Clumpy wind accretion in Supergiant X-ray Binaries

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S346) ◽  
pp. 34-39
Author(s):  
Ileyk El Mellah ◽  
Andreas A. C. Sander ◽  
Jon O. Sundqvist ◽  
Rony Keppens
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mass Accretion Rate ◽  
Accretion Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
X Ray Binaries

AbstractSupergiant X-ray Binaries host a compact object, generally a neutron star, orbiting an evolved O/B star. Mass transfer proceeds through the intense radiatively-driven wind of the stellar donor, a fraction of which is captured by the gravitational field of the neutron star. The subsequent accretion process onto the neutron star is responsible for the abundant X-ray emission from those systems. They also display variations in time of the X-ray flux by a factor of a few 10, along with changes in the hardness ratios believed to be due to varying absorption along the line-of-sight. We used the most recent results on the inhomogeneities (aka clumps) in the non-stationary wind of massive hot stars to evaluate their impact on the time-variable accretion process. We ran three-dimensional simulations of the wind in the vicinity of the accretor to witness the formation of the bow shock and follow the inhomogeneous flow over several spatial orders of magnitude, down to the neutron star magnetosphere. In particular, we show that the impact of the clumps on the time-variability of the intrinsic mass accretion rate is severely damped by the crossing of the shock, compared to the purely ballistic Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton estimation. We also account for the variable absorption due to clumps passing by the line-of-sight and estimate the final effective variability of the mass accretion rate for different orbital separations. These results are confronted to recent analysis of Vela X-1 observations with Chandra by Grinberg et al. (2017). It shows that clumps account well for time-variability at low luminosity but can not generate, per se, the high luminosity activity observed.

Quiescent luminosities of accreting neutron stars-possibility of neutrino losses due to strong pion condensations

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (08) ◽  
pp. 1850067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhide Matsuo ◽  
HeLei Liu ◽  
Masa-aki Hashimoto ◽  
Tsuneo Noda
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Neutron Stars ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Cooling Process ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mass Accretion Rate ◽  
Star Models ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

We construct the quiescent neutron star models in the evolutionary calculations. The X-ray luminosities have been derived in terms of the time-averaged mass accretion rate for various neutron star masses and surface compositions. We compare the quiescent luminosities observed from X-ray transients in low mass X-ray binaries, where the stellar evolutionary calculations of accreting neutron stars include neutrino cooling due to strong pion condensations. Our results based on the evolutionary calculations suggest that stronger cooling process would be necessary to be consistent with observations.

scholarly journals Torque Reversals in Disk Accreting Pulsars

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-253
Author(s):  
Jianke Li ◽  
Dayal T. Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Binary System ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Past ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Coherent Picture

AbstractX-ray binaries in which the accreting component is a neutron star commonly exhibit significant changes in their spin. In the system Cen X-3, a disk accreting binary system, the pulsar was observed to spin up at a rate ḟ = 8 × 10−13 Hz s−1 when averaged over the past twenty years, but significant fluctuations were observed above this mean. Recent BASTE observations have disclosed that these fluctuations are much larger than previously noted, and appeared to be a system characteristic. The change in the spin state from spin-up to spin-down or vice-versa occurs on a time scale that is much shorter than the instrument can resolve (≤1 d), but appears always to be a similar amplitude, and to occur stochastically. These observations have posed a problem for the conventional torque–mass accretion relation for accreting pulsars, because in this model the spin rate is closely related to the accretion rate, and the latter needs to be finely tuned and to change abruptly to explain the observations. Here we review recent work in this direction and present a coherent picture that explains these observations. We also draw attention to some outstanding problems for future studies.

scholarly journals Thermal state of transiently accreting neutron stars with additional heating beyond deep crustal heating

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helei Liu ◽  
Masa-aki Hashimoto ◽  
Guoliang Lü ◽  
Yasuhide Matsuo ◽  
Dehua Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Heat Source ◽  
Neutron Stars ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mass Accretion Rate ◽  
Accretion Rates ◽  
Theoretical Predictions

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.

scholarly journals Probing the stellar wind geometry in Vela X-1 with infrared interferometry

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 197-198
Author(s):  
Élodie Choquet ◽  
Pierre Kervella ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin ◽  
Antoine Mérand ◽  
Xavier Haubois ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Accretion Process ◽  
Massive Neutron Star ◽  
Infrared Interferometry ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
K Band

AbstractHigh-mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) are keys to study stellar remnants that are otherwise extremely faint and difficult to observe when isolated. Vela X-1 is a well-known eclipsing HMXB composed of a very massive neutron star orbiting a B0.5I supergiant with a period of 9 days. The supergiant wind is the main feeding material for the accreting neutron star, and its properties are of prime interest to understand the physics at stakes in the accretion process.In order to characterize the geometry and physical properties of the dense wind at a scale of a few stellar radii, we obtained infrared interferometric observations of Vela X-1 in 2010 using the VLTI/AMBER instrument in the K band (2.2 μm), and in 2012 using the VLTI/PIONIER instrument in the H band (1.6 μm).Although the apparent disk of the supergiant and the orbital separation of the two objects are beyond the present resolution limit of the VLTI, the K-band observations partially resolve the wind envelope on the two longest baselines. We were able to measure the radius of 265±82 R⊙ for the circumstellar wind at a temperature of 1300 K, assuming a distance of 1.9 kpc. The H-band observations do not resolve the system, and we were able to set an upper limit of 112 R⊙ for the envelope radius at a temperature of 1800 K.

scholarly journals Probing the X-ray Variability of X-ray Binaries

2003 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 236-239
Author(s):  
Wenfei Yu
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Light Curve ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
The Other ◽  
Periodic Oscillations ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Orbital Frequency ◽  
X Ray Binaries

Kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) has been regarded as representing the Keplerian frequency at the inner disk edge in the neutron star X-ray binaries. The so-called “parallel tracks” on the plot of the kHz QPO frequency vs. X-ray flux in neutron star X-ray binaries, on the other hand, show the correlation between the kHz QPO frequency and the X-ray flux on time scales from hours to days. This is suspected as caused by the variations of the mass accretion rate through the accretion disk surrounding the neutron star. We show here that by comparing the correlation between the kHz QPO frequency and the X-ray count rate on a certain QPO time scale observed approximately simultaneous in the Fourier power spectra of the X-ray light curve, we have found evidences that the X-ray flux of millihertz QPOs in neutron star X-ray binaries is generated inside the inner disk edge if adopting that the kilohertz QPO frequency is an orbital frequency at the inner disk edge.

scholarly journals Propagating mass accretion rate fluctuations in X-ray binaries under the influence of viscous diffusion

2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (2) ◽  
pp. 2259-2276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A Mushtukov ◽  
Adam Ingram ◽  
Michiel van der Klis
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Rate ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Mass Accretion Rate ◽  
X Ray Binaries

scholarly journals Super-Eddington accretion discs with advection and outflows around magnetized neutron stars

2019 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. A18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Chashkina ◽  
Galina Lipunova ◽  
Pavel Abolmasov ◽  
Juri Poutanen
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Neutron Stars ◽  
Mass Loss ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Accretion Discs ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Radial Profiles ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Eddington Limit

We present a model for a super-Eddington accretion disc around a magnetized neutron star taking into account advection of heat and the mass loss by the wind. The model is semi-analytical and predicts radial profiles of all the basic physical characteristics of the accretion disc. The magnetospheric radius is found as an eigenvalue of the problem. When the inner disc is in radiation-pressure-dominated regime but does not reach its local Eddington limit, advection is mild, and the radius of the magnetosphere depends weakly on the accretion rate. Once it approaches the local Eddington limit the disc becomes advection-dominated, and the scaling for the magnetospheric radius with the mass accretion rate is similar to the classical Alfvén relation. Allowing for the mass loss in a wind leads to an increase in the magnetospheric radius. Our model can be applied to a wide variety of magnetized neutron stars accreting close to or above their Eddington limits: ultra-luminous X-ray pulsars, Be/X-ray binaries in outbursts, and other systems. In the context of our model we discuss the observational properties of NGC 5907 X-1, the brightest ultra-luminous pulsar currently known, and NGC 300 ULX1, which is apparently a Be/X-ray binary experiencing a very bright super-Eddington outburst.

scholarly journals Evolving neutron star+helium star systems to intermediate-mass binary pulsars

2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (1) ◽  
pp. 752-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Tang ◽  
D Liu ◽  
B Wang
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Neutron Stars ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Intermediate Mass ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Binary Pulsars ◽  
Orbital Periods ◽  
Helium Star ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
Better Than

ABSTRACT Intermediate-mass binary pulsars (IMBPs) are composed of neutron stars (NSs) and CO/ONe white dwarfs (WDs). It is generally suggested that IMBPs evolve from intermediate-mass X-ray binaries (IMXBs). However, this scenario is difficult to explain the formation of IMBPs with orbital periods (Porb) less than 3 d. It has recently been proposed that a system consisting of an NS and a helium (He) star can form IMBPs with Porb less than 3 d (known as the NS+He star scenario), but previous works can only cover a few observed sources with short orbital periods. We aim to investigate the NS+He star scenario by adopting different descriptions of the Eddington accretion rate ($\skew4\dot{M}_{\rm Edd}$) for NSs and different NS masses (MNS) varying from $1.10$ to $1.80\, \rm M_{\odot }$. Our results can cover most of the observed IMBPs with short orbital periods and almost half of the observed IMBPs with long orbital periods. We found that $\skew4\dot{M}_{\rm Edd}$ ∝ MNS−1/3 could match the observations better than a specific value for all NSs. We also found that the final spin periods of NSs slightly decrease with the initial MNS. The observed parameters of PSR J0621+1002, which is one of the well-observed IMBPs whose pulsar mass has been precisely measured, can be reproduced by this work.

scholarly journals The impact of thermal winds on the outburst lightcurves of black hole X-ray binaries

2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dubus ◽  
Chris Done ◽  
Bailey E. Tetarenko ◽  
Jean-Marie Hameury
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Mass Loss ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Strong Wind ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Thermal Wind ◽  
Viscous Instability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
X Ray Binaries

Context. The observed signatures of winds from X-ray binaries are broadly consistent with thermal winds, which are driven by X-ray irradiation of the outer accretion disc. Thermal winds produce mass outflow rates that can exceed the accretion rate in the disc. Aims. We aim to study the impact of thermal wind mass loss on the stability and lightcurves of black hole X-ray binaries subject to the thermal-viscous instability driving their outbursts. Strong mass loss could stop outbursts early, as proposed for the 2015 outburst of V404 Cyg. Methods. We used an analytical model for thermal (Compton) wind mass loss as a function of radius, X-ray spectrum, and luminosity that was calibrated against numerical simulations. We also estimated the fraction of the X-rays, emitted close to the compact object, that are scattered back to the outer disc in the wind. Scattering in the thermal wind couples irradiation to the disc size and inner mass accretion rate. The disc evolution equations were modified to include this wind mass loss and the varying irradiation fraction. Results. Scattering in the strong wind expected of long Porb systems enhances the irradiation heating of the outer disc, keeping it stable against the thermal-viscous instability. This accounts very well for the existence of persistently bright systems with large discs, such as Cyg X-2, 1E 1740.7−2942, or GRS 1758−258. Mass loss from the thermal wind shortens the outburst, as expected, but it is insufficient in explaining the rapid decay timescale of black-hole X-ray binary outbursts. However, including the wind-related varying irradiation fraction produces lightcurves with plateaus in long Porb systems like GRO J1655−40. Plateau lightcurves may be a dynamical signature of enhanced irradiation due to scattering in thermal winds. Conclusions. Mass loss due to thermal winds is not a major driver for the outburst dynamics up to luminosities of 0.1 − 0.2 LEdd. Higher luminosities may produce stronger mass loss but studying them is complicated since the wind becomes opaque. Magnetic winds, which extract angular momentum with little mass loss, seem more promising to explain the fast decay timescales generically seen in black-hole X-ray binaries. Thermal winds can play an important role in the outburst dynamics through the varying irradiation heating. This may be evidenced by relating changes in wind properties, X-ray spectra, or luminosity with changes in the optical emission that traces the outer disc. Simulations should enable more accurate estimates of the dependence of the irradiation onto the disc as a function of irradiation spectrum, radius, and disc wind properties.

QUASI PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS IN X-RAY NEUTRON STAR AND PROBES OF PERIHELION PRECESSION OF GENERAL RELATIVITY

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 503-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. ZHANG
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Star ◽  
Accretion Rate ◽  
Second Harmonic ◽  
Harmonic Frequency ◽  
Periodic Oscillations ◽  
Perihelion Precession ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Outer Disk ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

We ascribe the twin kilohertz Quasi Periodic Oscillations (kHz QPOs) of X-ray spectra of Low Mass X-Ray Binaries (LMXBs) to the pseudo-Newtonian Keplerian frequency and the apogee and perigee precession frequency of the same matter in the inner disk, and ascribe 15–60 Hz QPO (HBO) to the apogee (or perigee) precession and its second harmonic frequency to both apogee and perigee precession in the outer disk boundary of the neutron star (NS) magnetosphere. The radii of the inner and outer disks are correlated each other by a factor of two is assumed. The obtained conclusions include: all QPO frequencies increase and frequency difference of twin kHz QPOs decreases with increasing the accretion rate. The obtained theoretical relations between HBO frequency and twin kHz QPOs are simlilar to the measured empirical formula. Further, the theo-retical formula to calculate the NS mass by the twin kHz QPOs is proposed, and the resultant values are in the range of 1.4 to 1.8 M⊙. QPOs from LMXBs likely provide an accurate laboratory for a strong gravitational field, by which a new method to determine the NS masses of LMXBs is suggested.

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