Temperature of neutron stars

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1630026
Author(s):  
Sachiko Tsuruta

We start with a brief introduction to the historical background in the early pioneering days when the first neutron star thermal evolution calculations predicted the presence of neutron stars hot enough to be observable. We then report on the first detection of neutron star temperatures by ROSAT X-ray satellite, which vindicated the earlier prediction of hot neutron stars. We proceed to present subsequent developments, both in theory and observation, up to today. We then discuss the current status and the future prospect, which will offer useful insight to the understanding of basic properties of ultra-high density matter beyond the nuclear density, such as the possible presence of such exotic particles as pion condensates.

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (4) ◽  
pp. 4477-4486 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Degenaar ◽  
L S Ootes ◽  
D Page ◽  
R Wijnands ◽  
A S Parikh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The structure and composition of the crust of neutron stars plays an important role in their thermal and magnetic evolution, hence in setting their observational properties. One way to study the properties of the crust of a neutron star, is to measure how it cools after it has been heated during an accretion outburst in a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB). Such studies have shown that there is a tantalizing source of heat, of currently unknown origin, that is located in the outer layers of the crust and has a strength that varies between different sources and different outbursts. With the aim of understanding the mechanism behind this ‘shallow heating’, we present Chandra and Swift observations of the neutron star LMXB Aql X-1, obtained after its bright 2016 outburst. We find that the neutron star temperature was initially much lower, and started to decrease at much later time, than observed after the 2013 outburst of the source, despite the fact that the properties of the two outbursts were very similar. Comparing our data to thermal evolution simulations, we infer that the depth and magnitude of shallow heating must have been much larger during the 2016 outburst than during the 2013 one. This implies that basic neutron star parameters that remain unchanged between outbursts do not play a strong role in shallow heating. Furthermore, it suggests that outbursts with a similar accretion morphology can give rise to very different shallow heating. We also discuss alternative explanations for the observed difference in quiescent evolution after the 2016 outburst.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (04) ◽  
pp. 1750015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeunhwan Lim ◽  
Chang Ho Hyun ◽  
Chang-Hwan Lee

In this paper, we investigate the cooling of neutron stars with relativistic and nonrelativistic models of dense nuclear matter. We focus on the effects of uncertainties originated from the nuclear models, the composition of elements in the envelope region, and the formation of superfluidity in the core and the crust of neutron stars. Discovery of [Formula: see text] neutron stars PSR J1614−2230 and PSR J0343[Formula: see text]0432 has triggered the revival of stiff nuclear equation of state at high densities. In the meantime, observation of a neutron star in Cassiopeia A for more than 10 years has provided us with very accurate data for the thermal evolution of neutron stars. Both mass and temperature of neutron stars depend critically on the equation of state of nuclear matter, so we first search for nuclear models that satisfy the constraints from mass and temperature simultaneously within a reasonable range. With selected models, we explore the effects of element composition in the envelope region, and the existence of superfluidity in the core and the crust of neutron stars. Due to uncertainty in the composition of particles in the envelope region, we obtain a range of cooling curves that can cover substantial region of observation data.


2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (05) ◽  
pp. 825-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. TAGIEVA ◽  
E. YAZGAN ◽  
A. ANKAY

We examined the fall-back disk models, and in general accretion, proposed to explain the properties of AXPs and SGRs. We checked the possibility of some gas remaining around the neutron star after a supernova explosion. We also compared AXPs and SGRs with the X-ray pulsars in X-ray binaries. We conclude that the existing models of accretion from a fall-back disk are insufficient to explain the nature of AXPs and SGRs.


1971 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 394-406
Author(s):  
F. Pacini

The Crab Nebula pulsar conforms to the model of a rotating magnetised neutron star in the rate of energy generation and the exponent of the rotation law.It is suggested that the main pulse is due to electrons and the precursor to protons. Both must radiate in coherent bunches. Optical and X-ray radiation is by the synchrotron process.The wisps observed in the Nebula may represent the release of an instability storing about 1043 erg and 1047–48 particles.Finally, some considerations are made about the general relation between supernova remnants and rotating neutron stars.


2019 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. A88 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Y. Potekhin ◽  
A. I. Chugunov ◽  
G. Chabrier

Aims. We study the long-term thermal evolution of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients (SXTs), taking the deep crustal heating into account consistently with the changes of the composition of the crust. We collect observational estimates of average accretion rates and thermal luminosities of such neutron stars and compare the theory with observations. Methods. We performed simulations of thermal evolution of accreting neutron stars, considering the gradual replacement of the original nonaccreted crust by the reprocessed accreted matter, the neutrino and photon energy losses, and the deep crustal heating due to nuclear reactions in the accreted crust. We also tested and compared results for different modern theoretical models. We updated a compilation of the observational estimates of the thermal luminosities in quiescence and average accretion rates in the SXTs and compared the observational estimates with the theoretical results. Results. The long-term thermal evolution of transiently accreting neutron stars is nonmonotonic. The quasi-equilibrium temperature in quiescence reaches a minimum and then increases toward the final steady state. The quasi-equilibrium thermal luminosity of a neutron star in an SXT can be substantially lower at the minimum than in the final state. This enlarges the range of possibilities for theoretical interpretation of observations of such neutron stars. The updates of the theory and observations leave the previous conclusions unchanged, namely that the direct Urca process operates in relatively cold neutron stars and that an accreted heat-blanketing envelope is likely present in relatively hot neutron stars in the SXTs in quiescence. The results of the comparison of theory with observations favor suppression of the triplet pairing type of nucleon superfluidity in the neutron-star matter.


1992 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 220-221
Author(s):  
George G. Pavlov

AbstractEven old (106 to 107 yr) pulsars within a few hundred parsecs of the Sun should give UV and optical fluxes via thermal radiation or radiation from relativistic particles. The surface temperature of a neutron star depends on its mass, radius, magnetic field, and internal composition (existence of pion condensate, superfluidity of nucléons, etc.). If the temperature exceeds ~2x104 K, the thermal radiation can be detected by the Hubble Space Telescope. An analysis of the results will allow one to study the thermal evolution and inner structure of neutron stars in order to obtain additional constraints on pulsar models.


1990 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 89-110
Author(s):  
H. V. Bradt ◽  
A. M. Levine ◽  
E. H. Morgan ◽  
R. A. Remillard ◽  
J. H. Swank ◽  
...  

AbstractThe capabilities of the X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) are described with particular attention paid to current scientific problems it will address from galactic neutron star systems to active galactic nuclei. It features a low-background continuous 2-200 keV response with large apertures (a 0.63-m2 proportional counter array and a 0.16-m2 dual rocking NaI/CsI scintillation array). Rapid response (in hours) to temporal phenomena, e.g. transients, is obtained by virtue of a scanning all-sky monitor and rapid maneuverability. XTE will carry out detailed energy-resolved studies of phenomena close to neutron stars (e.g. QPO’s) because of its sub-millisecond timing (to 10 μs), its high telemetry rates (to 256 kb/s), and the high throughput of its data system (to ≳ 2 × 105 c s−1).


2000 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
W. Becker

Recent X-ray observatories such as ROSAT, ASCA, RXTE, BeppoSAX, and Chandra have achieved important progress in neutron star and pulsar astronomy. The identification of Geminga as a rotation-powered pulsar, the discovery of X-ray emission from millisecond pulsars, and the identification of cooling neutron stars are only a few of the fascinating results. In the following, I will give a brief review on the X-ray emission properties of rotation-powered pulsars and their wind nebulae.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 2041015
Author(s):  
John L. Friedman ◽  
Nikolaos Stergioulas

The first inspiral of two neutron stars observed in gravitational waves was remarkably close, allowing the kind of simultaneous gravitational wave and electromagnetic observation that had not been expected for several years. Their merger, followed by a gamma-ray burst and a kilonova, was observed across the spectral bands of electromagnetic telescopes. These GW and electromagnetic observations have led to dramatic advances in understanding short gamma-ray bursts; determining the origin of the heaviest elements; and determining the maximum mass of neutron stars. From the imprint of tides on the gravitational waveforms and from observations of X-ray binaries, one can extract the radius and deformability of inspiraling neutron stars. Together, the radius, maximum mass, and causality constrain the neutron-star equation of state, and future constraints can come from observations of post-merger oscillations. We selectively review these results, filling in some of the physics with derivations and estimates.


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