scholarly journals Coronal ejection and heating in variable-luminosity X-ray sources

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 49-52
Author(s):  
Włodek Kluźniak

AbstractA sudden increase in stellar luminosity may lead to the ejection of a large part of any optically thin gas orbiting the star. Test particles in circular orbits will become unbound, and will escape to infinity (if radiation drag is neglected), when the luminosity changes from zero to at least one half the Eddington value, or more generally, from L to (LEdd+L)/2 or more. Conversely, a decrease in luminosity will lead to the tightening of orbits of optically thin fluid. Even a modest fluctuation of luminosity of accreting neutron stars or black holes is expected to lead to substantial coronal heating. Luminosity fluctuations may thus account for the high temperatures of the X-ray corona in accreting black hole and neutron star systems.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S346) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Edward P. J. van den Heuvel

AbstractA summary is given of the present state of our knowledge of High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), their formation and expected future evolution. Among the HMXB-systems that contain neutron stars, only those that have orbital periods upwards of one year will survive the Common-Envelope (CE) evolution that follows the HMXB phase. These systems may produce close double neutron stars with eccentric orbits. The HMXBs that contain black holes do not necessarily evolve into a CE phase. Systems with relatively short orbital periods will evolve by stable Roche-lobe overflow to short-period Wolf-Rayet (WR) X-ray binaries containing a black hole. Two other ways for the formation of WR X-ray binaries with black holes are identified: CE-evolution of wide HMXBs and homogeneous evolution of very close systems. In all three cases, the final product of the WR X-ray binary will be a double black hole or a black hole neutron star binary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helei Liu ◽  
Masa-aki Hashimoto ◽  
Guoliang Lü ◽  
Yasuhide Matsuo ◽  
Dehua Wen ◽  
...  

Abstract As some neutron star transients require an additional unknown heat source (referred to as “shallow heating”) to explain their high temperatures at the beginning of quiescence, we investigate the effect of shallow heating as well as compressional heating on the thermal state of transiently accreting neutron stars with the use of evolutionary calculations in the present work. Through comparing our theoretical predictions of the equilibrium redshifted luminosities $(L_{\gamma}^{\infty})$ produced by both deep crustal heating and shallow heating/compressional heating for different time-averaged mass-accretion rates $\langle\dot{M}\rangle$ with 35 updated observations of soft X-ray transients, the results show that both shallow heating and compressional heating make significant contributions to the equilibrium redshifted luminosity. The hotter sources (XTE J1701, MAXI J0556, EXO 0748, Aql X-1 etc.) with higher accretion rates are more likely to be explained with the effect of shallow heating or compressional heating. In addition, for a proper shallow heat $q_\mathrm{sh}$ and mass-accretion rate $\dot{M}$, the effect of shallow heating could be simulated by compressional heating.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 775-778
Author(s):  
Simon Portegies Zwart ◽  
Frank Verbunt ◽  
Ene Ergma

We study the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with a black hole as accreting object. The performed semi-analytic analysis reveals that the formation rate of black holes in low-mass X-ray binaries is about two orders of magnitude smaller than that of systems with a neutron star as accretor. This is contradicted by the six observed systems, which are all transients, which suggest that the majority of these systems has not been seen jet. The birthrate for both type of objects are expected to be similar (for reviews see Cowley 1992, Tanaka & Lewin 1995).


2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. A31
Author(s):  
A. Kotrlová ◽  
E. Šrámková ◽  
G. Török ◽  
K. Goluchová ◽  
J. Horák ◽  
...  

We explore the influence of nongeodesic pressure forces present in an accretion disc on the frequencies of its axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric epicyclic oscillation modes. We discuss its implications for models of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), which have been observed in the X-ray flux of accreting black holes (BHs) in the three Galactic microquasars, GRS 1915+105, GRO J1655−40, and XTE J1550−564. We focus on previously considered QPO models that deal with low-azimuthal-number epicyclic modes, |m| ≤ 2, and outline the consequences for the estimations of BH spin, a ∈ [0, 1]. For four out of six examined models, we find only small, rather insignificant changes compared to the geodesic case. For the other two models, on the other hand, there is a significant increase of the estimated upper limit on the spin. Regarding the falsifiability of the QPO models, we find that one particular model from the examined set is incompatible with the data. If the spectral spin estimates for the microquasars that point to a >  0.65 were fully confirmed, two more QPO models would be ruled out. Moreover, if two very different values of the spin, such as a ≈ 0.65 in GRO J1655−40 and a ≈ 1 in GRS 1915+105, were confirmed, all the models except one would remain unsupported by our results. Finally, we discuss the implications for a model that was recently proposed in the context of neutron star (NS) QPOs as a disc-oscillation-based modification of the relativistic precession model. This model provides overall better fits of the NS data and predicts more realistic values of the NS mass compared to the relativistic precession model. We conclude that it also implies a significantly higher upper limit on the microquasar’s BH spin (a ∼ 0.75 vs. a ∼ 0.55).


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Teresa Panurach ◽  
Jay Strader ◽  
Arash Bahramian ◽  
Laura Chomiuk ◽  
James C. A. Miller-Jones ◽  
...  

Abstract Accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries show outflows—and sometimes jets—in the general manner of accreting black holes. However, the quantitative link between the accretion flow (traced by X-rays) and outflows and/or jets (traced by radio emission) is much less well understood for neutron stars than for black holes, other than the general observation that neutron stars are fainter in the radio at a given X-ray luminosity. We use data from the deep MAVERIC radio continuum survey of Galactic globular clusters for a systematic radio and X-ray study of six luminous (L X > 1034 erg s−1) persistent neutron star X-ray binaries in our survey, as well as two other transient systems also captured by our data. We find that these neutron star X-ray binaries show an even larger range in radio luminosity than previously observed. In particular, in quiescence at L X ∼ 3 × 1034 erg s−1, the confirmed neutron star binary GRS 1747–312 in Terzan 6 sits near the upper envelope of the black hole radio/X-ray correlation, and the persistently accreting neutron star systems AC 211 (in M15) and X1850–087 (in NGC 6712) show unusual radio variability and luminous radio emission. We interpret AC 211 as an obscured “Z source” that is accreting at close to the Eddington limit, while the properties of X1850–087 are difficult to explain, and motivate future coordinated radio and X-ray observations. Overall, our results show that neutron stars do not follow a single relation between inflow and outflow, and confirm that their accretion dynamics are more complex than for black holes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janusz Ziolkowski

I will start with the statistics indicating that the objects named in the title of my talk are either non-existing or very elusive to detect (not a single such object is known against 119 known Be/neutron star X-ray binaries). After brief reviewing of the properties of Be/X-ray binaries I discuss several objects that were proposed as the long sought for candidates for Be/black hole X-ray binaries. After three unsuccessful candidates (LS I +61° 303, LS 5039 and MAXI J1836-194), a successful candidate (AGL J2241+4454/MWC 656) was finally, very recently, announced.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S275) ◽  
pp. 329-330
Author(s):  
Janusz Ziółkowski ◽  
Krzysztof Belczyński

AbstractIn the Galaxy there are 67 Be X-ray binaries known to-date. Out of those, 45 host a neutron star, and for the reminder the nature of a companion is not known. None, so far, is known to host a black hole. This disparity is referred to as a missing Be – black hole X-ray binary problem. The stellar population synthesis calculations following the formation of Be X-ray binaries (Belczyński & Ziółkowski 2009) predict that the ratio of the binaries with neutron stars to the ones with black holes is rather high FNS/BH ~ 30–50. A comparison of this ratio with the number of confirmed Be – neutron star X-ray binaries (45) indicates that the expected number of Be – black hole X-ray binaries is of the order of only ~0–2. This is entirely consistent with the observed Galactic sample. Therefore, there is no problem of the missing Be+BH X-Ray Binaries for the GalaxyIn the Magellanic Clouds there are 94 Be X-ray binaries known to-date. Out of those, 60 host a neutron star. Again, none hosts a black hole. The stellar population synthesis calculations carried out specifically for the Magellanic Clouds (Ziółkowski & Belczyński 2010) predict that the ratio of the Be X-ray binaries with neutron stars to the ones with black holes is only FNS/BH ~ 10. This value is rather too low, as it implies the expected number of Be+BH X-ray binaries of the order of ~6, while none is observed. We found, that to remove the discrepancy, one has to take into account a different history of the star formation rate in the Magellanic Clouds, with the respect to the Galaxy. New stellar population synthesis calculations are currently being carried out.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S312) ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
Natalia Ivanova

AbstractDynamical interactions that take place between objects in dense stellar systems lead to frequent formation of exotic stellar objects, unusual binaries, and systems of higher multiplicity. They are most important for the formation of binaries with neutron stars and black holes, which are usually observationally revealed in mass-transferring binaries. Here we review the current understanding of compact object's retention, of the metallicity dependence on the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with neutron stars, and how mass-transferring binaries with a black hole and a white dwarf can be formed. We discuss as well one old unsolved puzzle and two new puzzles posed by recent observations: what descendants do ultra-compact X-ray binaries produce, how are very compact triples formed, and how can black hole low-mass X-ray binaries acquire non-degenerate companions?


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 266-267
Author(s):  
Nick D. Kylafis

AbstractJets have been observed from both neutron stars and black holes in binary X-ray sources. The neutron star jets are typically 30 times weaker than the black-hole ones. Thus, the second have been studied more extensively. Contrary to common belief, jets from compact X-ray sources are not simply “fireworks” that emit radio waves. I will demonstrate that they play a central role in the observed phenomena in both neutron star and black-hole systems. In particular, for black-hole jets, a simple jet model can explain the very stringent correlations that have been found between the power-law X-ray spectrum and a) the time lag between hard and soft X-rays and b) the characteristic frequencies observed in the power spectra. Up to now, no other model has even attempted to explain these correlations. I will present the weaknesses of the model and the improvements that need to be done to it.


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