have been identified. Of these five millisecond pulsars, only two have well-constrained neutron star masses, which improve the determination of the radius via modelling of the X-ray waveform. Aims. We aim to find other millisecond pulsars that already have well-constrained mass and distance measurements that show pulsed thermal X-ray emission in order to obtain tight constraints on the neutron star equation of state. Methods. The millisecond pulsar PSR J1909–3744 has an accurately determined mass, M = 1.54 ± 0.03 M⊙ (1σ error) and distance, D = 1.07 ± 0.04 kpc. We analysed XMM-Newton data of this 2.95 ms pulsar to identify the nature of the X-ray emission. Results. We show that the X-ray emission from PSR J1909–3744 appears to be dominated by thermal emission from the polar cap. Only a single component model is required to fit the data. The black-body temperature of this emission is $ {kT}=0.26^{0.03}_{0.02} $ keV and we find a 0.2–10 keV un-absorbed flux of 1.1 × 10−14 erg cm−2 s−1 or an un-absorbed luminosity of 1.5 × 1030 erg s−1. Conclusion. Thanks to the previously determined mass and distance constraints of the neutron star PSR J1909–3744, and its predominantly thermal emission, deep observations of this object with future X-ray facilities should provide useful constraints on the neutron star equation of state.

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Chandra Study of the Central Object Associated with the Supernova Remnant MSH 11–62

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900180970 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 218 ◽

pp. 203-206

Author(s):

Ilana Harrus ◽

Joseph P. Bernstein ◽

Patrick O. Slane ◽

Bryan Gaensler ◽

John P. Hughes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neutron Star ◽

Radio Emission ◽

Supernova Remnant ◽

Loss Rate ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Compact Object ◽

Small Region ◽

Compact Source ◽

Synchrotron Nebula ◽

Compact Array

We present results from our analysis of Chandra data on the supernova remnant MSH 11–62 (also known as G291.0−0.1). Our previous ASCA analysis showed that MSH 11–62 is most likely a composite remnant whose strong non-thermal emission is powered by a compact object, most probably a pulsar. The present analysis confirms in a spectacular fashion the earlier detection of a compact source. The Chandra data reveal a small region with a hard non-thermal spectrum located at the tip of the central radio emission seen in data taken at the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). This source is likely the young rapidly rotating neutron star powering the synchrotron nebula in MSH 11–62. Compared to other young rotation-powered pulsars the Chandra specrum of MSH 11–62 implies an energy loss rate of Ė ∼ 5 × 1036 ergs s−1.

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