arXiv subjects

Dany Page

Publications and source records attributed to Dany Page.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

The quiescent state of the neutron-star X-ray transient GRS 1747-312 in the globular cluster Terzan 6

We studied the transient neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary GRS 1747-312, located in the globular cluster Terzan 6, in its quiescent state after its outburst in August 2004, using an archival XMM-Newton observation. A source was detected in this cluster and its X-ray spectrum can be fitted with the combination of a soft, neutron-star atmosphere model and a hard, power-law model. Both contributed roughly equally to the observed 0.5-10 keV luminosity (~4.8X10^33 erg/s). This type of X-ray spectrum is typically observed for quiescent neutron-star X-ray transients that are perhaps accreting in quiescence at very low rates. Therefore, if this X-ray source is the quiescent counterpart of GRS 1747-312, then this source is also accreting at low levels in-between outbursts. Since source confusion a likely problem in globular clusters, it is quite possible that part, if not all, of the emission we observed is not related to GRS 1747-312, and is instead associated with another source or conglomeration of sources in the cluster. Currently, it is not possible to determine exactly which part of the emission truly originates from GRS 1747-312, and a Chandra observation (when no source is in outburst in Terzan 6) is needed to be conclusive. Assuming that the detected emission is due to GRS 1747-312, we discuss the observed results in the context of what is known about other quiescent systems. We also investigated the thermal evolution of the neutron star in GRS 1747-312, and inferred that GRS 1747-312 can be considered a typical quiescent system under our assumptions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Constraining Superfluidity in Dense Matter from the Cooling of Isolated Neutron Stars

We present a quantitative analysis of superfluidity and superconductivity in dense matter from observations of isolated neutron stars in the context of the minimal cooling model. Our new approach produces the best fit neutron triplet superfluid critical temperature, the best fit proton singlet superconducting critical temperature, and their associated statistical uncertainties. We find that the neutron triplet critical temperature is likely $2.09^{+4.37}_{-1.41} \times 10^{8}$ K and that the proton singlet critical temperature is $7.59^{+2.48}_{-5.81} \times 10^{9}$ K. However, we also show that this result only holds if the Vela neutron star is not included in the data set. If Vela is included, the gaps increase significantly to attempt to reproduce Vela's lower temperature given its young age. Further including neutron stars believed to have carbon atmospheres increases the neutron critical temperature and decreases the proton critical temperature. Our method demonstrates that continued observations of isolated neutron stars can quantitatively constrain the nature of superfluidity in dense matter.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2017

Rapid neutrino cooling in the neutron star MXB 1659-29

We show that the neutron star in the transient system MXB~1659-29 has a core neutrino luminosity that substantially exceeds that of the modified Urca reactions (i.e., $n+n\to n+p+e^{-}+\barν_{e}$ and inverse) and is consistent with the direct Urca reactions ($n\to p+e^{-}+\barν_{e}$ and inverse) occurring in a small fraction of the core. Observations of the thermal relaxation of the neutron star crust following 2.5 years of accretion allow us to measure the energy deposited into the core during accretion, which is then reradiated as neutrinos, and infer the core temperature. For a nucleonic core, this requires that the nucleons are unpaired and that the proton fraction exceed a critical value to allow the direct Urca reaction to proceed. The neutron star in MXB~1659-29 is the first with a firmly detected thermal component in its X-ray spectrum that needs a fast neutrino cooling process. Measurements of the temperature variation of the neutron star core during quiescence would place an upper limit on the core specific heat and serve as a check on the fraction of the neutron star core in which nucleons are unpaired.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Neutron stars - cooling and transport

Observations of thermal radiation from neutron stars can potentially provide information about the states of supranuclear matter in the interiors of these stars with the aid of the theory of neutron-star thermal evolution. We review the basics of this theory for isolated neutron stars with strong magnetic fields, including most relevant thermodynamic and kinetic properties in the stellar core, crust, and blanketing envelopes.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Cooling of Accretion-Heated Neutron Stars

We present a brief, observational review about the study of the cooling behaviour of accretion-heated neutron stars and the inferences about the neutron-star crust and core that have been obtained from these studies. Accretion of matter during outbursts can heat the crust out of thermal equilibrium with the core and after the accretion episodes are over, the crust will cool down until crust-core equilibrium is restored. We discuss the observed properties of the crust cooling sources and what has been learned about the physics of neutron-star crusts. We also briefly discuss those systems that have been observed long after their outbursts were over, i.e, during times when the crust and core are expected to be in thermal equilibrium. The surface temperature is then a direct probe for the core temperature. By comparing the expected temperatures based on estimates of the accretion history of the targets with the observed ones, the physics of neutron-star cores can be investigated. Finally, we discuss similar studies performed for strongly magnetized neutron stars in which the magnetic field might play an important role in the heating and cooling of the neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Potential cooling of an accretion-heated neutron star crust in the low-mass X-ray binary 1RXS J180408.9-342058

We have monitored the transient neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 1RXS J180408.9-342058 in quiescence after its ~4.5 month outburst in 2015. The source has been observed using Swift and XMM-Newton. Its X-ray spectra were dominated by a thermal component. The thermal evolution showed a gradual X-ray luminosity decay from ~18 x 10^32 to ~4 x 10^32 (D/5.8 kpc)^2 erg s^{-1} between ~8 and ~379 d in quiescence, and the inferred neutron star surface temperature (for an observer at infinity; using a neutron star atmosphere model) decreased from ~100 to ~71 eV. This can be interpreted as cooling of an accretion-heated neutron star crust. Modelling the observed temperature curve (using NSCOOL) indicated that the source required ~1.9 MeV per accreted nucleon of shallow heating in addition to the standard deep crustal heating to explain its thermal evolution. Alternatively, the decay could also be modelled without the presence of deep crustal heating, only having a shallow heat source (again ~1.9 MeV per accreted nucleon was required). However, the XMM-Newton data statistically required an additional power-law component. This component contributed ~30 per cent of the total unabsorbed flux in 0.5-10 keV energy range. The physical origin of this component is unknown. One possibility is that it arises from low-level accretion. The presence of this component in the spectrum complicates our cooling crust interpretation because it might indicate that the smooth luminosity and temperature decay curves we observed may not be due to crust cooling but due to some other process.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

The thermal state of KS 1731-260 after 14.5 years in quiescence

Crustal cooling of accretion-heated neutron stars provides insight into the stellar interior of neutron stars. The neutron star X-ray transient, KS~1731$-$260, was in outburst for 12.5 years before returning to quiescence in 2001. We have monitored the cooling of this source since then through {\it Chandra} and {\it XMM-Newton} observations. Here, we present a 150 ks {\it Chandra} observation of KS~1731$-$260 taken in August 2015, about 14.5 years into quiescence, and 6 years after the previous observation. We find that the neutron star surface temperature is consistent with the previous observation, suggesting that crustal cooling has likely stopped and the crust has reached thermal equilibrium with the core. Using a theoretical crust thermal evolution code, we fit the observed cooling curves and constrain the core temperature (T$_c = 9.35\pm0.25\times10^7$ K), composition (Q$_{imp} = 4.4^{+2.2}_{-0.5}$) and level of extra shallow heating required (Q$_{sh} = 1.36\pm0.18$ MeV/nucleon). We find that the presence of a low thermal conductivity layer, as expected from nuclear pasta, is not required to fit the cooling curve well, but cannot be excluded either.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

A lower limit on the heat capacity of the neutron star core

We show that observations of the core temperature of transiently-accreting neutron stars combined with observations of an accretion outburst give a lower limit to the neutron star core heat capacity. For the neutron stars in the low mass X-ray binaries KS 1731-260, MXB 1659-29, and XTE J1701-462, we show that the lower limit is a factor of a few below the core heat capacity expected if neutrons and protons in the core are paired, so that electrons provide the dominant contribution to the heat capacity. This limit rules out a core dominated by a quark color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase, which would have a much lower heat capacity. Future observations of or limits on cooling during quiescence will further constrain the core heat capacity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Neutron star crust cooling in KS 1731-260: the influence of accretion outburst variability on the crustal temperature evolution

Using a theoretical model, we track the thermal evolution of a cooling neutron star crust after an accretion induced heating period with the goal of constraining the crustal parameters. We present for the first time a crust cooling model $-\text{ } NSCool\text{ } -$ that takes into account detailed variability during the full outburst based on the observed light curve. We apply our model to KS 1731-260. The source was in outburst for $\sim$12 years during which it was observed to undergo variations on both long (years) and short (days-weeks) timescales. Our results show that KS 1731-260 does not reach a steady state profile during the outburst due to fluctuations in the derived accretion rate. Additionally, long time-scale outburst variability mildly affects the complete crust cooling phase, while variations in the final months of the outburst strongly influence the first $\sim$40 days of the calculated cooling curve. We discuss the consequences for estimates of the neutron star crust parameters, and argue that detailed modelling of the final phase of the outburst is key to constraining the origin of the shallow heat source.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

A strong shallow heat source in the accreting neutron star MAXI J0556-332

An accretion outburst in an X-ray transient deposits material onto the neutron star primary; this accumulation of matter induces reactions in the neutron star's crust. During the accretion outburst these reactions heat the crust out of thermal equilibrium with the core. When accretion halts, the crust cools to its long-term equilibrium temperature on observable timescales. Here we examine the accreting neutron star transient MAXI J0556-332, which is the hottest transient, at the start of quiescence, observed to date. Models of the quiescent light curve require a large deposition of heat in the shallow outer crust from an unknown source. The additional heat injected is $\approx 4\textrm{-}10\,\mathrm{MeV}$ per accreted nucleon; when the observed decline in accretion rate at the end of the outburst is accounted for, the required heating increases to $\approx 6\textrm{-}16\,\mathrm{MeV}$. This shallow heating is still required to fit the lightcurve even after taking into account a second accretion episode, uncertainties in distance, and different surface gravities. The amount of shallow heating is larger than that inferred for other neutron star transients and is larger than can be supplied by nuclear reactions or compositionally driven convection; but it is consistent with stored mechanical energy in the accretion disk. The high crust temperature ($T_b \gtrsim 10^{9} \, {\rm K}$) makes its cooling behavior in quiescence largely independent of the crust composition and envelope properties, so that future observations will probe the gravity of the source. Fits to the lightcurve disfavor the presence of Urca cooling pairs in the crust.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Stellar Superfluids

Neutron stars provide a fertile environment for exploring superfluidity under extreme conditions. It is not surprising that Cooper pairing occurs in dense matter since nucleon pairing is observed in nuclei as energy differences between even-even and odd-even nuclei. Since superfluids and superconductors in neutron stars profoundly affect neutrino emissivities and specific heats, their presence can be observed in the thermal evolution of neutron stars. An ever-growing number of cooling neutron stars, now amounting to 13 thermal sources, and several additional objects from which upper limits to temperatures can be ascertained, can now be used to discriminate among theoretical scenarios and even to dramatically restrict properties of nucleon pairing at high densities. In addition, observations of pulsars, including their spin-downs and glitch histories, additionally support the conjecture that superfluidity and superconductivity are ubiquitous within, and important to our understanding of, neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Forecasting neutron star temperatures: predictability and variability

It is now possible to model thermal relaxation of neutron stars after bouts of accretion during which the star is heated out of equilibrium by nuclear reactions in its crust. Major uncertainties in these models can be encapsulated in modest variations of a handful of fudge parameters that change the crustal thermal conductivity, specific heat, and heating rates. Observations of thermal relaxation constrain these fudge parameters and allow us to predict longer term variability in terms of the neutron star core temperature. We demonstrate this explicitly by modeling ongoing thermal relaxation in the neutron star XTE J1701-462. Its future cooling, over the next 5 to 30 years, is strongly constrained and depends mostly on its core temperature, uncertainties in crust physics having essentially been pinned down by fitting to the first three years of observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Thermal Photons From Magnetized Bare Strange Stars

A plasma made out of strange-quark matter (SQM) and electrons, has a rather high plasma frequency (>20 MeV). Thus, a compact star made of such material all the way up to its surface, i.e., a bare strange star, would be unable to radiate away its thermal emission. We use the MIT-bag model and assume that SQM is the ground state of nuclear matter at high density. We investigate whether the presence of a magnetic field will allow propagation of radiation at frequencies below the SQM plasma frequencies. Hence, we study the presence of gyrofrequencies in a SQM plasma permeated by a strong magnetic field (B > 10^{12} G). We find that small regions in the frequency spectrum allow radiation propagation due to the presence of the magnetic fields. It is likely that narrow bands of radiation would likely be observable from magnetized bare strange stars .

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Testing the deep-crustal heating model using quiescent neutron-star very-faint X-ray transients and the possibility of partially accreted crusts in accreting neutron stars

It is assumed that accreting neutron stars (NSs) in LMXBs are heated due to the compression of the existing crust by the accreted matter which gives rise to nuclear reactions in the crust. It has been shown that most of the energy is released deep in the crust by pycnonuclear reactions involving low-Z elements. We discuss if NSs in very-faint X-ray transients (VFXTs; those which have peak X-ray luminosities < 1E36 erg/s) can be used to test this model. Unfortunately we cannot conclusively answer this because of the large uncertainties in our estimates of the accretion rate history of those VFXTs, both the short-term (less than a few tens of thousands of years) and the one throughout their lifetime. The latter is important because it can be so low that the NSs might not have accreted enough matter to become massive enough that enhanced cooling processes become active. Therefore, they could be relatively warm compared to other systems for which such enhanced cooling processed have been inferred. However, the amount of matter can also not be too low because then the crust might not have been replaced significantly by accreted matter and thus a hybrid crust of partly accreted and partly original, albeit further compressed matter, might be present. This would inhibit the full range of pycnonuclear reactions to occur and thus very likely decreasing the amount of heat deposited in the crust. Furthermore, better understanding is needed how a hybrid crust affects other properties such as the thermal conductivity. We also show that some individual NS LMXBs might have hybrid crusts as well as the NSs in HMXBs. This has to be taken into account when studying the cooling properties of those systems when they are in quiescence. We show that the VFXTs are likely not the dominate transients that are associated with the brightest low-luminosity X-ray sources in globular clusters as was hypothesized.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Hypercritical Accretion onto a Newborn Neutron Star and Magnetic Field Submergence

We present magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations of the late post-supernova hypercritical accretion to understand its effect on the magnetic field of the new-born neutron star. We consider as an example the case of a magnetic field loop protruding from the star's surface. The accreting matter is assumed to be non magnetized and, due to the high accretion rate, matter pressure dominates over magnetic pressure. We find that an accretion envelope develops very rapidly and once it becomes convectively stable the magnetic field is easily buried and pushed into the newly forming neutron star crust. However, for low enough accretion rates the accretion envelope remains convective for an extended period of time and only partial submergence of the magnetic field occurs due to a residual field that is maintained at the interface between the forming crust and the convective envelope. In this latter case, the outcome should be a weakly magnetized neutron star with a likely complicated field geometry. In our simulations we find the transition from total to partial submergence to occur around dotM ~ 10 M_sun/yr. Back-diffusion of the submerged magnetic field toward the surface, and the resulting growth of the dipolar component, may result in a delayed switch-on of a pulsar on time-scales of centuries to millenia.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Pairing and the Cooling of Neutron Stars

In this review, I present a brief summary of the impact of nucleon pairing at supra-nuclear densities on the cooling of neutron stars. I also describe how the recent observation of the cooling of the neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A may provide us with the first direct evidence for the occurrence of such pairing. It also implies a size of the neutron 3P-F2 energy gap of the order of 0.1 MeV.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Thermal and transport properties of the neutron star inner crust

We review the nuclear and condensed matter physics underlying the thermal and transport properties of the neutron star inner crust. These properties play a key role in interpreting transient phenomena such as thermal relaxation in accreting neutron stars, superbursts, and magnetar flares. We emphasize simplifications that occur at low temperature where the inner crust can be described in terms of electrons and collective excitations. The heat conductivity and heat capacity of the solid and superfluid phase of matter is discussed in detail and we emphasize its role in interpreting observations of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients. We highlight recent theoretical and observational results, and identify future work needed to better understand a host of transient phenomena in neutron stars.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2011

Superfluid Neutrons in the Core of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A

The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A contains the youngest known neutron star which is also the first one for which real time cooling has ever been observed. In order to explain the rapid cooling of this neutron star, we first present the fundamental properties of neutron stars that control their thermal evolution with emphasis on the neutrino emission processes and neutron/proton superfluidity/superconductivity. Equipped with these results, we present a scenario in which the observed cooling of the neutron star in Cassiopeia A is interpreted as being due to the recent onset of neutron superfluidity in the core of the star. The manner in which the earlier occurrence of proton superconductivity determines the observed rapidity of this neutron star's cooling is highlighted. This is the first direct evidence that superfluidity and superconductivity occur at supranuclear densities within neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗