Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Xiangdong Li

Publications and source records attributed to Xiangdong Li.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

The He star donor channel towards the black widow PSR J1953+1844

Black widows (BWs) are a type of eclipsing millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with low companion masses ($\lesssim0.05\,\rm M_\odot$) and tight orbits ($<1\,$d). PSR J1953+1844 is a BW with the shortest orbital period ($\sim53$ minutes) ever discovered, which was recently detected by Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. Its companion mass is $\sim0.01\,\rm M_\odot$ according to its mass function, indicating that the companion may be a hydrogen-deficient star. However, the origin of PSR J1953+1844 is highly unclear. In this paper, we explored the origin of PSR J1953+1844 through the neutron star+He star channel, in which the system can experience ultracompact X-ray binary phase. We found that the He star donor channel can reproduce the characteristics of PSR J1953+1844, indicating that this work provides an alternative formation channel for this source. Meanwhile, the minimum orbital period of BWs formed by this channel is $\sim28$ minutes, corresponding to the companion mass of $0.058\,\rm M_\odot$. In addition, we note that even though PSR J1953+1844 has a short orbital period, it cannot be detected by the gravitational wave (GW) observatories like Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, TaiJi and TianQin. However, we still expect that the BWs with extremely tight orbit produced by this channel are the potential sources of future space-based GW observatories. Moreover, our simulations show that PSR J1953+1844 may eventually evolve into an isolated MSP.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

Liouville theorem for $V$-harmonic maps under non-negative $(m, V)$-Ricci curvature for non-positive $m$

Let $V$ be a $C^1$-vector field on an $n$-dimensional complete Riemannian manifold $(M, g)$. We prove a Liouville theorem for $V$-harmonic maps satisfying various growth conditions from complete Riemannian manifolds with non-negative $(m, V)$-Ricci curvature for $m\in\,[\,-\infty,\,0\,]\,\cup\,[\,n,\,+\infty\,]$ into Cartan-Hadam\-ard manifolds, which extends Cheng's Liouville theorem proved S.~Y.~Cheng for sublinear growth harmonic maps from complete Riemannian manifolds with non-negative Ricci curvature into Cartan-Hadamard manifolds. We also prove a Liouville theorem for $V$-harmonic maps from complete Riemannian manifolds with non-negative $(m, V)$-Ricci curvature for $m\in\,[\,-\infty,\,0\,]\,\cup\,[\,n,\,+\infty\,]$ into regular geodesic balls of Riemannian manifolds with positive upper sectional curvature bound, which extends the results of Hildebrandt-Jost-Wideman and Choi. Our probabilistic proof of Liouville theorem for several growth $V$-harmonic maps into Hadamard manifolds enhances an incomplete argument by Stafford. Our results extend the results due to Chen-Jost-Qiu\cite{ChenJostQiu} and Qiu\cite{Qiu} in the case of $m=+\infty$ on the Liouville theorem for bounded $V$-harmonic maps from complete Riemannian manifolds with non-negative $(\infty, V)$-Ricci curvature into regular geodesic balls of Riemannian manifolds with positive sectional curvature upper bound. Finally, we establish a connection between the Liouville property of $V$-harmonic maps and the recurrence property of $Δ_V$-diffusion processes on manifolds. Our results are new even in the case $V=\nabla f$ for $f\in C^2(M)$.

math.DG↗
arXiv2023

Merger-induced star formation in low-metallicity dwarf galaxy NGC 4809/4810

The physical mechanisms driving starbursts in dwarf galaxies are unclear, and the effects of mergers on star formation in these galaxies are still uncertain. We explore how the merger process affects star formation in metal-poor dwarf galaxies by analyzing high-spatial-resolution ($\sim$ 70 pc) integral field spectrograph observations of ionized gas. We use archival data from the Very Large Telescope/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer to map the spatial distribution of strong emission lines (e.g., $\rm Hβ$, $\rm Hα$, $\rm [OIII]\lambda5007$, $\rm [NII]\lambda6583$, etc) in the nearby merging star-forming dwarf galaxy system NGC 4809/4810. We identify approximately 112 star-forming knots scattered among the two galaxies, where the gas-phase metallicity distribution is inhomogeneous and mixing with metal-poor and metal-rich ionized gas. Star-forming knots at the interacting region show lower metallicity, the highest star formation rates (SFRs) and SFR to resolved main-sequence-relation (rMSR) ratios. Ionized gas exhibits an obvious northeast-southwest velocity gradient in NGC 4809, while seemingly mixed in NGC 4810. High virial parameters and the stellar mass-size relation of HII regions indicate that these regions are dominated by direct radiation pressure from massive stars/clusters and persistently expanding. We find two different stellar mass surface density-stellar age relations in NGC 4809 and NGC 4810, and the stellar ages of NGC 4810 are systematically younger than in NGC 4809. Our study suggests that the merging stage of two dwarf galaxies can induce starburst activities at the interaction areas, despite the metal-deficient environment. Considering the high specific SFRs and different stellar ages, we propose that the interaction initially triggered star formation in NGC 4809 and then drove star formation in NGC 4810.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Scientific Objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) Mission

The Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) is a proposed space-based X-ray telescope for detecting X-ray emissions from the hot gas content in our universe. With its unprecedented spatially-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy and large field of view, the HUBS mission will be uniquely qualified to measure the physical and chemical properties of the hot gas in the interstellar medium, the circumgalactic medium, the intergalactic medium, and the intracluster medium. These measurements will be valuable for two key scientific goals of HUBS, namely to unravel the AGN and stellar feedback physics that governs the formation and evolution of galaxies, and to probe the baryon budget and multi-phase states from galactic to cosmological scales. In addition to these two goals, the HUBS mission will also help us solve some problems in the fields of galaxy clusters, AGNs, diffuse X-ray backgrounds, supernova remnants, and compact objects. This paper discusses the perspective of advancing these fields using the HUBS telescope.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2022

Radio detection of an elusive millisecond pulsar in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

We report the discovery of a new 5.78 ms-period millisecond pulsar (MSP), PSR J1740-5340B (NGC 6397B), in an eclipsing binary system discovered with the Parkes radio telescope (now also known as Murriyang), Australia, and confirmed with the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. The measured orbital period, 1.97 days, is the longest among all eclipsing binaries in globular clusters (GCs) and consistent with that of the coincident X-ray source U18, previously suggested to be a 'hidden MSP'. Our XMM-Newton observations during NGC 6397B's radio quiescent epochs detected no X-ray flares. NGC 6397B is either a transitional MSP or an eclipsing binary in its initial stage of mass transfer after the companion star left the main sequence. The discovery of NGC 6397B potentially reveals a subgroup of extremely faint and heavily obscured binary pulsars, thus providing a plausible explanation to the apparent dearth of binary neutron stars in core-collapsed GCs as well as a critical constraint on the evolution of GCs.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2020

Exploring the Mass Segregation Effect of X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters. IV. Evidence of Black Hole Burning in $ω$ Centauri

Using X-ray sources as sensitive probes of stellar dynamical interactions in globular clusters (GCs), we study the mass segregation and binary burning processes in $ω$ Cen. We show that the mass segregation of X-ray sources is quenched in $ω$ Cen, while the X-ray source abundance of $ω$ Cen is much smaller than other GCs, and the binary hardness ratio (defined as $L_{\rm X}/(L_{\rm K}f_{b})$, with $f_{b}$ the binary fraction, $L_{\rm X}$ and $L_{\rm K}$ the cumulative X-ray and K band luminosity of GCs, respectively) of $ω$ Cen is located far below the $L_{\rm X}/(L_{\rm K}f_{b})-σ_{c}$ correlation line of the dynamically normal GCs. These evidences suggest that the binary burning processes are highly suppressed in $ω$ Cen, and other "heating mechanisms", very likely a black hole subsystem (BHS), are essential in the dynamical evolution of $ω$ Cen. Through the "black hole burning" processes (i.e., dynamical hardening of the BH binaries), the BHS is dominating the energy production of $ω$ Cen, which also makes $ω$ Cen a promising factory of gravitational-wave sources in the Galaxy.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2020

Exploring the Mass Segregation Effect of X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters. III. Signs of Binary Disruption in M28

Using archival {\it Chandra} observations with a total effective exposure of 323 ks, we derive an updated catalog of point sources in the bulge globular cluster M28. The catalog contains 502 X-ray sources within an area of $\sim475\, \rm arcmin^{2}$, and more than $90\%$ of these sources are first detected in this cluster. We find significant dips in the radial distribution profiles of X-ray sources in M28, with the projected distance and width of the distribution dip for bright ($L_{X} \gtrsim 4.5\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\ \,s^{-1}}$) X-ray sources are larger than the faint ($L_{X} \lesssim 4.5\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\ \,s^{-1}}$) sources. The "generalized King model" fitting give a slightly larger average mass for the bright sources ($1.30\pm0.15\,M_{\odot}$) than the faint sources ($1.09\pm0.14\,M_{\odot}$), which support a universal mass segregation delay between heavy objects in GCs. Compared with 47 Tuc and Terzan 5, we show that the dynamical age of M28 is comparable to Terzan 5 and much smaller than 47 Tuc, but it is evolving more fast (i.e., with smaller two-body relaxation timescale) than 47 Tuc. These features may suggest an acceleration effect of cluster dynamical evolution by tidal shock in M28. Besides, we find an abnormal deficiency of X-ray sources in the central region ($R \lesssim 1.5 \rm~arcmin$) of M28 than its outskirts, which indicate that M28 may have suffered an early phase of primordial binary disruption within its central region, and mass segregation effect will erase such a phenomenon as cluster evolve to older dynamical age.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2019

A wide star-black-hole binary system from radial-velocity measurements

All stellar mass black holes have hitherto been identified by X-rays emitted by gas that is accreting onto the black hole from a companion star. These systems are all binaries with black holes below 30 M$_{\odot}$$^{1-4}$. Theory predicts, however, that X-ray emitting systems form a minority of the total population of star-black hole binaries$^{5,6}$. When the black hole is not accreting gas, it can be found through radial velocity measurements of the motion of the companion star. Here we report radial velocity measurements of a Galactic star, LB-1, which is a B-type star, taken over two years. We find that the motion of the B-star and an accompanying H$α$ emission line require the presence of a dark companion with a mass of $68^{+11}_{-13}$ M$_{\odot}$, which can only be a black hole. The long orbital period of 78.9 days shows that this is a wide binary system. The gravitational wave experiments have detected similarly massive black holes$^{7,8}$, but forming such massive ones in a high-metallicity environment would be extremely challenging to current stellar evolution theories$^{9-11}$.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2019

Exploring the Mass Segregation Effect of X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters. II. The Case of Terzan 5

Using archival {\it Chandra} observations with a total effective exposure of 734 ks, we derive an updated catalog of point sources in the massive globular cluster Terzan 5. Our catalog covers an area of $58.1\, \rm arcmin^{2}$ ($R\leq 4.3 \, \rm arcmin$) with 489 X-ray sources, and more than $75\%$ of these sources are first detected in this cluster. We find significant dips in the radial distribution profiles of X-ray sources in Terzan 5, with the projected distance and width of the distribution dips for bright ($L_{X} \gtrsim 9.5\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\ \,s^{-1}}$) X-ray sources are larger than that of the faint ($L_{X} \lesssim 9.5\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\ \,s^{-1}}$) sources. By fitting the radial distribution of the X-ray sources with a"generalized King model", we estimated an average mass of $1.48\pm0.11\,M_{\odot}$ and $1.27\pm0.13\,M_{\odot}$ for the bright and faint X-ray sources, respectively. These results are in agreement with that observed in 47 Tuc, which may suggest a universal mass segregation effect for X-ray sources in GCs. Compared with 47 Tuc, we show that the two-body relaxation timescale of Terzan 5 is much smaller, but its dynamical age is significantly younger than 47 Tuc. These features suggest that the evolution of Terzan 5 is not purely driven by two-body relaxation, and tidal stripping effect also plays an important role in accelerating the dynamical evolution of this cluster.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2019

The Fe Line Flux Ratio as a diagnostic of the maximum temperature and the white dwarf mass of Cataclysmic Variables

The flux ratio of Fe XXVI--Ly$α$ to Fe XXV--He$α$ lines ($I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$) is a sensitive indicator of the maximum temperature ($T_{\rm max}$), and therefore the mass of white dwarf stars ($M_{\rm WD}$) in cataclysmic variables (CVs). To examine and calibrate the theoretical $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$--$T_{\rm max}$--$M_{\rm WD}$ relations, reliable measurements of $T_{\rm max}$ and $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$ are necessary. In this work, we conduct a thorough investigation on 3--50 keV X-ray spectra of 25 solar neighborhood magnetic and non-magnetic CVs based on archival \textit{NuSTAR} and \textit{Suzaku} observations. The measured $T_{\rm max}$ are compared to the $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$ and $M_{\rm WD}$. The results show the sampled CVs closely follow the theoretical $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$--$T_{\rm max}$ relation. Moreover, all the $M_{\rm WD}$ estimated from $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$ are consistent with the dynamically measured ones. We conclude that $I_{\rm 7.0}/I_{\rm 6.7}$ can be used as a good diagnostic for $T_{\rm max}$ and $M_{\rm WD}$ in both magnetic and non-magnetic CVs.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2019

Super-resolution Imaging of the Fluorescent Dipole Assembly with Polarized Structured Illumination Microscopy

Fluorescence polarization microscopy images both the intensity and orientation of fluorescent dipoles, which plays a vital role in studying the molecular structure and dynamics of bio-complex. However, it is difficult to resolve the dipole assemblies on the subcellular structure and their dynamics in living cells with super-resolution. Here we report polarized structured illumination microscopy (pSIM), which decouples the entangled spatial and angular structured illumination through interpreting the dipoles in spatio-angular hyperspace. We demonstrate its application on a series of biological filamentous systems such as cytoskeleton networks and lambda-DNA, and report the dynamics of short actin sliding through myosin-coated surface. Further, pSIM reveals "side-by-side" organization of the actin ring structure in the membrane-associated periodic skeleton in hippocampal neurons. It also images the dipole dynamics of green fluorescent proteins labeled to the microtubules in live U2OS cells. pSIM can be applied directly to a large variety of commercial or home-built SIM systems.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2019

Exploring the Mass Segregation Effect of X-ray Sources in Globular Clusters: The Case of 47 Tucanae

Using archival {\it Chandra} observations with a total exposure of 510 ks, we present an updated catalog of point sources for Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae. Our study covers an area of $\sim 176.7$ arcmin$^{2}$ (i.e., with $R\lesssim7.5\arcmin$) with 537 X-ray sources. We show that the surface density distribution of X-ray sources in 47 Tuc is highly peaked in cluster center, rapidly decreases at intermediate radii, and finally rises again at larger radii, with two distribution dips at $R\sim 100\arcsec$ and $R\sim 170\arcsec$ for the faint ($L_{X}\lesssim 5.0\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\,s^{-1}}$) and bright ($L_{X}\gtrsim 5.0\times 10^{30} {\rm\ erg\,s^{-1}}$) groups of X-ray sources, separately. These distribution features are similar to those of Blue Straggler Stars (BSS), where the distribution dip is located at $R\sim 200\arcsec$ \citep{ferraro2004}. By fitting the radial distribution of each group of sources with a "generalized King model", we estimated an average mass of $1.51\pm0.17\ M_{\odot}$, $1.44\pm0.15\ M_{\odot}$ and $1.16\pm0.06\ M_{\odot}$ for the BSS, bright and faint X-ray sources, respectively. These results are consistent with the mass segregation effect of heavy objects in GCs, where more massive objects drop to the cluster center faster and their distribution dip propagates outward further. Besides, the peculiar distribution profiles of X-ray sources and BSS are also consistent with the mass segregation model of binaries in GCs, which suggests that in addition to the dynamical formation channel, primordial binaries are also a significant contributor to the X-ray source population in GCs.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2019

X-ray Activity from Different Types of Stars

X-ray emission is an important indicator of stellar activity. In this paper, we study stellar X-ray activity using the XMM-Newton and LAMOST data for different types of stars. We provide a sample including 1259 X-ray emitting stars, of which 1090 have accurate stellar parameter estimations. Our sample size is much larger than those in previous works. We find a bimodal distribution of X-ray to optical flux ratio (log(fX/fV)) for G and K stars. We interpret that this bimodality is due to two subpopulations with different coronal heating rates. Furthermore, using the full widths at half maxima calculated from Hα and H\b{eta} lines, we show that these stars in the inactive peaks have smaller rotational velocities. This is consistent with the magnetic dynamo theory that stars with low rotational velocities have low levels of stellar activity. We also examine the correlation between log(fX/fV) and luminosity of the excess emission in the Hα line, and find a tight relation between the coronal and chromospheric activity indicators.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2018

A Chandra Survey of Milky Way Globular Clusters II: Testing the Hills-Heggie Law

Binary-single and binary-binary encounters play a pivotal role in the evolution of star clusters, as they may lead to the disruption or hardening of binaries, a novel prediction of the Hills-Heggie law. Based on our recent {\it Chandra} survey of Galactic globular clusters (GCs), we revisit the role of stellar dynamical interactions in GCs, focusing on main-sequence (MS) binary encounters as a potential formation channel of the observed X-ray sources in GCs. We show that the cumulative X-ray luminosity ($L_X$), a proxy of the total number of X-ray-emitting binaries (primarily cataclysmic variables and coronally active binaries) in a given GC, is highly correlated with the MS binary encounter rate ($Γ_{b}$), as $L_X \propto Γ_{b}^{0.77\pm0.11}$. We further test the Hills-Heggie law against the {\it binary hardness ratio}, defined as the relative number of X-ray-emitting hard binaries to MS binaries and approximated by $L_{X}/(L_{K}f_{b})$, with $L_{K}$ being the GC K-band luminosity and $f_b$ the MS binary fraction. We demonstrate that the binary hardness ratio of most GCs is larger than that of the Solar neighborbood stars, and exhibits a positive correlation with the cluster specific encounter rate ($γ$), as $L_{X}/(L_{K}f_{b}) \propto γ^{0.65\pm0.12}$. We also find a strong correlation between the binary hardness ratio and cluster velocity dispersion ($σ$), with $L_{X}/(L_{K}f_{b}) \propto σ^{1.71\pm0.48}$, which is consistent with the Hills-Heggie law. We discuss the role of binary encounters in the context of the Nuclear Star Cluster, arguing that the X-ray-emitting, close binaries detected therein could have been predominatly formed in GCs that later inspiralled to the Galactic center.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2018

A {\it Chandra} Survey of Milky Way Globular Clusters I: Emissivity and Abundance of Weak X-ray Sources

Based on archival {\it Chandra} data, we have carried out an X-ray survey of 69, or nearly half the known population of, Milky Way globular clusters (GCs), focusing on weak X-ray sources, mainly cataclysmic variables (CVs) and coronally active binaries (ABs). Using the cumulative X-ray luminosity per unit stellar mass (i.e., X-ray emissivity) as a proxy of the source abundance, we demonstrate a paucity (lower by $41\%\pm27\%$ on average) of weak X-ray sources in most GCs relative to the field, which is represented by the Solar neighborhood and Local Group dwarf elliptical galaxies. We also revisit the mutual correlations among the cumulative X-ray luminosity ($L_X$), cluster mass ($M$) and stellar encounter rate ($Γ$), finding $L_{X}\propto M^{0.74\pm 0.13}$, $L_{X}\proptoΓ^{0.67\pm0.07}$ and $Γ\propto M^{1.28 \pm 0.17}$. The three quantities can further be expressed as $L_{X} \propto M^{0.64\pm0.12}\ Γ^{0.19 \pm0.07}$, which indicates that the dynamical formation of CVs and ABs through stellar encounters in GCs is less dominant than previously suggested, and that the primordial formation channel has a substantial contribution. Taking these aspects together, we suggest that a large fraction of primordial, soft binaries have been disrupted in binary-single or binary-binary stellar interactions before they can otherwise evolve into X-ray-emitting close binaries, whereas the same interactions also have led to the formation of new close binaries. No significant correlations between $L_{X}/L_{K}$ and cluster properties, including dynamical age, metallicity and structural parameters, are found.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2017

Reinvestigation of the electron fraction and electron Fermi energy of neutron star

In this work, we reinvestigate the electron fraction $Y_{e}$ and electron Fermi energy $E_{F}(e)$ of neutron stars, based on our previous work of Li et al.(2016), in which we firstly deduced a special solution to $E_{F}(e)$, and then obtained several useful analytical formulae for $Y_{\rm e}$ and matter density $ρ$ within classical models and the relativistic mean field(RMF) theory using numerically fitting. The advantages of this work include the following aspects:(1) The linear functions are substituted for the nonlinear exponential functions used in the previous work. This method may be more simple, and closer to realistic equation of state\,(EoS) of a neutron star(NS), because there are linear or quasi-linear relationships between number fractions of leptons and matter density, which can be seen by solving NS EoS; (2)we introduce a dimensionless variable $\varrho$\,($\varrho=ρ/ρ_0$, $ρ_{0}$ is the standard saturated nuclear density), which greatly reduces the scope of the fitting coefficients;(3)we present numerical errors including absolute and relative deviations between the data and fit. By numerically simulating, we have obtained several analytical formulae for $Y_{e}$ and $ρ$ for both APR98 and RMF models. Combining these analytical formulae with the special solution, we can calculate the value of $E_{\rm F}(e)$ for any given matter density. Since $Y_e$ and $E_{ F}(e)$ are important in assessing cooling rate of a NS and the possibility of kaon/pion condensation in the NS interior, this study could be useful in the future study on the thermal evolution of a NS.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2017

3xmm j181923.7$-$170616: an x-ray binary with a 408s pulsar

We carry out a dedicated study of 3XMM J181923.7$-$170616\ with an approximate pulsation period of 400~s using the XMM-Newton and Swift observations spanning across nine years. We have refined the period of the source to 407.904(7) s (at epoch MJD 57142) and determined a period derivative limit of $\dot{P}{\leq} 5.9\pm 5.4\times 10^{-9} s s^{-1}$ ($1σ$). The source radiates hard, persistent X-ray emission during the observation epochs, which is best described by an absorbed \powerlaw\ model ($Γ\sim 0.2$--0.8) plus faint Fe lines at 6.4 keV and 6.7 keV. The X-ray flux revealed a variation within a factor of 2, along with a spectral hardening as the flux increased. The pulse shape is sinusoid-like and the spectral properties of different phases do not present significant variation. The absorption N$_H$ $\sim 1.3\times 10^{22} cm^{-2}$ is similar to the total Galactic hydrogen column density along the direction, indicating that it is a distant source. A search for the counterpart in optical and near-infrared surveys reveals a low mass K-type giant, while the existence of a Galactic OB supergiant is excluded. A symbiotic X-ray binary is the favored nature of 3XMM J181923.7$-$170616 and can essentially explain the low luminosity of ${2.78\times 10^{34} d_{10}^{2} erg s^{-1}}$, slow pulsation, hard X-ray spectrum, and possible K3~III companion. An alternative explanation of the source is a persistent Be/X-ray binary with a companion star no earlier than B3-type.

astro-ph.HE↗