scholarly journals The frequency of Kozai–Lidov disc oscillation driven giant outbursts in Be/X-ray binaries

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (2) ◽  
pp. 1797-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca G Martin ◽  
Alessia Franchini

ABSTRACT Giant outbursts of Be/X-ray binaries may occur when a Be-star disc undergoes strong eccentricity growth due to the Kozai–Lidov (KL) mechanism. The KL effect acts on a disc that is highly inclined to the binary orbital plane provided that the disc aspect ratio is sufficiently small. The eccentric disc overflows its Roche lobe and material flows from the Be star disc over to the companion neutron star causing X-ray activity. With N-body simulations and steady state decretion disc models we explore system parameters for which a disc in the Be/X-ray binary 4U 0115+634 is KL unstable and the resulting time-scale for the oscillations. We find good agreement between predictions of the model and the observed giant outburst time-scale provided that the disc is not completely destroyed by the outburst. This allows the outer disc to be replenished between outbursts and a sufficiently short KL oscillation time-scale. An initially eccentric disc has a shorter KL oscillation time-scale compared to an initially circular orbit disc. We suggest that the chaotic nature of the outbursts is caused by the sensitivity of the mechanism to the distribution of material within the disc. The outbursts continue provided that the Be star supplies material that is sufficiently misaligned to the binary orbital plane. We generalize our results to Be/X-ray binaries with varying orbital period and find that if the Be star disc is flared, it is more likely to be unstable to KL oscillations in a smaller orbital period binary, in agreement with observations.

1994 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 213-215
Author(s):  
Priyamvada Saraswat ◽  
Krishna M.V. Apparao

Compared to several other Be/X-ray binaries, 4U1907+09 has been observed more frequently due to the fact that it is found in an ‘on’ state more often. It also has a short orbital period of ~ 8 days as compared to the long orbital periods commonly found in these binaries. But despite the attention it has received, the exact nature of the primary remains elusive. While some observers maintain it to be a Be/X-ray binary, others prefer to put it into the class of OB supergiants.


1987 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 203-203
Author(s):  
A.N. Parmar ◽  
N.E. White ◽  
L. Stella ◽  
P. Ferri

EXOSAT has observed a bright transient X-ray pulsar EXO 2030+375 that decayed in intensity by a factor ∼5000 between 1985 May and August. The variations in 42s pulse period enable an orbital period of 37.9±1.3 days with an eccentricity of 0.31±0.02 to be determined. The spin-up timescale of ∼30 years suggests that this is a very large outburst of order a few 1038 ergs/s. The mass function of 5Mo is consistent with the unidentified companion being a Be star, similar to many other pulsing X-ray binaries. The position of EXO 2030+375, obtained with the EXOSAT Imaging Telescope, is RA: 20 30 21.25, Decl. +37 27 51 (1950; with an uncertainty radius of 10″).


2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (4) ◽  
pp. 6187-6201
Author(s):  
H Treiber ◽  
G Vasilopoulos ◽  
C D Bailyn ◽  
F Haberl ◽  
K C Gendreau ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We report the results of eROSITA and NICER observations of the 2020 June outburst of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar RX J0529.8−6556 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, along with the analysis of archival X-ray and optical data from this source. We find two anomalous features in the system’s behaviour. First, the pulse profile observed by NICER during maximum luminosity is similar to that observed by XMM–Newton in 2000, despite the fact that the X-ray luminosity was different by two orders of magnitude. In contrast, a modest decrease in luminosity in the 2020 observations generated a significant change in pulse profile. Secondly, we find that the historical optical outbursts are not strictly periodic, as would be expected if the outbursts were triggered by periastron passage, as is generally assumed. The optical peaks are also not coincident with the X-ray outbursts. We suggest that this behaviour may result from a misalignment of the Be star disc and the orbital plane, which might cause changes in the timing of the passage of the neutron star through the disc as it precesses. We conclude that the orbital period of the source remains unclear.


2004 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 144-145
Author(s):  
A. T. Okazaki ◽  
K. Hayasaki

AbstractWe study the interaction between the Be-star disk and the neutron star in Be/X-ray binaries by three dimensional SPH simulations. We find that, the resonant, truncation of the Be disk works except for systems with extremely high orbital eccentricity or large misalignment angles between the Be disk and the orbital plane. Owing to the truncation, the mass-capture rate by the neutron star is sensitive both to the orbital eccentricity and to the angle of misalignment. It is single-peaked in coplanar systems and in systems with small misalignment angles, whereas it, becomes double-peaked in systems with large misalignment angles.


Author(s):  
Yunus Emre Bahar ◽  
Manoneeta Chakraborty ◽  
Ersin Göğüş

Abstract We present the results of our extensive binary orbital motion corrected pulsation search for 13 low-mass X-ray binaries. These selected sources exhibit burst oscillations in X-rays with frequencies ranging from 45 to 1 122 Hz and have a binary orbital period varying from 2.1 to 18.9 h. We first determined episodes that contain weak pulsations around the burst oscillation frequency by searching all archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data of these sources. Then, we applied Doppler corrections to these pulsation episodes to discard the smearing effect of the binary orbital motion and searched for recovered pulsations at the second stage. Here we report 75 pulsation episodes that contain weak but coherent pulsations around the burst oscillation frequency. Furthermore, we report eight new episodes that show relatively strong pulsations in the binary orbital motion corrected data.


2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A186 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Fürst ◽  
D. J. Walton ◽  
M. Heida ◽  
F. A. Harrison ◽  
D. Barret ◽  
...  

We present a timing analysis of multiple XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations of the ultra-luminous pulsar NGC 7793 P13 spread over its 65 d variability period. We use the measured pulse periods to determine the orbital ephemeris, confirm a long orbital period with Porb = 63.9+0.5−0.6 d, and find an eccentricity of e ≤ 0.15. The orbital signature is imprinted on top of a secular spin-up, which seems to get faster as the source becomes brighter. We also analyze data from dense monitoring of the source with Swift and find an optical photometric period of 63.9 ± 0.5 d and an X-ray flux period of 66.8 ± 0.4 d. The optical period is consistent with the orbital period, while the X-ray flux period is significantly longer. We discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy, which could be due to a super-orbital period caused by a precessing accretion disk or an orbital resonance. We put the orbital period of P13 into context with the orbital periods implied for two other ultra-luminous pulsars, M82 X-2 and NGC 5907 ULX, and discuss possible implications for the system parameters.


2003 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 215-217
Author(s):  
Q. Z. Liu ◽  
X. D. Li ◽  
D. M. Wei

The relation between the spin period (Ps) and the orbital period (Po) in high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) is investigated. In order for Be/X-ray binaries to locate above the critical line of observable X-ray emission due to accretion, it is necessary for an intermediate orbital eccentricity to be introduced. We suggest that some peculiar systems in the Po − Ps diagram are caused by their peculiar magnetic fields.


2011 ◽  
Vol 529 ◽  
pp. A30 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D’Aì ◽  
V. La Parola ◽  
G. Cusumano ◽  
A. Segreto ◽  
P. Romano ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S346) ◽  
pp. 219-227
Author(s):  
Konstantin A. Postnov ◽  
Alexander G. Kuranov ◽  
Lev R. Yungelson

Abstract. Different accretion regimes onto magnetized NSs in HMXBs are considered: wind-fed supersonic (Bondi) regime at high accretion rates <math/> g s-1, subsonic settling regime at lower <math/> and supercritical disc accretion during Roche lobe overflow. In wind-fed stage, NSs in HMXBs reach equilibrium spin periods P* proportional to binary orbital period Pb. At supercritical accretion stage, the system may appear as a pulsating ULX. Population synthesis of Galactic HMXBs using standard assumptions on the binary evolution and NS formation is presented. Comparison of the model P* – Pb (the Corbet diagram), P* – Lx and Pb – Lx distributions with those for the observed HMXBs (including Be X-ray binaries) and pulsating ULXs suggests the importance of the reduction of P* in non-circular orbits, explaining the location of Be X-ray binaries in the model Corbet diagram, and the universal parameters of pulsating ULXs depending only on the NS magnetic fields.


Author(s):  
R O Brown ◽  
M J Coe ◽  
W C G Ho ◽  
A T Okazaki

Abstract As the largest population of high mass X-ray binaries, Be/X-ray binaries provide an excellent laboratory to investigate the extreme physics of neutron stars. It is generally accepted that Be stars possess a circumstellar disc, providing an additional source of accretion to the stellar winds present around young hot stars. Interaction between the neutron star and the disc is often the dominant accretion mechanism. A large amount of work has gone into modelling the properties of these circumstellar discs, allowing for the explanation of a number of observable phenomena. In this paper, smoothed particle hydroynamics simulations are performed whilst varying the model parameters (orbital period, eccentricity, the mass ejection rate of the Be star and the viscosity and orientation of the disc). The relationships between the model parameters and the disc’s characteristics (base gas density, the accretion rate of the neutron star and the disc’s size) are presented. The observational evidence for a dependency of the size of the Be star’s circumstellar disc on the orbital period (and semi-major axis) is supported by the simulations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document