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At least 1,189 records · Page 66
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DOE OSTI2015

Producing magnetar magnetic fields in the merger of binary neutron stars

The merger of binary neutron stars (BNSs) can lead to large amplifications of the magnetic field due to the development of turbulence and instabilities in the fluid, such as the Kelvin–Helmholtz shear instability, which drive small-scale dynamo activity. In order to properly resolve such instabilities and obtain the correct magnetic field amplification, one would need to employ resolutions that are currently unfeasible in global general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of BNS mergers. Here, we present a subgrid model that allows global simulations to take into account the small-scale amplification of the magnetic field which is caused by the development of turbulence during BNS mergers. Assuming dynamo saturation, we show that magnetar-level fields (∼10{sup 16} G) can be easily reached, and should therefore be expected from the merger of magnetized BNSs. The total magnetic energy can reach values up to ∼10{sup 51} erg and the post-merger remnant can therefore emit strong electromagnetic signals and possibly produce short gamma-ray bursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ACCRETION DISK DYNAMO AS THE TRIGGER FOR X-RAY BINARY STATE TRANSITIONS

Magnetohydrodynamic accretion disk simulations suggest that much of the energy liberated by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can be channeled into large-scale toroidal magnetic fields through dynamo action. Under certain conditions, this field can dominate over gas and radiation pressure in providing vertical support against gravity, even close to the midplane. Using a simple model for the creation of this field, its buoyant rise, and its coupling to the gas, we show how disks could be driven into this magnetically dominated state and deduce the resulting vertical pressure and density profiles. Applying an established criterion for MRI to operate in the presence of a toroidal field, we show that magnetically supported disks can have two distinct MRI-active regions, separated by a “dead zone” where local MRI is suppressed, but where magnetic energy continues to flow upward from the dynamo region below. We suggest that the relative strengths of the MRI zones, and the local poloidal flux, determine the spectral states of X-ray binaries. Specifically, “intermediate” and “hard” accretion states occur when MRI is triggered in the hot, upper zone of the corona, while disks in “soft” states do not develop the upper MRI zone. We discuss the conditions under which various transitions should take place and speculate on the relationship of dynamo activity to the various types of quasi-periodic oscillations that sometimes appear in the hard spectral components. The model also explains why luminous accretion disks in the “soft” state show no signs of the thermal/viscous instability predicted by standard α-models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

RADIO ASTROMETRY OF THE CLOSE ACTIVE BINARY HR 5110

The close active binary HR 5110 was observed at six epochs over 26 days using a global very long baseline interferometry array at 15.4 GHz. We used phase referencing to determine the position of the radio centroid at each epoch with an uncertainty significantly smaller than the component separation. After correcting for proper motion and parallax, we find that the centroid locations of all six epochs have barycenter separations consistent with an emission source located on the KIV secondary, and not in an interaction region between the stars or on the F primary. We used a homogeneous power-law gyrosynchrotron emission model to reproduce the observed flux densities and fractional circular polarization. The resulting ranges of mean magnetic field strength and relativistic electron densities are of the order of 10 G and 10{sup 5} cm{sup −3}, respectively, in the source region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ON THE GEOMETRIC NATURE OF LOW-FREQUENCY QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS IN NEUTRON-STAR LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

We report on a detailed analysis of the so-called ∼1 Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in the eclipsing and dipping neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748–676. This type of QPO has previously been shown to have a geometric origin. Our study focuses on the evolution of the QPO as the source moves through the color–color diagram in which it traces out an atoll-source-like track. The QPO frequency increases from ∼0.4 Hz in the hard state to ∼25 Hz as the source approaches the soft state. Combining power spectra based on QPO frequency reveals additional features that strongly resemble those seen in non-dipping/eclipsing atoll sources. We show that the low-frequency QPOs in atoll sources and the ∼1 Hz QPO in EXO 0748–676 follow similar relations with respect to the noise components in their power spectra. We conclude that the frequencies of both types of QPOs are likely set by (the same) precession of a misaligned inner accretion disk. For high-inclination systems like EXO 0748–676 this results in modulations of the neutron-star emission due to obscuration or scattering, while for lower-inclination systems the modulations likely arise from relativistic Doppler-boosting and light-bending effects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

SUPER STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS OF NEUTRON STARS IN BE X-RAY BINARIES ESTIMATED WITH NEW TORQUE AND MAGNETOSPHERE MODELS

We re-estimate the surface magnetic fields of neutron stars (NSs) in Be X-ray binaries (BeXBs) with different models of torque, improved beyond Klus et al. In particular, a new torque model is applied to three models of magnetosphere radius. Unlike the previous models, the new torque model does not lead to divergent results for any fastness parameter. The inferred surface magnetic fields of these NSs for the two compressed magnetosphere models are much higher than that for the uncompressed magnetosphere model. The new torque model using the compressed magnetosphere radius leads to unique solutions near spin equilibrium in all cases, unlike other models that usually give two branches of solutions. Although our conclusions are still affected by the simplistic assumptions about the magnetosphere radius calculations, we show several groups of possible surface magnetic field values with our new models when the interaction between the magnetosphere and the infalling accretion plasma is considered. The estimated surface magnetic fields for NSs BeXBs in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Milk Way are between the quantum critical field and the maximum “virial” value by the spin equilibrium condition.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

TRACING THE REVERBERATION LAG IN THE HARD STATE OF BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES

We report results obtained from a systematic analysis of X-ray lags in a sample of black hole X-ray binaries, with the aim of assessing the presence of reverberation lags and studying their evolution during outburst. We used XMM-Newton and simultaneous Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations to obtain broadband energy coverage of both the disk and the hard X-ray Comptonization components. In most cases the detection of reverberation lags is hampered by low levels of variability-power signal-to-noise ratio (typically when the source is in a soft state) and/or short exposure times. The most detailed study was possible for GX 339-4 in the hard state, which allowed us to characterize the evolution of X-ray lags as a function of luminosity in a single source. Over all the sampled frequencies (∼0.05–9 Hz), we observe the hard lags intrinsic to the power-law component, already well known from previous RXTE studies. The XMM-Newton soft X-ray response allows us to detail the disk variability. At low frequencies (long timescales) the disk component always leads the power-law component. On the other hand, a soft reverberation lag (ascribable to thermal reprocessing) is always detected at high frequencies (short timescales). The intrinsic amplitude of the reverberation lag decreases as the source luminosity and the disk fraction increase. This suggests that the distance between the X-ray source and the region of the optically thick disk where reprocessing occurs gradually decreases as GX 339-4 rises in luminosity through the hard state, possibly as a consequence of reduced disk truncation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

X-RAY POLARIZATION FROM HIGH-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

X-ray astronomy allows study of objects that may be associated with compact objects, i.e., neutron stars or black holes, and also may contain strong magnetic fields. Such objects are categorically nonspherical, and likely noncircular when projected on the sky. Polarization allows study of such geometric effects, and X-ray polarimetry is likely to become feasible for a significant number of sources in the future. Potential targets for future X-ray polarization observations are the high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), which consist of a compact object in orbit with an early-type star. In this paper we show that X-ray polarization from HMXBs has a distinct signature that depends on the source inclination and orbital phase. The presence of the X-ray source displaced from the star creates linear polarization even if the primary wind is spherically symmetric whenever the system is viewed away from conjunction. Direct X-rays dilute this polarization whenever the X-ray source is not eclipsed; at mid-eclipse the net polarization is expected to be small or zero if the wind is circularly symmetric around the line of centers. Resonance line scattering increases the scattering fraction, often by large factors, over the energy band spanned by resonance lines. Real winds are not expected to be spherically symmetric, or circularly symmetric around the line of centers, owing to the combined effects of the compact object gravity and ionization on the wind hydrodynamics. A sample calculation shows that this creates polarization fractions ranging up to tens of percent at mid-eclipse.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Late-time post-merger modeling of a compact binary: effects of relativity, r-process heating, and treatment of transport

Detectable electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves from compact binary mergers can be produced by outflows from the black hole-accretion disk remnant during the first 10 s after the merger. Two-dimensional axisymmetric simulations with effective viscosity remain an efficient and informative way to model this late-time post-merger evolution. In addition to the inherent approximations of axisymmetry and modeling turbulent angular momentum transport by a viscosity, previous simulations often make other simplifications related to the treatment of the equation of state and turbulent transport effects. In this paper, we test the effect of these modeling choices. By evolving with the same viscosity the exact post-merger initial configuration previously evolved in Newtonian viscous hydrodynamics, we find that the Newtonian treatment provides a good estimate of the disk ejecta mass but underestimates the outflow velocity. We find that the inclusion of heavy nuclei causes a notable increase in ejecta mass. An approximate inclusion of r-process effects has a comparatively smaller effect, except for its designed effect on the composition. Diffusion of composition and entropy, modeling turbulent transport effects, has the overall effect of reducing ejecta mass and giving it a speed with lower average and more tightly-peaked distribution. Also, we find significant acceleration of outflow even at distances beyond 10 000 km, so that thermal wind velocities only asymptote beyond this radius and at higher values than often reported.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Second release of the CoRe database of binary neutron star merger waveforms

Abstract We present the second data release of gravitational waveforms from binary neutron star (BNS) merger simulations performed by the Computational Relativity ( CoRe ) collaboration. The current database consists of 254 different BNS configurations and a total of 590 individual numerical-relativity simulations using various grid resolutions. The released waveform data contain the strain and the Weyl curvature multipoles up to ℓ = m = 4 . They span a significant portion of the mass, mass-ratio, spin and eccentricity parameter space and include targeted configurations to the events GW170817 and GW190425. CoRe simulations are performed with 18 different equations of state, seven of which are finite temperature models, and three of which account for non-hadronic degrees of freedom. About half of the released data are computed with high-order hydrodynamics schemes for tens of orbits to merger; the other half is computed with advanced microphysics. We showcase a standard waveform error analysis and discuss the accuracy of the database in terms of faithfulness. We present ready-to-use fitting formulas for equation of state-insensitive relations at merger (e.g. merger frequency), luminosity peak, and post-merger spectrum.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Time-dependent search for neutrino emission from X-ray binaries with the ANTARES telescope

ANTARES is currently the largest neutrino telescope operating in the Northern Hemisphere, aiming at the detection of high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources. Neutrino telescopes constantly monitor at least one complete hemisphere of the sky, and are thus well-suited to detect neutrinos produced in transient astrophysical sources. A time-dependent search has been applied to a list of 33 X-ray binaries undergoing high flaring activities in satellite data (RXTE/ASM, MAXI and Swift/BAT) and during hardness transition states in the 2008–2012 period. The background originating from interactions of charged cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere is drastically reduced by requiring a directional and temporal coincidence with astrophysical phenomena. The results of this search are presented together with comparisons between the neutrino flux upper limits and the neutrino flux predictions from astrophysical models. The neutrino flux upper limits resulting from this search limit the jet parameter space for some astrophysical models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Electromagnetic radiation accompanying gravitational waves from black hole binaries

The transition of powerful gravitational waves, created by the coalescence of massive black hole binaries, into electromagnetic radiation in external magnetic fields is considered. In contrast to the previous calculations of the similar effect we study the realistic case of the gravitational radiation frequency below the plasma frequency of the surrounding medium. The gravitational waves propagating in the plasma constantly create electromagnetic radiation dragging it with them, despite the low frequency. The plasma heating by the unattenuated electromagnetic wave may be significant in hot rarefied plasma with strong magnetic field and can lead to a noticeable burst of electromagnetic radiation with higher frequency. The graviton-to-photon conversion effect in plasma is discussed in the context of possible electromagnetic counterparts of GW150914 and GW170104.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

TYPE-I X-RAY BURSTS REVEAL A FAST CO-EVOLVING BEHAVIOR OF THE CORONA IN AN X-RAY BINARY

The coronae in X-ray binaries (XRBs) still remain poorly understood, although they have been believed for a long time to play a key role in modeling the characteristic outbursts of XRBs. Type-I X-ray bursts, the thermonuclear flashes happening on the surface of a neutron star (NS), can be used as a probe to the innermost region of an NS XRB, where the corona is believed to be located very close to the NS. We report the discovery of a tiny life cycle of the corona that is promptly co-evolved with the type-I bursts superimposed on the outburst of the NS XRB IGR J17473-2721. This finding may serve as the first evidence of directly seeing the rapid disappearance and formation of a corona in an XRB with a cooling/heating timescale of less than a second, which can strongly constrain the accretion models in XRBs at work.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

WD0837+185: THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF AN EXTREME MASS-RATIO WHITE-DWARF-BROWN-DWARF BINARY IN PRAESEPE

There is a striking and unexplained dearth of brown dwarf companions in close orbits (<3 AU) around stars more massive than the Sun, in stark contrast to the frequency of stellar and planetary companions. Although rare and relatively short-lived, these systems leave detectable evolutionary end points in the form of white-dwarf-brown-dwarf binaries and these remnants can offer unique insights into the births and deaths of their parent systems. We present the discovery of a close (orbital separation {approx}0.006 AU) substellar companion to a massive white dwarf member of the Praesepe star cluster. Using the cluster age and the mass of the white dwarf, we constrain the mass of the white dwarf progenitor star to lie in the range 3.5-3.7 M{sub Sun} (B9). The high mass of the white dwarf means the substellar companion must have been engulfed by the B star's envelope while it was on the late asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Hence, the initial separation of the system was {approx}2 AU, with common envelope evolution reducing the separation to its current value. The initial and final orbital separations allow us to constrain the combination of the common envelope efficiency ({alpha}) and binding energy parameters ({lambda}) for the AGB star to {alpha}{lambda} {approx} 3. We examine the various formation scenarios and conclude that the substellar object was most likely captured by the white dwarf progenitor early in the life of the cluster, rather than forming in situ.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

DYNAMICAL CAPTURE BINARY NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

We study dynamical capture binary neutron star mergers as may arise in dense stellar regions such as globular clusters. Using general-relativistic hydrodynamics, we find that these mergers can result in the prompt collapse to a black hole or in the formation of a hypermassive neutron star, depending not only on the neutron star equation of state but also on impact parameter. We also find that these mergers can produce accretion disks of up to a tenth of a solar mass and unbound ejected material of up to a few percent of a solar mass. We comment on the gravitational radiation and electromagnetic transients that these sources may produce.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DISCOVERY OF A BINARY BROWN DWARF AT 2 pc FROM THE SUN

I am using multi-epoch astrometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to search for new members of the solar neighborhood via their high proper motions. Through this work, I have identified WISE J104915.57-531906.1 as a high proper motion object and have found additional detections in images from the Digitized Sky Survey, the Two Micron All-Sky Survey, and the Deep Near-Infrared Survey of the Southern Sky. I have measured a parallax of 0.''496 {+-} 0.''037 (2.0 {+-} 0.15 pc) from the astrometry in these surveys, making WISE J104915.57-531906.1 the third closest system to the Sun. During spectroscopic observations with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph at Gemini Observatory, an i-band acquisition image resolved it as a 1.''5 (3 AU) binary. A spectrum was collected for the primary, which I classify as L8 {+-} 1. The secondary is probably near the L/T transition as well given that it is only modestly fainter than the primary ({Delta}i = 0.45 mag).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DYNAMICAL EVIDENCE FOR A MAGNETOCENTRIFUGAL WIND FROM A 20 M{sub Sun} BINARY YOUNG STELLAR OBJECT

In Orion BN/KL, proper motions of {lambda}7 mm vibrationally excited SiO masers trace the rotation of a nearly edge-on disk and a bipolar wide-angle outflow 10-100 AU from radio source I, a binary young stellar object of {approx}20 M{sub Sun }. Here we map ground-state {lambda}7 mm SiO emission with the Very Large Array and track proper motions over 9 yr. The innermost and strongest emission lies in two extended arcs bracketing Source I. The proper motions trace a northeast-southwest bipolar outflow 100-1000 AU from Source I with a median three-dimensional motion of {approx}18 km s{sup -1}. An overlying distribution of {lambda}1.3 cm H{sub 2}O masers betrays similar flow characteristics. Gas dynamics and emission morphology traced by the masers suggest the presence of a magnetocentrifugal disk wind. Reinforcing evidence lies in the colinearity of the flow, apparent rotation across the flow parallel to the disk rotation, and recollimation that narrows the flow opening angle {approx}120 AU downstream. The arcs of ground-state SiO emission may mark the transition point to a shocked super-Alfvenic outflow.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

REJECTING PROPOSED DENSE MATTER EQUATIONS OF STATE WITH QUIESCENT LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

Neutrons stars are unique laboratories for discriminating between the various proposed equations of state of matter at and above nuclear density. One sub-class of neutron stars—those inside quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs)—produce a thermal surface emission from which the neutron star radius (R {sub NS}) can be measured, using the widely accepted observational scenario for qLMXBs, assuming unmagnetized H atmospheres. In a combined spectral analysis, this work first reproduces a previously published measurement of the R {sub NS}, assumed to be the same for all neutron stars, using a slightly expanded data set. The radius measured is R{sub NS}=9.4±1.2 km. On the basis of spectral analysis alone, this measured value is not affected by imposing an assumption of causality in the core. However, the assumptions underlying this R {sub NS} measurement would be falsified by the observation of any neutron star with a mass >2.6 M {sub ☉}, since radii <11 km would be rejected if causality is assumed, which would exclude most of the R {sub NS} parameter space obtained in this analysis. Finally, this work directly tests a selection of dense matter equations of state: WFF1, AP4, MPA1, PAL1, MS0, and three versions of equations of state produced through chiral effective theory. Two of those, MS0 and PAL1, are rejected at the 99% confidence level, accounting for all quantifiable uncertainties, while the other cannot be excluded at >99% certainty.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

GLOBULAR CLUSTER FORMATION EFFICIENCIES FROM BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARY FEEDBACK

We investigate a scenario in which feedback from black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) sometimes begins inside young star clusters before strong supernova (SN) feedback. Those BHXBs could reduce the gas fraction inside embedded young clusters while maintaining virial equilibrium, which may help globular clusters (GCs) to stay bound when SN-driven gas ejection subsequently occurs. Adopting a simple toy model with parameters guided by BHXB population models, we produce GC formation efficiencies consistent with empirically inferred values. The metallicity dependence of BHXB formation could naturally explain why GC formation efficiency is higher at lower metallicity. For reasonable assumptions about that metallicity dependence, our toy model can produce a GC metallicity bimodality in some galaxies without a bimodality in the field-star metallicity distribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗