arXiv subjects

Xiao-Feng Cao

Publications and source records attributed to Xiao-Feng Cao.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Joint constraint on the jet structures from the short GRB population and GRB 170817A

The nearest GRB 170817A provided an opportunity to probe the angular structure of the jet of this short gamma-ray burst (SGRB), by using its off-axis observed afterglow emission. It is investigated that whether the afterglow-constrained jet structures can be consistent with the luminosity of the prompt emission of GRB 170817A. Furthermore, by assuming that all SGRBs including GRB 170817A have the same explosive mechanism and jet structure, we apply the different jet structures to the calculation of the flux and redshift distributions of the SGRB population, confronting with the observational distributions of the Swift and Fermi sources. In comparison, it is found that the power-law and double-Gaussian models could be somewhat more favored than the single-Gaussian structure, as the last one could be not very consistent with the flux distribution of the Fermi data. Nevertheless, in view of the large uncertainty of parameters, we are still unable to make a sufficiently conclusive judgment at present.

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arXiv2023

Diverse origins for non-repeating fast radio bursts: Rotational radio transient sources and cosmological compact binary merger remnants

A large number of fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected with the CHIME telescope have enabled investigations of their energy distributions in different redshift intervals, incorporating the consideration of the selection effects of CHIME. As a result, we obtained a non-evolving energy function (EF) for the high-energy FRBs (HEFRBs) of energies $E\gtrsim2\times0^{38}$ erg, which takes the form of a power law with a low-energy exponential cutoff. On the contrary, the energy distribution of the low-energy FRBs (LEFRBs) obviously cannot be described by the same EF. Including the lowest dispersion measure (DM) samples, the LEFRBs are concentrated towards the Galactic plane and their latitude distribution is similar to that of Galactic rotational radio transients (RRATs). These indications hint that LEFRBs might compose a special type of RRATs, with relatively higher DMs and energies (i.e., $\sim10^{28-31}$ erg for a reference distance of $\sim10$ kpc if they belong to the Milky Way). Finally, we revisit the redshift-dependent event rate of HEFRBs and confirm that they could be produced by the remnants of cosmological compact binary mergers.

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arXiv2020

On the event rate and luminosity function of superluminous supernovae

We calculate the rate per unit volume of hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) based on the 17 events discovered with the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS1 MDS). Two forms of the luminosity function (LF) are assumed : a log-normal form and a single power-law form, respectively. The rate of SLSNe-I is assumed to be proportional to the cosmic star formation rate with an additional redshift evolution of $(1+z)^α$. Our results show that the single power-low form fits the data better than the log-normal form, and the event rate of SLSNe-I is proportional to the cosmic star formation rate directly (with $α=0$). We measure the SLSNe-I rate to be about $40 ~\rm{yr^{-1}Gpc^{-3} }$ at a weighted mean redshift of $\overline z=0.89$, which is consistent with previous works.

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arXiv2018

Compact Binary Mergers and The Event Rate of Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are usually suggested to be associated with mergers of compact binaries consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), or black holes (BHs). We test these models by fitting the observational distributions in both redshift and isotropic energy of 22 Parkes FRBs, where, as usual, the rates of compact binary mergers (CBMs) are connected with cosmic star formation rates by a power-law distributed time delay. It is found that the observational distributions can well be produced by the CBM model with a characteristic delay time from several ten to several hundred Myr and an energy function index $1.2\lesssimγ\lesssim1.7$, where a tentative fixed spectral index $β=0.8$ is adopted for all FRBs. Correspondingly, the local event rate of FRBs is constrained to $(3-6)\times10^4f_{\rm b}^{-1}(\mathcal T/270\rm s)^{-1}(\mathcal A/2π)^{-1}\rm ~Gpc^{-3}yr^{-1}$ for an adopted minimum FRB energy of $E_{\min}=3\times10^{39}$ erg, where $f_{\rm b}$ is the beaming factor of the radiation, $\mathcal T$ is the duration of each pointing observation, and $\mathcal A $ is the sky area of the survey. This event rate, about an order of magnitude higher than the rates of NS-NS/NS-BH mergers, indicates that the most promising origin of FRBs in the CBM scenario could be mergers of WD-WD binaries. Here a massive WD could be produced since no FRB was found to be associated with a type Ia supernova. Alternatively, if actually all FRBs can repeat on a timescale much longer than the period of current observations, then they could also originate from a young active NS that forms from relatively rare NS-NS mergers and accretion-induced collapses of WD-WD binaries.

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arXiv2017

Constraining the age of a magnetar possibly associated with FRB 121102

The similarity of the host galaxy of FRB 121102 with those of long gamma-ray bursts and Type I super-luminous supernovae suggests that this FRB could be associated with a young magnetar. By assuming the FRB emission to be produced within the magnetosphere, we derive a lower limit on the age of the magnetar, after which GHz emission is able to escape freely from the dense relativistic wind of the magnetar. Another lower limit is obtained by requiring the dispersion measure contributed by the electron/positron pair wind to be consistent with the observations of the host galaxy. Furthermore, we also derive some upper limits on the magnetar age with discussions on possible energy sources of the FRB emission and the recently-discovered persistent radio counterpart. As a result, some constraints on model parameters are addressed by reconciling the lower limits with the possible upper limits that are derived with an assumption of rotational energy source.

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arXiv2016

The universal "heartbeat" oscillations in black hole systems accross the mass-scale

The hyperluminous X-ray source (HLX-1, the peak X-ray luminosity $\sim 10^{42}\rm erg\ s^{-1}$) near the spiral galaxy ESO 243-49 is possibly the best candidate for intermediate mass black hole (IMBH), which underwent recurrent outbursts with a period of $\sim 400$ days. The physical reason for this quasi-periodic variability is still unclear. We explore the possibility of radiation-pressure instability in accretion disk by modeling the light curve of HLX-1, and find that it can roughly reproduce the duration, period and amplitude of the recurrent outbursts HLX-1 with an IMBH of ~10^5Msun. Our result provides a possible mechanism to explain the recurrent outbursts in HLX-1. We further find a universal correlation between the outburst duration and the bolometric luminosity for the BH sources with a very broad mass range (e.g., X-ray binaries, XRBs, HLX-1 and active galactic nuclei, AGNs), which is roughly consistent with the prediction of radiation-pressure instability of the accretion disk. These results imply that "heartbeat" oscillations triggered by radiation-pressure instability may appears in different-scale BH systems.

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arXiv2015

A magnetic model for low/hard state of black hole binaries

A magnetic model for low/hard state (LHS) of black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs),H1743-322 and GX 339-4, is proposed based on the transportation of magnetic field from a companion into an accretion disk around a black hole (BH). This model consists of a truncated thin disk with an inner advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). The spectral profiles of the sources are fitted in agreement with the data observed at four different dates corresponding to the rising phase of the LHS. In addition, the association of the LHS with quasi-steady jet is modelled based on transportation of magnetic field, where the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) and Blandford-Payne (BP) processes are invoked to drive the jets from BH and inner ADAF. It turns out that the steep radio/X-ray correlations observed in H1743-322 and GX 339-4 can be interpreted based on our model.

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arXiv2015

The star formation history inferred from long gamma-ray bursts with high pseudo-redshifts

By employing a simple semi-analytical star formation model where the formation rates of Population (Pop) I/II and III stars can be calculated, respectively, we account for the number distribution of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with high pseudo-redshifts that was derived from an empirical luminosity-indictor relationship. It is suggested that a considerable number of Pop III GRBs could exist in the present sample of Swift GRBs. By further combining the implication for the star formation history from the optical depth of the CMB photons, it is also suggested that only a very small fraction 0.6% of Pop III GRBs could have triggered the Swift BAT. These results could provide an useful basis for estimating future detectability of Pop III stars and their produced transient phenomena.

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arXiv2014

Different X-ray spectral evolution for black hole X-ray binaries in dual tracks of radio-X-ray correlation

Recently an `outliers' track of radio-X-ray correlation was found, which is much steeper than the former universal correlation, where dual tracks were speculated to be triggered by different accretion processes. In this work, we test this issue by exploring hard X-ray spectral evolution in four black-hole X-ray binaries (XRBs) with multiple, quasi-simultaneous radio and X-ray observations. Firstly, we find that hard X-ray photon indices, $Γ$, are anti- and positively correlated to X-ray fluxes when the X-ray flux, $F_{\rm 3-9keV}$, is below and above a critical flux, $F_{\rm X,crit}$, which are consistent with prediction of advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and disk-corona model respectively. Secondly and most importantly, we find that the radio-X-ray correlations are also clearly different when the X-ray fluxes are higher and lower than the critical flux that defined by X-ray spectral evolution. The data points with $F_{\rm 3-9keV}\gtrsim F_{\rm X,crit}$ have a steeper radio-X-ray correlation ($F_{\rm X}\propto F_{\rm R}^{b}$ and $b\sim 1.1-1.4$), which roughly form the `outliers' track. However, the data points with anti-correlation of $Γ-F_{\rm 3-9keV}$ either stay in the universal track with $b\sim0.61$ or stay in transition track (from the universal to `outliers' tracks or vice versa). Therefore, our results support that the universal and `outliers' tracks of radio-X-ray correlations are regulated by radiatively inefficient and radiatively efficient accretion model respectively.

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arXiv2014

A new fundamental plane for radiatively efficient black-hole sources

In recent years, it was found that there are several low/hard state of X-ray binaries (XRBs) follow an `outliers' track of radio--X-ray correlation ($L_{\rm R}\propto L_{\rm X}^{b}$ and $b\sim1.4$), which is much steeper than the former universal track with $b\sim0.6$. In this work, we compile a sample of bright radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and find that their hard X-ray photon indices and Eddington ratios are positively correlated, which is similar to that of `outliers' of XRBs, where both bright AGNs and `outliers' of XRBs have bolometric Eddington ratios $\gtrsim1%L_{\rm Edd}$ ($L_{\rm Edd}$ is Eddington luminosity). The Eddington-scaled radio--X-ray correlation of these AGNs is also similar to that of `outliers' of XRBs, which has a form of $L_{\rm 5 GHz}/L_{\rm Edd}\propto (L_{\rm 2-10 keV}/L_{\rm Edd})^{c}$ with $c\simeq1.59$ and 1.53 for AGNs and XRBs respectively. Both the positively correlated X-ray spectral evolution and the steeper radio--X-ray correlation can be regulated by a radiatively efficient accretion flow (e.g., disk-corona). Based on these similarities, we further present a new fundamental plane for `outliers' of XRBs and bright AGNs in black-hole (BH) mass, radio and X-ray luminosity space: $\log L_{\rm R}=1.59^{+0.28}_{-0.22} \log L_{\rm X}- 0.22^{+0.19}_{-0.20}\log M_{\rm BH}-28.97^{+0.45}_{-0.45}$ with a scatter of $σ_{\rm R}=0.51\rm dex$. This fundamental plane is suitable for radiatively efficient BH sources, while the former plane proposed by Merloni et al. and Falcke et al. may be most suitable for radiatively inefficient sources.

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arXiv2013

Determining the luminosity function of Swift long gamma-ray bursts with pseudo-redshifts

The determination of luminosity function (LF) of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is of an important role for the cosmological applications of the GRBs, which is however hindered seriously by some selection effects due to redshift measurements. In order to avoid these selection effects, we suggest to calculate pseudo-redshifts for Swift GRBs according to the empirical L-E_p relationship. Here, such a $L-E_p$ relationship is determined by reconciling the distributions of pseudo- and real redshifts of redshift-known GRBs. The values of E_p taken from Butler's GRB catalog are estimated with Bayesian statistics rather than observed. Using the GRB sample with pseudo-redshifts of a relatively large number, we fit the redshift-resolved luminosity distributions of the GRBs with a broken-power-law LF. The fitting results suggest that the LF could evolve with redshift by a redshift-dependent break luminosity, e.g., L_b=1.2\times10^{51}(1+z)^2\rm erg s^{-1}. The low- and high-luminosity indices are constrained to 0.8 and 2.0, respectively. It is found that the proportional coefficient between GRB event rate and star formation rate should correspondingly decrease with increasing redshifts.

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arXiv2011

The luminosity function of Swift long gamma-ray bursts

The accumulation of {\it Swift} observed gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) gradually makes it possible to directly derive a GRB luminosity function (LF) from observational luminosity distribution, where however two complexities must be involved as (i) the evolving connection between GRB rate and cosmic star formation rate and (ii) observational selection effects due to telescope thresholds and redshift measurements. With a phenomenological investigation on these two complexities, we constrain and discriminate two popular competitive LF models (i.e., broke-power-law LF and single-power-law LF with an exponential cutoff at low luminosities). As a result, we find that the broken-power-law LF could be more favored by the observation, with a break luminosity $L_b=2.5\times10^{52}\rm erg s^{-1}$ and prior- and post-break indices $ν_1=1.72$ and $ν_2=1.98$. For an extra evolution effect expressed by a factor $(1+z)^δ$, if the matallicity of GRB progenitors is lower than $\sim0.1Z_{\odot}$ as expected by some collapsar models, then there may be no extra evolution effect other than the metallicity evolution (i.e., $δ$ approaches to be zero). Alternatively, if we remove the theoretical metallicity requirement, then a relationship between the degenerate parameters $δ$ and $Z_{\max}$ can be found, very roughly, $δ\sim2.4(Z_{\max}/Z_{\odot}-0.06)$. This indicates that an extra evolution could become necessary for relatively high metallicities.

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arXiv2010

The role of newly born magnetars in gamma-ray burst X-ray afterglow emission: Energy injection and internal emission

Swift observations suggest that the central compact objects of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) could be newly born millisecond magnetars. Therefore, by considering the spin evolution of the magnetars against r-mode instability, we investigate the role of the magnetars in GRB X-ray afterglow emission. Besides modifying the conventional energy injection model, we pay particular attention to the internal X-ray afterglow emission, whose luminosity is assumed to track the magnetic dipole luminosity of the magentars with a certain fraction. Following a comparison between the model and some selected observational samples, we suggest that some so-called "canonical" X-ray afterglows including the shallow decay, normal decay, and steeper-than-normal decay phases could be internally produced by the magnetars (possibly through some internal dissipations of the magnetar winds), while the (energized) external shocks are associated with another type of X-ray afterglows. If this is true, from those internal X-ray afterglows, we can further determine the magnetic field strengths and the initial spin periods of the corresponding magnetars.

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arXiv2009

The newly born magnetars powering gamma-ray burst internal-plateau emission: are there strange stars?

The internal-plateau X-ray emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) indicates that a newly born magnetar could be the central object of some GRBs. The observed luminosity and duration of the plateaus suggest that, for such a magnetar, a rapid spin with a sub- or millisecond period is sometimes able to last thousands of seconds. In this case, the conventional neutron star (NS) model for the magnetar may be challenged, since the rapid spin of nascent NSs would be remarkably decelerated within hundreds of seconds due to r-mode instability. In contrast, the r-modes can be effectively suppressed in nascent strange stars (SSs). In other words, to a certain extent, only SSs can keep nearly-constant extremely-rapid spin for a long period of time during the early ages of the stars. We thus propose that the sample of the GRB rapidly-spinning magnetars can be used to test the SS hypothesis based on the distinct spin limits of NSs and SSs.

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arXiv2009

Long-term evolution and gravitational wave radiation of neutron stars with differential rotation induced by r-modes

In a second-order r-mode theory, S'a & Tom'e found that the r-mode oscillation in neutron stars (NSs) could induce stellar differential rotation, which leads to a saturation state of the oscillation spontaneously. Based on a consideration of the coupling of the r-modes and the stellar spin and thermal evolutions, we carefully investigate the influences of the r-mode-induced differential rotation on the long-term evolutions of isolated NSs and NSs in low-mass X-ray binaries, where the viscous damping of the r-modes and its resultant effects are taken into account. The numerical results show that, for both kinds of NSs, the differential rotation can prolong the duration of the r-mode saturation state significantly. As a result, the stars can keep nearly constant temperature and angular velocity over a thousand years. Moreover, due to the long-term steady rotation of the stars, persistent quasi-monochromatic gravitational wave radiation could be expected, which increases the detectibility of gravitational waves from both nascent and accreting old NSs.

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