arXiv subjects

Rashid Sunyaev

Publications and source records attributed to Rashid Sunyaev.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

Heating of gas inside radio sources to mildly relativistic temperatures via induced Compton scattering

Measured values of the brightness temperature of low-frequency synchrotron radiation emitted by powerful extragalactic sources reach 10^11--10^12 K. If some amount of nonrelativistic ionized gas is present within such sources, it should be heated as a result of induced Compton scattering of the radiation. If this heating is counteracted by cooling due to inverse Compton scattering of the same radio radiation, then the plasma can be heated up to mildly relativistic temperatures kT~10--100 keV. The stationary electron velocity distribution can be either relativistic Maxwellian or quasi-Maxwellian (with the high-velocity tail suppressed), depending on the efficiency of Coulomb collisions and other relaxation processes. We derive several easy-to-use approximate expressions for the induced Compton heating rate of mildly relativistic electrons in an isotropic radiation field, as well as for the stationary distribution function and temperature of electrons. We also give analytic expressions for the kernel of the integral kinetic equation (one as a function of the scattering angle and another for the case of an isotropic radiation field), which describes the redistribution of photons in frequency caused by induced Compton scattering in thermal plasma. These expressions can be used in the parameter range hnu<< kT<~ 0.1mc^2 (the formulae earlier published in Sazonov, Sunyaev, 2000 are less accurate).

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arXiv2000

Accretion Disk Boundary Layers Around Neutron Stars: X-ray Production in Low-Mass X-ray Binaries

We present solutions for the structure of the boundary layer where the accretion disk meets the neutron star, which is expected to be the dominant source of high-energy radiation in low-mass X-ray binaries which contain weakly magnetized accreting neutron stars. We find that the main portion of the boundary layer gas is hot (> ~10^8 K), low in density, radially and vertically extended, and optically thick to scattering but optically thin to absorption. It will produce large X-ray luminosity by Comptonization. Energy is transported inward by viscosity, concentrating the energy dissipation in the dense, optically thick zone close to the stellar surface. We explore the dependence of the boundary layer structure on the mass accretion rate, the rotation rate of the star, the alpha viscosity parameter and the viscosity prescription. Radiation pressure is the dominant source of pressure in the boundary layer; the flux is close to the Eddington limiting flux even for luminosities well below (~0.01 times) L(Edd). At luminosities near L(Edd), the boundary layer expands radially, and has a radial extent larger than one stellar radius. Based on the temperatures and optical depths which characterize the boundary layer, we expect that Comptonization will produce a power-law spectrum at low source luminosities. At high luminosities, a Planckian spectrum will be produced in the dense region where most of the energy is released, and modified by Comptonization as the radiation propagates outward.

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arXiv2000

Internal shock model for Microquasars

We present a model for the radio outbursts of microquasars based on the assumption of quasi-continuous jet ejection. The jets are `lit up' by shock fronts traveling along the jets during outbursts. The observed comparatively flat decay light curves combined with gradually steepening spectral slopes are explained by a superposition of the radiation of the aging relativistic particle population left behind by the shocks. This scenario is the low energy, time-resolved equivalent to the internal shock model for GRBs. We show that this model predicts energy contents of the radiating plasma similar to the plasmon model. At the same time, the jet model relaxes the severe requirements on the central source in terms of the rate at which this energy must be supplied to the jet. Observations of `mini-bursts' with flat spectral slopes and of infrared emission far from the source centre suggest two different states of jet ejections: (i) A `mini-burst' mode with relatively stable jet production and weak radio emission with flat spectra and (ii) an outburst mode with strong variations in the jet bulk velocities coupled with strong radio emission with steeper spectra. We also show that the continuous jets in microquasars should terminate in strong shocks and possibly inflate radio lobes similar to extragalactic jet sources. Finally, we investigate the possibility of testing the predictions of this model with resolved radio observations.

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arXiv1999

Observations of short-duration X-ray transients by WATCH on Granat

During 1990-92, the WATCH all-sky X-ray monitor on Granat discovered six short-duration X-ray transients. In this paper we discuss their possible relationship to peculiar stars. Only one of the fast (few hours) X-ray transients (GRS 1100-771) might be tentatively ascribed to a superflare arising from a young stellar object in the Chamaeleon I star-forming cloud. At the distance of 150 pc, Lx = 1.35 x 10E34 erg/s (8-15 keV), or 2.6 x 10E34 erg/s (0.1-2.4 keV) assuming a thermal spectrum with kT = 10 keV, a temperature higher than those previously seen in T Tauri stars (Tsuboi et al. 1998). The peak X-ray luminosity is at least 2 times higher than that derived for the protostar IRS 43 (Grosso et al. 1997) which would make -to our knowledge- the strongest flare ever seen in a young stellar object. However, the possibility of GRS 1100-771 being an isolated neutron star unrelated to the cloud cannot be excluded, given the relatively large error box provided by WATCH. Regarding the longer duration (about 1 day) X-ray transients, none of them seem to be related to known objects. We suggest that the latter are likely to have originated from compact objects in low-mass or high-mass X-ray binaries, similarly to XTE J0421+560.

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