arXiv subjects

S. B. Popov

Publications and source records attributed to S. B. Popov.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Herschel and Spitzer observations of slowly rotating, nearby isolated neutron stars

Supernova fallback disks around neutron stars have been discussed to influence the evolution of the diverse neutron star populations. Slowly rotating neutron stars are most promising to find such disks. Searching for the cold and warm debris of old fallback disks, we carried out Herschel PACS (70 $μ$m, 160 $μ$m) and Spitzer IRAC (3.6 $μ$m, 4.5 $μ$m) observations of eight slowly rotating ($P\approx 3 - 11$ s) nearby ($<1$ kpc) isolated neutron stars. Herschel detected 160 $μ$m emission ($>5σ$) at locations consistent with the positions of the neutron stars RX J0806.4-4123 and RX J2143.0+0654. No other significant infrared emission was detected from the eight neutron stars. We estimate probabilities of 63%, 33% and 3% that, respectively, none, one, or both Herschel PACS 160 $μ$m detections are unrelated excess sources due to background source confusion or an interstellar cirrus. If the 160 $μ$m emission is indeed related to cold (10 K to 22 K) dust around the neutron stars, this dust is absorbing and re-emitting $\sim 10$% to $\sim 20$% of the neutron stars' X-rays. Such high efficiencies would be at least three orders of magnitude larger than the efficiencies of debris disks around nondegenerate stars. While thin dusty disks around the neutron stars can be excluded as counterparts of the 160 $μ$m emission, dusty asteroid belts constitute a viable option.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Modified pulsar current analysis: probing magnetic field evolution

We use a modified pulsar current analysis to study magnetic field decay in radio pulsars. In our approach we analyse the flow, not along the spin period axis as has been performed in previous studies, but study the flow along the direction of growing characteristic age, $τ=P/(2\dot P)$. We perform extensive tests of the method and find that in most of the cases it is able to uncover non-negligible magnetic field decay (more than a few tens of per cent during the studied range of ages) in normal radio pulsars for realistic initial properties of neutron stars. However, precise determination of the magnetic field decay timescale is not possible at present. The estimated timescale may differ by a factor of few for different sets of initial distributions of neutron star parameters. In addition, some combinations of initial distributions and/or selection effects can also mimic enhanced field decay. We apply our method to the observed sample of radio pulsars at distances $<10$ kpc in the range of characteristic ages $8 \times 10^4 < τ< 10^6$ years where, according to our study, selection effects are minimized. By analysing pulsars in the Parkes Multibeam and Swinburne surveys we find that, in this range, the field decays roughly by a factor of two. With an exponential fit this corresponds to the decay time scale $\sim 4 \times 10^5$ yrs. With larger statistics and better knowledge of the initial distribution of spin periods and magnetic field strength, this method can be a powerful tool to probe magnetic field decay in neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

The Hubble flow: an observer's perspective

In this methodological note we discuss some details and peculiarities of the cosmic expansion as viewed by a realistic observer. We show that the velocity $v_Θ$ related to a change (measured by observer's clock) of the angular distance, plays an important role in formation of a meaningful observed picture of the expansion of the universe. Usage of this velocity and the angular distance (in addition to the standard approach --- proper distance and corresponding velocity) allows to present the cosmic expansion in a more illustrative manner. These parameters play a key role in visualization of the expansion.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2013

Unifying neutron stars: getting to GUNS

The variety of the observational appearance of young isolated neutron stars must find an explanation in the framework of some unifying approach. Nowadays it is believed that such scenario must include magnetic field decay, the possibility of magnetic field emergence on a time scale $\lesssim 10^4$--$10^5$ yrs, significant contribution of non-dipolar fields, and appropriate initial parameter distributions. We present our results on the initial spin period distribution, and suggest that inconsistences between distributions derived by different methods for samples with different average ages can uncover field decay or/and emerging field. We describe a new method to probe the magnetic field decay in normal pulsars. The method is a modified pulsar current approach, where we study pulsar flow along the line of increasing characteristic age for constant field. Our calculations, performed with this method, can be fitted with an exponential decay for ages in the range $8\times 10^4$--$3.5 \times 10^5$ yrs with a time scale $\sim 5 \times 10^5$ yrs. We discuss several issues related to the unifying scenario. At first, we note that the dichotomy, among local thermally emitting neutron stars, between normal pulsars and the Magnificent Seven remains unexplained. Then we discuss the role of high-mass X-ray binaries in the unification of neutron star evolution. We note, that such systems allow to check evolutionary effects on a time scale longer than what can be probed with normal pulsars alone. We conclude with a brief discussion of importance of discovering old neutron stars accreting from the interstellar medium.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Millisecond extragalactic radio bursts as magnetar flares

Properties of the population of millisecond extragalactic radio bursts discovered by Thornton et al. (2013) are in good correspondence with the hypothesis that such events are related to hyperflares of magnetars, as was proposed by us after the first observation of an extragalactic millisecond radio burst by Lorimer et al. (2007). We also point that some of multiple millisecond radio bursts from M31 discovered by Rubio-Herrera et al. (2013) also can be related to weaker magnetar bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Origin of magnetar-scale crustal field in PSR J1852+0040 and "frozen" magnetars

We discuss the origin of strong crustal magnetic field in one of central compact objects (CCOs) --- a neutron star PSR J1852+0040 in the supernova remnant Kes 79. Taking into account its relatively long present day spin period we conclude that the field could not be generated via a dynamo mechanism. If this neutron star indeed is a magnetar with field submerged during a strong fall-back episode, then it argues against the dynamo field origin in magnetars. Otherwise, Kes 79 is not a close relative of normal magnetars. A discovery of an anti-magnetar with a millisecond period and strong crustal field identifiable, for example, due to large pulse fraction, would be the proof of the dynamo field origin. Existence of such sources is in correspondence with the present standard picture of neutron star unification. However, the fraction of magnetars with submerged fields can be small --- few percent of the total number of CCOs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Gaussian mixture model and population synthesis of radio pulsars

Recently, Lee et al. used Gaussian mixture models (GMM) to study the radio pulsar population. In the distribution of normal pulsars in the P-dotP plane, they found four clusters. We develop this approach further and apply it to different synthetic pulsar populations in order to determine whether the method can effectively select groups of sources that are physically different. We check several combinations of initial conditions as well as the models of pulsar evolution and the selection effects. We find that in the case of rapidly evolving objects, the GMM is oversensitive to parameter variations and does not produce stable results. We conclude that the method does not help much to identify the sub-populations with different initial parameters or/and evolutionary paths. For the same reason, the GMM does not discriminate effectively between theoretical population synthesis models of normal radio pulsars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Neutron stars initial spin period distribution

We analyze different possibilities to explain the wide initial spin period distribution of radio pulsars presented by Noutsos et al. (2013). With a population synthesis modeling we demonstrate that magnetic field decay can be used to interpret the difference between the recent results by Noutsos et al. (2013) and those by Popov & Turolla (2012), where a much younger population of NSs associated with supernova remnants with known ages has been studied. In particular, an exponential field decay with tau_mag = 5Myrs can produce a "tail" in the reconstructed initial spin period distribution (as obtained by Noutsos et al. 2013) up to P_0 > 1 s starting with a standard gaussian with P_0 = 0.3 s and sigma_P = 0.15 s. Another option to explain the difference between initial spin period distributions from Noutsos et al. (2013) and Popov & Turolla (2012) -- the emerging magnetic field -- is also briefly discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Jets and gamma-ray emission from isolated accreting black holes

The large number of isolated black holes (IBHs) in the Galaxy, estimated to be 10^8, implies a very high density of 10^-4 pc^-3 and an average distance between IBHs of 10 pc. Our study shows that the magnetic flux, accumulated on the horizon of an IBH because of accretion of interstellar matter, allows the Blandford-Znajeck mechanism to be activated. Thus, electron-positron jets can be launched. We have performed 2D numerical modelling which allowed the jet power to be estimated. Their inferred properties make such jets a feasible electron accelerator which, in molecular clouds, allows electron energy to be boosted up to 1 PeV. For the conditions expected in molecular clouds the radiative cooling time should be comparable to the escape time. Thus these sources can contribute both to the population of unidentified point-like sources and to the local cosmic ray (CR) electron spectrum. The impact of the generated electron CRs depends on the diffusion rate inside molecular clouds (MCs). If the diffusion regime in a MC is similar to Galactic diffusion, the produced electrons should rapidly escape the cloud and contribute to the Galactic CR population at very high energies >100 TeV. However, due to the modest jet luminosity (at the level of 10^35 erg s^-1) and low filling factor of MC, these sources cannot make a significant contribution to the spectrum of cosmic ray electrons at lower energies. On the other hand, if the diffusion within MCs operates at a rate close to the Bohm limit, the CR electrons escaping from the source should be confined in the cloud, significantly contributing to the local density of CRs. The IC emission of these locally-generated CRs may explain the variety of gamma ray spectra detected from nearby MCs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Is there a compact companion orbiting the late O-type binary star HD 164816?

We present a multi-wavelength (X-ray, $γ$-ray, optical and radio) study of HD 194816, a late O-type X-ray detected spectroscopic binary. X-ray spectra are analyzed and the X-ray photon arrival times are checked for pulsation. In addition, newly obtained optical spectroscopic monitoring data on HD 164816 are presented. They are complemented by available radio data from several large scale surveys as well as the \emph{FERMI} $γ$-ray data from its \emph{Large Area Telescope}. We report the detection of a low energy excess in the X-ray spectrum that can be described by a simple absorbed blackbody model with a temperature of $\sim$ 50 eV as well as a 9.78 s pulsation of the X-ray source. The soft X-ray excess, the X-ray pulsation, and the kinematical age would all be consistent with a compact object like a neutron star as companion to HD 164816. The size of the soft X-ray excess emitting area is consistent with a circular region with a radius of about 7 km, typical for neutron stars, while the emission measure of the remaining harder emission is typical for late O-type single or binary stars. If HD 164816 includes a neutron star born in a supernova, this supernova should have been very recent and should have given the system a kick, which is consistent with the observation that the star HD 164816 has a significantly different radial velocity than the cluster mean. In addition we confirm the binarity of HD 164816 itself by obtaining an orbital period of 3.82 d, projected masses $m_1 {\rm sin}^{3} i$ = 2.355(69) M$_\odot$, $m_2 {\rm sin}^{3} i$ = 2.103(62) M$_\odot$ apparently seen at low inclination angle, determined from high-resolution optical spectra.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Initial parameters of neutron stars

A subpopulation of neutron stars (NSs), known as central compact objects (CCOs) in supernova remnants, are suspected to be low-field objects basing on $P$-$\dot P$ measurements for three of them. The birth rate of low-field NSs is probably comparable with the birth rate of normal radio pulsars. However, among compact objects in High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) we do not see robust candidates for low-field NSs. We propose that this contradiction can be solved if magnetic fields of CCOs was buried due to strong fall-back, and then the field emerges on the time scale $10^4$-$10^5$ yrs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Initial spin periods of neutron stars in supernova remnants

We present estimates of initial spin periods, $P_0$, for radio pulsars associated with supernova remnants. By using the published data on 30 objects, we were able to derive a reliable estimate for the initial spin period, assuming standard magneto-dipole spin-down (braking index n=3), in many cases. Our set of estimates is still not sufficient to infer the exact shape of the initial period distribution. However, we show that a gaussian distribution with mean and deviation $\sim 0.1$ s is consistent with our results, while flat, wide distributions and very narrow ones are disfavored.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic field estimates for accreting neutron stars in massive binary systems and models of magnetic field decay

Some modern models of neutron star evolution predict that initially large magnetic fields rapidly decay down to some saturation value $\sim {\rm few}\times 0^{13}$ G and weaker magnetic fields do not decay significantly (Pons). It is difficult to check the predictions of this model for initially highly magnetized objects on the time scale of a few million years. We propose to use Be/X-ray binaries for this purpose. We apply several methods to estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars in these accreting systems using the data obtained by the RXTE satellite (Galache). Only using the most modern approach for estimating the magnetic field strengths of long period NSs as proposed by Shakura we are able to obtain a field distribution compatible with predictions of the theoretical model of field decay of Pons.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Probing the neutron star spin evolution in the young SMC Be/X-ray binary SXP 1062

The newly discovered Be/X-ray binary in the Small Magellanic Cloud, SXP 1062, provides the first example of a robust association with a supernova remnant (SNR). The short age estimated for the SNR qualifies SXP 1062 as the youngest known source in its class, tau ~ 1e4 yr. As such, it allows to test current models of magneto-rotational evolution of neutron stars ina still unexplored regime. Here we discuss possible evolutionary scenarios for SXP 1062 in the attempt to reconcile its long spin period, P=1062 s, and short age. Although several options can be considered, like an anomalously long initial period or the presence of a fossil disc, our results indicate that SXP 1062 may host a neutron star born with a large initial magnetic field, typically in excess of ~ 1e14 G, which then decayed to ~ 1e13 G.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Isolated neutron stars and studies of their interiors

In these lectures presented at Baikal summer school on physics of elementary particles and astrophysics 2011, I present a wide view of neutron star astrophysics with special attention paid to young isolated compact objects and studies of the properties of neutron star interiors using astronomical methods.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

A web-tool for population synthesis of near-by cooling neutron stars: An on-line test for cooling curves

We present a new web-tool - Net-PSICoNS - for population synthesis of isolated near-by cooling neutron stars (NSs). The main aim is to provide an easy test of models of the NS thermal evolution which can be used by groups studying this subject. A user can upload cooling curves for a set of masses, modify the mass spectrum if necessary, change radii to fit the EoS used for cooling curve calculations, and then a population synthesis of close-by isolated cooling NSs is performed. The output includes the Log N -- Log S distribution confronted with the ROSAT observations and several other sets of data. In this paper, we summarize the idea of the test proposed by Popov et al. (2006), and present a user's manual for the web-tool.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Population synthesis of DA white dwarfs: constraints on soft X-ray spectra evolution

Extending the population synthesis method to isolated young cooling white dwarfs we are able to confront our model assumptions with observations made in ROSAT All-Sky Survey (Fleming et al., 1996). This allows us to check model parameters such as evolution of spectra and separation of heavy elements in DA WD envelopes. It seems like X-ray spectrum temperature of these objects is given by the formula T_{X-ray} = min(T_eff, T_max). We have obtained DA WD's birth rate and upper limit of the X-ray spectrum temperature: DA birth rate $= 0.61\times 10^{-12}$ in cubic parsec per year and T_max = 41000 K. These values are in good correspondence with values obtained by other authors (Liebert et al., 2004; Wolff et al., 1996). From this fact we also conclude that our population synthesis method is applicable to the population of close-by isolated cooling white dwarfs as well as to the population of the isolated cooling neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Extensive population synthesis of isolated neutron stars with field decay

We perform population synthesis studies of different types of neutron stars taking into account the magnetic field decay. For the first time, we confront our results with observations using {\it simultaneously} the Log N -- Log S distribution for nearby isolated neutron stars, the Log N -- Log L distribution for magnetars, and the distribution of radio pulsars in the $P$ -- $\dot P$ diagram. We find that our theoretical model is consistent with all sets of data if the initial magnetic field distribution function follows a log-normal law with $<\log (B_0/[G]) > \sim 13.25$ and $σ_{\log B_0}\sim 0.6$. The typical scenario includes about 10% of neutron stars born as magnetars, significant magnetic field decay during the first million years of a NS life. Evolutionary links between different subclasses may exist, although robust conclusions are not yet possible. We apply the obtained field distribution and the model of decay to study long-term evolution of neuton stars till the stage of accretion from the interstellar medium. It is shown that though the subsonic propeller stage can be relatively long, initially highly magnetized neutron stars ($B_0 > \sim 10^{13}$ G) reach the accretion regime within the Galactic lifetime if their kick velocities are not too large. The fact that in previous studies made $>$10 years ago, such objects were not considered results in a slight increase of the Accretor fraction in comparison with earlier conclusions. Most of the neutron stars similar to the Magnificent seven are expected to become accreting from the interstellar medium after few billion years of their evolution. They are the main predecestors of accreting isolated neutron stars.

astro-ph.HE↗