Supernova Preshock Neutronization Burst as a Probe of Nonstandard Neutrino Interactions

A core-collapse supernova (CCSN) provides a unique astrophysical site for studying neutrino–matter interactions. Prior to the shock-breakout neutrino burst during the collapse of the iron core, a preshock ν e burst arises from the electron capture of nuclei and it is sensitive to the low-energy coherent elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering (CEνNS) which dominates the neutrino opacity. Since the CEνNS depends strongly on nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSIs), which are completely beyond the standard model and yet to be determined, the detection of the preshock burst thus provides a clean way to extract the NSI information. Within the spherically symmetric general-relativistic hydrodynamic simulation for the CCSN, we investigate the NSI effects on the preshock burst. We find that the NSI can maximally enhance the peak luminosity of the preshock burst almost by a factor of three, reaching a value comparable to that of the shock-breakout burst. Future detection of the preshock burst will have critical implications on astrophysics, neutrino physics, and physics beyond the standard model.

Effects of the Nuclear Equation of State on Type I X-Ray Bursts: Interpretation of the X-Ray Bursts from GS 1826–24

Type I X-ray bursts are thermonuclear explosions on the neutron star (NS) surface caused by mass accretion from a companion star. Observations of X-ray bursts provide valuable information on X-ray binary systems, e.g., binary parameters, the chemical composition of accreted matter, and the nuclear equation of state (EOS). There have been several theoretical studies to constrain the physics of X-ray bursters. However, they have mainly focused on the burning layers above the solid crust of the NS, which brings up issues of the treatment of NS gravitational and internal energy. In this study, focusing on the microphysics inside NSs, we calculate a series of X-ray bursts using a general-relativistic stellar-evolution code with several NS EOSs. We compare the X-ray-burst models with the burst parameters of a clocked burster associated with GS 1826–24. We find a monotonic correlation between the NS radius and the light-curve profile. A larger radius shows a higher recurrence time and a large peak luminosity. In contrast, the dependence of light curves on the NS mass becomes more complicated, where neutrino cooling suppresses the efficiency of nuclear ignition. We also constrain the EOS and mass of GS 1826–24, i.e., stiffer EOSs, corresponding to larger NS radii, are not preferred due to a too-high peak luminosity. The EOS and the cooling and heating of NSs are important to discuss the theoretical and observational properties of X-ray bursts.

Upper limits on the temperature of inspiraling astrophysical black holes

We present a method to constrain the temperature of astrophysical black holes through detecting the inspiral phase of binary black hole coalescences. At sufficient separation, inspiraling black holes can be regarded as isolated objects, hence their temperature can still be defined. Due to their intrinsic radiation, inspiraling black holes lose part of their masses during the inspiral phase. As a result, coalescence speeds up, introducing a correction to the orbital phase. We show that this dephasing may allow us to constrain the temperature of inspiraling black holes through gravitational-wave detection. Using the binary black-hole coalescences of the first two observing runs of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, we constrain the temperature of parental black holes to be less than about $$ 10^9 $$ 10 9 K. Such a constraint corresponds to luminosity of about $$ 10^{-16} M_{\odot }~\mathrm{s}^{-1} $$ 10 - 16 M ⊙ s - 1 for a black hole of $$ 20 M_{\odot } $$ 20 M ⊙ , which is about 20 orders of magnitude below the peak luminosity of the corresponding gravitational-wave event, indicating no evidence for strong quantum-gravity effects through the detection of the inspiral phase.

How Are Gamma-Ray Burst Radio Afterglows Populated?

We systematically analyze two GRB samples with radio-loud and radio-quiet afterglows, respectively. It is interestingly found that the radio-selected GRB samples exhibit a clear dichotomy in terms of their distributions of intrinsic durations (Tint), isotropic energies in γ-rays (Eγ, iso), the circum-burst medium density (n), the spectral radio peak luminosity (Lν, p) and flux densities (Fhost) of host galaxies. On average, the values of Tint, Eγ, iso, n, Lν, p and Fhost of radio-quiet GRBs are relatively smaller than those of radio-loud ones. However, the redshifts and host flux densities of both samples are similarly distributed. In addition, a positive power-law correlation of $L_{\nu ,p}\propto E_{\gamma ,iso}^{0.41\pm 0.04}$ is found for the radio-loud sample, especially in accord with the supernova-associated GRBs, which is marginally consistent with that of the radio-quiet GRB sample. A negative correlation between Tint and z is confirmed to similarly hold for both radio-loud and radio-quiet GRBs. The dividing line between short and long GRBs in the rest frame is at Tint ≃1 s. Consequently, we propose that the radio-selected GRBs could be originated from distinct progenitors and central engines, together with environments.

Constraining red supergiant mass-loss prescriptions through supernova radio properties

ABSTRACT Supernova (SN) properties in radio strongly depend on their circumstellar environment and they are an important probe to investigate the mass-loss of SN progenitors. Recently, core-collapse SN observations in radio have been assembled and the rise time and peak luminosity distribution of core-collapse SNe at 8.4 GHz has been estimated. In this paper, we constrain the mass-loss prescriptions for red supergiants (RSGs) by using the rise time and peak luminosity distribution of Type II SNe in radio. We take the de Jager and van Loon mass-loss rates for RSGs, calculate the rise time and peak luminosity distribution based on them, and compare the results with the observed distribution. We found that the de Jager mass-loss rate explains the widely spread radio rise time and peak luminosity distribution of Type II SNe well, while the van Loon mass-loss rate predicts a relatively narrow range for the rise time and peak luminosity. We conclude that the mass-loss prescriptions of RSGs should have strong dependence on the luminosity as in the de Jager mass-loss rate to reproduce the widely spread distribution of the rise time and peak luminosity in radio observed in Type II SNe.

The effect of impact parameter on tidal disruption events

ABSTRACT Stars that pass too close to a supermassive black hole are disrupted by the black hole’s tidal gravity. Some debris is ejected while the remainder accretes into the black hole. To better study the physics of these debris, we use the moving mesh code manga to follow the evolution of the star from its initial encounter to its complete destruction. By varying the impact parameter (β) of the star, we study the energy distribution of the remaining material and the fallback rate of the material into the black hole as a function of time. We show that the spread of energy in the debris and peak luminosity time (tpeak) are both directly related to the impact parameter. In particular, we find a β1/2 scaling for the energy spread for β = 2 − 10 that levels off at β ≳ 10. We discuss implication of this scaling for the rise time of the light curve and broadness of the luminosity peak for these lower β’s. These relationships provide a possible means of inferring the impact parameters for observed tidal disruption events.

A new transient ultraluminous X-ray source in NGC 7090

ABSTRACT We report on the discovery of a new, transient ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in the galaxy NGC 7090. This new ULX, which we refer to as NGC 7090 ULX3, was discovered via monitoring with Swift during 2019–2020, and to date has exhibited a peak luminosity of LX ∼ 6 × 1039 erg s−1. Archival searches show that, prior to its recent transition into the ULX regime, ULX3 appeared to exhibit a fairly stable luminosity of LX ∼ 1038 erg s−1. Such strong long-time-scale variability may be reminiscent of the small population of known ULX pulsars, although deep follow-up observations with XMM–Newton and NuSTAR do not reveal any robust X-ray pulsation signals. Pulsations similar to those seen from known ULX pulsars cannot be completely excluded, however, as the limit on the pulsed fraction of any signal that remains undetected in these data is ≲20 per cent. The broad-band spectrum from these observations is well modelled with a simple thin disc model, consistent with sub-Eddington accretion, which may instead imply a moderately large black hole accretor (MBH ∼ 40 M⊙). Similarly, though, more complex models consistent with the super-Eddington spectra seen in other ULXs (and the known ULX pulsars) cannot be excluded given the limited signal-to-noise ratio of the available broad-band data. The nature of the accretor powering this new ULX therefore remains uncertain.

Discovery of thermonuclear Type-I X-ray bursts from the X-ray binary MAXI J1807+132

ABSTRACT MAXI J1807+132 is a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) first detected in outburst in 2017. Observations during the 2017 outburst did not allow for an unambiguous identification of the nature of the compact object. MAXI J1807+132 that was detected in outburst again in 2019 and was monitored regularly with Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer(NICER). In this paper, we report on 5 days of observations during which we detected three thermonuclear (Type-I) X-ray bursts, identifying the system as a neutron star LMXB. Time-resolved spectroscopy of the three Type-I bursts revealed typical characteristics expected for these phenomena. All three Type-I bursts show slow rises and long decays, indicative of mixed H/He fuel. We find no strong evidence that any of the Type-I bursts reached the Eddington Luminosity; however, under the assumption that the brightest X-ray burst underwent photospheric radius expansion, we estimate a <12.4 kpc upper limit for the distance. We searched for burst oscillations during the Type-I bursts from MAXI J1807+132 and found none (<10 per cent amplitude upper limit at 95 per cent confidence level). Finally, we found that the brightest Type-I burst shows a ∼1.6 s pause during the rise. This pause is similar to one recently found with NICER in a bright Type-I burst from the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4–3658. The fact that Type-I bursts from both sources can show this type of pause suggests that the origin of the pauses is independent of the composition of the burning fuel, the peak luminosity of the Type-I bursts, or whether the NS is an X-ray pulsar.

Models of ultraluminous X-ray transient sources

Context. It is now widely accepted that most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are binary systems whose large (above 1039 erg s−1) apparent luminosities are explained by super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar-mass compact object. Many of the ULXs, especially those containing magnetized neutron stars, are highly variable; some exhibit transient behaviour. Large luminosities might imply large accretion discs that could be therefore prone to the thermal–viscous instability known to drive outbursts of dwarf novae and low-mass X-ray binary transient sources. Aims. The aim of this paper is to extend and generalize the X-ray transient disc-instability model to the case of large (outer radius larger than 1012 cm) accretion discs and apply it to the description of systems with super-Eddington accretion rates at outburst and, in some cases, super-Eddington mass transfer rates. Methods. We have used our disc-instability-model code to calculate the time evolution of the accretion disc and the outburst properties. Results. We show that, provided that self-irradiation of the accretion disc is efficient even when the accretion rate exceeds the Eddington value, possibly due to scattering back of the X-ray flux emitted by the central parts of the disc on the outer portions of the disc, heating fronts can reach the disc’s outer edge generating high accretion rates. We also provide analytical approximations for the observable properties of the outbursts. We have successfully reproduced the observed properties of galactic transients with large discs, such as V404 Cyg, as well as some ULXs such as M51 XT-1. Our model can reproduce the peak luminosity and decay time of ESO 243-39 HLX-1 outbursts if the accretor is a neutron star. Conclusions. Observational tests of our predicted relations between the outburst duration and decay time with peak luminosity would be most welcome.