arXiv subjects

M. H. Erkut

Publications and source records attributed to M. H. Erkut.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

A Possible Discovery of the Optical Counterpart of the X-ray source NuSTAR J053449+2126.0

We report the observation of a possible optical counterpart to the recently discovered X-ray source NuSTAR J053449+2126.0 (J0534 in short). We observed the source location using the 1.5-m Telescope (RTT150) to search for an optical counterpart, and detected a possible optical counterpart and analysed its spectrum using the $B$, $V$, $R$, and $I$ images of J0534, and found that the possible optical counterpart of J0534 is likely to be a long-known optical source, namely PSO J083.7063+21.4333. However, this source has been misclassified as a star rather than being an extragalactic source. We determined the source distance accurately for the first time based on our spectral analysis. J0534 could be a high-redshift ($z\simeq2.2$) member of an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) sub-group identified as quasars. Our analysis favours an accreting black hole of mass $\sim 7\times 10^8 M_{\odot}$ as a power supply for the quasar. Further observations in optical and other wavelengths are needed to confirm its precise nature.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Synergies of THESEUS with the large facilities of the 2030s and guest observer opportunities

The proposed THESEUS mission will vastly expand the capabilities to monitor the high-energy sky, and will exploit large samples of gamma-ray bursts to probe the early Universe back to the first generation of stars, and to advance multi-messenger astrophysics by detecting and localizing the counterparts of gravitational waves and cosmic neutrino sources. The combination and coordination of these activities with multi-wavelength, multi-messenger facilities expected to be operating in the thirties will open new avenues of exploration in many areas of astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics, thus adding considerable strength to the overall scientific impact of THESEUS and these facilities. We discuss here a number of these powerful synergies.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Time Domain Astronomy with the THESEUS Satellite

THESEUS is a medium size space mission of the European Space Agency, currently under evaluation for a possible launch in 2032. Its main objectives are to investigate the early Universe through the observation of gamma-ray bursts and to study the gravitational waves electromagnetic counterparts and neutrino events. On the other hand, its instruments, which include a wide field of view X-ray (0.3-5 keV) telescope based on lobster-eye focusing optics and a gamma-ray spectrometer with imaging capabilities in the 2-150 keV range, are also ideal for carrying out unprecedented studies in time domain astrophysics. In addition, the presence onboard of a 70 cm near infrared telescope will allow simultaneous multi-wavelegth studies. Here we present the THESEUS capabilities for studying the time variability of different classes of sources in parallel to, and without affecting, the gamma-ray bursts hunt.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

On the Magnetic Fields, Beaming Fractions, and Fastness Parameters of Pulsating Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Sources

The discovery of pulsating ultra-luminous X-ray sources (PULX) suggests that neutron stars are presumably common within the ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) population though the majority of the population members are currently lacking pulsations. These systems are likely to host neutron stars accreting mass at super-Eddington (super-critical) rates from their massive companion in high-mass X-ray binaries. Taking into account the spherization of the accretion flow in the super-critical regime, the beaming of X-ray emission, and the reduction of the scattering cross-section in a strong magnetic field, we infer the ranges for the neutron-star surface magnetic dipole field strengths, beaming fractions, and fastness parameters in the PULX M82 X-2, ULX NGC 5907, ULX NGC 7793 P13, NGC 300 ULX1, M51 ULX-7, NGC 1313 X-2, and Swift J0243.6+6124 from a set of conditions based on a variety of combinations of different spin and luminosity states. Using the observed spin-up rates under the critical luminosity condition, we estimate the surface-field strengths in the $\sim 10^{11}-10^{13}\,{\rm G}$ range for all PULX. In general, the results of our analysis under the subcritical luminosity condition indicate surface-field strengths in the $\sim 10^{11}-10^{15}\,{\rm G}$ range. We argue that the PULX do not require magnetar-strength surface dipole fields if beaming is taken into account; yet the fields are strong enough for the neutron stars in ULX to magnetically channel the accretion flow in super-critical accretion disks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m 2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 deg collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

High-Frequency QPOs as a Product of Inner Disk Dynamics around Neutron Stars

The kHz QPOs observed in a neutron star low mass X-ray binary are likely to be produced in the innermost regions of accretion disk around the neutron star. The rotational dynamics of the inner disk can be characterized by the presence of either sub-Keplerian or super-Keplerian accretion flow depending on the relative fastness of the neutron spin as compared to the Keplerian frequency at the inner disk radius. Within the magnetosphere-disk interaction model, the frequency difference between the two kHz QPOs observed in a given source can be estimated to be slightly higher than or nearly around the neutron star spin frequency if the neutron star is a slow rotator and less than the stellar spin frequency if the neutron star is a fast rotator.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Multi-dimensional Weiss operators

We present a solution of the Weiss operator family generalized for the case of $\mathbb{R}^{d}$ and formulate a d-dimensional analogue of the Weiss Theorem. Most importantly, the generalization of the Weiss Theorem allows us to find a sub-set of null class functions for a partial differential equation with the generalized Weiss operators. We illustrate the significance of our approach through several examples of both linear and non-linear partial differential equations.

math.AP↗

arXiv2012

On the high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from black holes

We apply the global mode analysis, which has been recently developed for the modeling of kHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) from neutron stars, to the inner region of an accretion disk around a rotating black hole. Within a pseudo-Newtonian approach that keeps the ratio of the radial epicyclic frequency $κ$ to the orbital frequency $Ω$ the same as the corresponding ratio for a Kerr black hole we determine the innermost disk region where the hydrodynamic modes grow in amplitude. We find that the radiation flux emerging from the inner disk has the highest values within the same region. Using the flux weighted averages of the frequency bands over this region we identify the growing modes with highest frequency branches $Ω+κ$ and $Ω$ to be the plausible candidates for the high-frequency QPO pairs observed in black hole systems. The observed frequency ratio around 1.5 can therefore be understood naturally in terms of the global free oscillations in the innermost region of a viscous accretion disk around a black hole without invoking a particular resonance to produce black hole QPOs. Although the frequency ratio $<Ω+κ>/<Ω>$ is found to be not sensitive to the black hole's spin which is good for explaining the high-frequency QPOs it may work as a limited diagnostic of the spin parameter to distinguish black holes with very large spin from the slowly rotating ones. Within our model we estimate the frequency ratio of a high-frequency QPO pair to be greater than 1.5 if the black hole is a slow rotator. For fast rotating black holes, we expect the same ratio to be less than 1.5.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

On the evolution of anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma ray repeaters with fallback disks

We show that the period clustering of anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), their X-ray luminosities, ages and statistics can be explained with fallback disks with large initial specific angular momentum. The disk evolution models are developed by comparison to self-similar analytical models. The initial disk mass and angular momentum set the viscous timescale. An efficient torque, with (1 - w^2) dependence on the fastness parameter w leads to period clustering in the observed AXP-SGR period range under a wide range of initial conditions. The timescale t_0 for the early evolution of the fallback disk, and the final stages of fallback disk evolution, when the disk becomes passive, are the crucial determinants of the evolution. The disk becomes passive at temperatures around 100 K, which provides a natural cutoff for the X-ray luminosity and defines the end of evolution in the observable AXP and SGR phase. This low value for the minimum temperature for active disk turbulence indicates that the fallback disks are active up to a large radius greater than ~10^{12} cm. We find that transient AXPs and SGRs are likely to be older than their persistent cousins. A fallback disk with mass transfer rates corresponding to the low quiescent X-ray luminosities of the transient sources in early evolutionary phases would have a relatively lower initial mass, such that the mass-flow rate in the disk is not sufficient for the inner disk to penetrate into the light cylinder of the young neutron star, making mass accretion onto the neutron star impossible. The transient AXP phase therefore must start later. The model results imply that the transient AXP/SGRs, although older, are likely to be similar in number to persistent sources (abridged).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2007

On the X-Ray Light Curve, Pulsed-Radio Emission, and Spin Frequency Evolution of the Transient Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar Xte J1810--197 During its X-Ray Outburst

We show that: (i) the long-term X-ray outburst light curve of the transient AXP XTE J1810-197 can be accounted for by a fallback disk that is evolving towards quiescence through a disk instability after having been heated by a soft gamma-ray burst, (ii) the spin-frequency evolution of this source in the same period can also be explained by the disk torque acting on the magnetosphere of the neutron star, (iii) most significantly, recently observed pulsed-radio emission from this source coincides with the epoch of minimum X-ray luminosity. This is natural in terms of a fallback disk model, as the accretion power becomes so low that it is not sufficient to suppress the beamed radio emission from XTE J1810-197.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

The Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: A Neutron Star with a Gaseous Fallback Disk

The recent detection of the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 4U 0142+61 in the mid-infrared with the {\it Spitzer} observatory by Z.Wang and coworkers constitutes the first instance of a disk around an AXP. We show, by analyzing earlier optical and near-IR data together with the recent data, that the overall broadband data set can be reproduced by a single model of an irradiated and viscously heated disk.

astro-ph↗