arXiv subjects

Jeremy S. Heyl

Publications and source records attributed to Jeremy S. Heyl.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Constraining white-dwarf kicks in globular clusters

The wind of an asymptotic-giant-branch stars is sufficiently strong that if it is slightly asymmetric, it can propel the star outside of the open cluster of its birth or significantly alter its trajectory through a globular cluster; therefore, if these stellar winds are asymmetric, one would expect a deficit of white dwarfs of all ages in open clusters and for young white dwarfs to be less radially concentrated than either their progenitors or older white dwarfs in globular clusters. This latter effect has recently been observed. Hence, detailed studies of the radial distribution of young white dwarfs in globular clusters could provide a unique probe of mass loss on the asymptotic giant branch and during the formation of planetary nebulae both as a function of metallicity and a limited range of stellar mass.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Using long-term transit timing to detect terrestrial planets

We propose that the presence of additional planets in extrasolar planetary systems can be detected by long-term transit timing studies. If a transiting planet is on an eccentric orbit then the presence of another planet causes a secular advance of the transiting planet's pericenter over and above the effect of general relativity. Although this secular effect is impractical to detect over a small number of orbits, it causes long-term differences in when future transits occur, much like the long-term decay observed in pulsars. Measuring this transit-timing delay would thus allow the detection of either one or more additional planets in the system or the first measurements of non-zero oblateness ($J_2$) of the central stars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Ionization and dissociation equilibrium in strongly-magnetized helium atmosphere

Recent observations and theoretical investigations of neutron stars indicate that their atmospheres consist not of hydrogen or iron but possibly other elements such as helium. We calculate the ionization and dissociation equilibrium of helium in the conditions found in the atmospheres of magnetized neutron stars. For the first time this investigation includes the internal degrees of freedom of the helium molecule. We found that at the temperatures and densities of neutron star atmospheres the rotovibrational excitations of helium molecules are populated. Including these excitations increases the expected abundance of molecules by up to two orders of magnitude relative to calculations that ignore the internal states of the molecule; therefore, if the atmospheres of neutron stars indeed consist of helium, helium molecules and possibly polymers will make the bulk of the atmosphere and leave signatures on the observed spectra from neutron stars. We applied our calculation to nearby radio-quiet neutron stars with B_{dipole}~10^{13}-10^{14} G. If helium comprises their atmospheres, our study indicates that isolated neutron stars with T_{BB}~10^6 K such as RXJ0720.4-3125 and RXJ1605.3+3249 will have He^+ ions predominantly, while isolated neutron stars with lower temperature (T_{BB}~5x10^5 K) such as RXJ1856.5-3754 and RXJ0420.0-5022 will have some fraction of helium molecules. If helium molecules are abundant, their spectroscopic signatures may be detected in the optical, UV and X-ray band. (Abridged)

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

See a Black Hole on a Shoestring

The modes of vibration of hanging and partially supported strings provide useful analogies to scalar fields travelling through spacetimes that admit conformally flat spatial sections. This wide class of spacetimes includes static, spherically symmetric spacetimes. The modes of a spacetime where the scale factor depends as a power-law on one of the coordinates provide a useful starting point and yield a new classification of these spacetimes on the basis of the shape of the string analogue. The family of corresponding strings follow a family of curves related to the cycloid, denoted here as hypercycloids (for reasons that will become apparent). Like the spacetimes that they emulate these strings exhibit horizons, typically at their bottommost points where the string tension vanishes; therefore, hanging strings may provide a new avenue for the exploration of the quantum mechanics of horizons.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2006

QED can explain the non-thermal emission from SGRs and AXPs : Variability

Owing to effects arising from quantum electrodynamics (QED), magnetohydrodynamical fast modes of sufficient strength will break down to form electron-positron pairs while traversing the magnetospheres of strongly magnetised neutron stars. The bulk of the energy of the fast mode fuels the development of an electron-positron fireball. However, a small, but potentially observable, fraction of the energy ($\sim 10^{33}$ ergs) can generate a non-thermal distribution of electrons and positrons far from the star. This paper examines the cooling and radiative output of these particles. Small-scale waves may produce only the non-thermal emission. The properties of this non-thermal emission in the absence of a fireball match those of the quiescent, non-thermal radiation recently observed non-thermal emission from several anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters. Initial estimates of the emission as a function of angle indicate that the non-thermal emission should be beamed and therefore one would expect this emission to be pulsed as well. According to this model the pulsation of the non-thermal emission should be between 90 and 180 degrees out of phase from the thermal emission from the stellar surface.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Magnetospheric Birefringence Induces Unique Polarization Signatures in Neutron-Star Spectra

We study the propagation of polarization light through the magnetosphere of neutron stars. At intermediate frequencies (the optical through the infrared), both the birefringence induced by the plasma and by quantumelectrodynamics influence the observation polarization of radiation from the surface of the neutron star. Because these two processes compete in this regime, we find that polarization observations can constrain the properties of the neutron-star magnetosphere, specifically the total charge density. We calculate both the phase-resolved and the phase-averaged polarization signatures induced by magnetospheric birefringence.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The Long-Term Future of Space Travel

The fact that we apparently live in an accelerating universe places limitations on where humans might visit. If the current energy density of the universe is dominated by a cosmological constant, a rocket could reach a galaxy observed today at a redshift of 1.7 on a one-way journey or merely 0.65 on a round trip. Unfortunately these maximal trips are impractical as they require an infinite proper time to traverse. However, calculating the rocket trajectory in detail shows that a rocketeer could nearly reach such galaxies within a lifetime (a long lifetime admittedly -- about 100 years). For less negative values of $w$ the maximal redshift increases becoming infinite for $w\geq -1/3$.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Magnetars

Ultramagnetized neutron stars or magnetars are magnetically powered neutron stars. Their strong magnetic fields dominate the physical processes in their crusts and their surroundings. The past few years have seen several advances in our theoretical and observational understanding of these objects. In spite of a surfeit of observations, their spectra are still poorly understood. I will discuss the emission from strongly magnetized condensed matter surfaces of neutron stars, recent advances in our expectations of the surface composition of magnetars and a model for the non-thermal emission from these objects.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

R-Modes on Rapidly Rotating, Relativistic Stars : II. Blackbody Emission

Rossby waves (or r-modes) on the surface of a neutron star have become a leading model for the oscillations observed during the tail of Type-I X-ray bursts. Their frequency evolution matches well with the observed frequency drifts of the oscillations in the bursts, and the burning appears to excite these waves quite naturally. This paper addresses the detailed shape of the expected flux profiles from r-modes on neutron stars as a function of energy. R-modes naturally account for both the small amplitude of the observed oscillations and their lack of harmonic content. However, the model predicts that the oscillation at higher energies leads the lower energy variation. The observed oscillations have the opposite trend which possibly indicates that the higher energy photons are upscattered in the plasma surrounding the neutron star and therefore delayed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres II -- Magnetized Hydrogen Atmospheres

In the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect couples the direction of the polarization of photons leaving the NS surface, to the direction of the magnetic field along the ray's path. We analyze the consequences that this effect has on aligning the polarization vectors to generate large net polarizations, while considering thermal radiation originating from a thermal hydrogen atmosphere. Counter to previous predictions, we show that the thermal radiation should be highly polarized even in the optical. When detected, this polarization will be the first demonstration of vacuum birefringence. It could be used as a tool to prove the high magnetic field nature of AXPs and it could also be used to constrain physical NS parameters, such as $R/M$, to which the net polarization is sensitive.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

A QED Model for Non-thermal Emission from SGRs and AXPs

Previously, we showed that, owing to effects arising from quantum electrodynamics (QED), magnetohydrodynamic fast modes of sufficient strength will break down to form electron-positron pairs while traversing the magnetospheres of strongly magnetised neutron stars. The bulk of the energy of the fast mode fuels the development of an electron-positron fireball. However, a small, but potentially observable, fraction of the energy ($\sim 10^{33}$ ergs) can generate a non-thermal distribution of electrons and positrons far from the star. In this paper, we examine the cooling and radiative output of these particles. We also investigate the properties of non-thermal emission in the absence of a fireball to understand the breakdown of fast modes that do not yield an optically thick pair plasma. This quiescent, non-thermal radiation associated with fast mode breakdown may account for the recently observed non-thermal emission from several anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

A QED Model for the Origin of Bursts from SGRs and AXPs

We propose a model to account for the bursts from soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) in which quantum electrodynamics (QED) plays a vital role. In our theory, that we term ``fast-mode breakdown,'' magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves that are generated near the surface of a neutron star and propagate outward through the magnetosphere will be modified by the polarization of the vacuum. For neutron star magnetic fields $B_\rmscr{NS} \gtrsim B_\rmscr{QED} \approx 4.4 \times 10^{13}$ G, the interaction of the wave fields with the vacuum produces non-linearities in fast MHD waves that can steepen in a manner akin to the growth of hydrodynamic shocks. Under certain conditions, fast modes can develop field discontinuities on scales comparable to an electron Compton wavelength, at which point the wave energy will be dissipated through electron-positron pair production. We show that this process operates if the magnetic field of the neutron star is sufficiently strong and the ratio of the wavelength of the fast mode to its amplitude is sufficiently small, in which case the wave energy will be efficiently converted into an extended pair-plasma fireball. The radiative output from this fireball will consist of hard X-rays and soft $γ$-rays, with a spectrum similar to those seen in bursts from SGRs and AXPs (abridged).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

R-Modes on Rapidly Rotating, Relativistic Stars: I. Do Type-I Bursts Excite Modes in the Neutron-Star Ocean?

During a Type-I burst, the turbulent deflagation front may excite waves in the neutron star ocean and upper atmosphere with frequencies, $ω\sim 1$ Hz. These waves may be observed as highly coherent flux oscillations during the burst. The frequencies of these waves changes as the upper layers of the neutron star cool which accounts for the small variation in the observed QPO frequencies. In principle several modes could be excited but the fundamental buoyant $r-$mode exhibits significantly larger variability for a given excitation than all of the other modes. An analysis of modes in the burning layers themselves and the underlying ocean shows that it is unlikely these modes can account for the observed burst oscillations. On the other hand, photospheric modes which reside in a cooler portion of the neutron star atmosphere may provide an excellent explanation for the observed oscillations.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Thermonuclear Stability of Material Accreting onto a Neutron Star

We present a global linear stability analysis of nuclear fuel accumulating on the surface of an accreting neutron star and we identify the conditions under which thermonuclear bursts are triggered. The analysis reproduces all the recognized regimes of hydrogen and helium bursts, and in addition shows that at high accretion rates, near the limit of stable burning, there is a regime of ``delayed mixed bursts'' which is distinct from the more usual ``prompt mixed bursts.'' In delayed mixed bursts, a large fraction of the fuel is burned stably before the burst is triggered. Bursts thus have longer recurrence times, but at the same time have somewhat smaller fluences. Therefore, the parameter alpha, which measures the ratio of the energy released via accretion to that generated through nuclear reactions in the burst, is up to an order of magnitude larger than for prompt bursts. This increase in alpha near the threshold of stable burning has been seen in observations. We explore a wide range of mass accretion rates, neutron star radii and core temperatures, and calculate a variety of burst properties. From a preliminary comparison with data, we suggest that bursting neutron stars may have hot cores, with T_{core} >~ 10^{7.5} K, consistent with interior cooling via the modified URCA or similar low-efficiency process, rather than T_{core} ~ 10^7 K, as expected for the direct URCA process. There is also an indication that neutron star radii are somewhat small <~ 10 km. Both of these conclusions need to be confirmed by comparing more careful calculations with better data.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Rotational Evolution of Protoneutron Stars

We study the rotational evolution of a protoneutron star with hyperons and nucleons or solely nucleons in its core due to the escape of the trapped neutrinos. It is found that at the early stage of its evolution, the stellar crust contracts significantly, consequently the star spins up. At the late stage, a the protoneutron star with hyperons, it keeps shrinking and spinning up till all the trapped neutrinos escape. Consequently, the distribution of the stellar initial spin periods is skewed toward shorter periods. For a protoneutron star with only nucleons, the expansion of its core dominates, and the stellar rotation slows down. After the neutrinos escape, the range of the spin periods is narrower than the initial one, but the distribution is still nearly uniform. If the hyperonic star is metastable, its rotational frequency accelerates distinguishedly before it collapses to a black hole.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Synoptic Swift Synergy -- Catching Gamma-Ray Bursts Before They Fly

The advent of large panoramic photometric surveys of the sky offers the possibly of exploring the association of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with supernovae. To date, a few gamma-ray bursts have been connected possibly with supernovae: GRB 980425 -- SN 1998bw, GRB 011121 -- SN 2001ke, GRB 970228 and GRB 980326. A combination of a large detection rate of GRBs and rapid coverage of a large portion of the sky to faint magnitude limits offers the possibility of detecting a supernova preceding an associated GRB or at least placing limits on the rate of association between these two phenomena and the time delay between them. This would provide important constraints on theoretical models for gamma-ray bursts.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Accretion limits the compactness of static stars

General relativity limits the compactness of static stars. If the pressure of the fluid is positive and the density decreases with distance from the center, the value of the circumferential radius of the star must be greater than (9/4) G M/c^2, or equivalently the redshift of the surface must be less than two. If constraints on the equation of state of the material are relaxed, general relativity alone does not restrict the redshift of a static stellar surface. However, because black hole candidates in the universe generally accrete material from their environs, the process of accretion provides upper limits on the redshift of a astrophysical black-hole candidates.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres I -- Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars

In the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect decouples the polarization modes of photons leaving the NS surface. Both the total intensity and the intensity in each of the two modes is preserved along a ray's path through the neutron-star magnetosphere. We analyze the consequences that this effect has on aligning the observed polarization vectors across the image of the stellar surface to generate large net polarizations. Counter to previous predictions, we show that the thermal radiation of NSs should be highly polarized even in the optical. When detected, this polarization will be the first demonstration of vacuum birefringence. It could be used as a tool to prove the high magnetic field nature of AXPs and it could also be used to constrain physical NS parameters, such as $R/M$, to which the net polarization is sensitive.

astro-ph↗