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arXiv · 1907.11268

Optically thin outbursts of rotating neutron stars can not be spherical

Maciek Wielgus
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Abstract

We investigate three-dimensional relativistic trajectories of test particles in the spacetime of a slowly rotating compact star, under the combined influence of gravity and a strong, near-Eddington radiation field. While in the static case a spherically symmetric shell of matter suspended above the stellar surface can be formed at the location of radial equilibrium of effective forces, the same is not true for a rotating star. In the latter case the symmetry is broken by the interplay between motion in the non-static spacetime and the influence of strong radiation drag forces, pushing particles towards the equatorial plane. As a result an expanding spherical shell of matter ejected from the neutron star surface collapses on a short timescale into a single stable equatorial ring supported by radiation. These findings have implications for the geometry of optically thin outflows during luminous neutron star bursts.

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Maciek Wielgus. 2019-07-25. Optically thin outbursts of rotating neutron stars can not be spherical. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2079

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