scholarly journals Observable features of GW170817 kilonova afterglow

2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (3) ◽  
pp. 3914-3921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adithan Kathirgamaraju ◽  
Dimitrios Giannios ◽  
Paz Beniamini

ABSTRACT The neutron star merger, GW170817, was followed by an optical-infrared transient (a kilonova) which indicated that a substantial ejection of mass at trans-relativistic velocities occurred during the merger. Modelling of the kilonova is able to constrain the kinetic energy of the ejecta and its characteristic velocity but, not the high-velocity distribution of the ejecta. Yet, this distribution contains crucial information on the merger dynamics. In this work, we assume a power-law distribution of the form E(> βΓ) ∝ (βΓ)−α for the energy of the kilonova ejecta and calculate the non-thermal signatures produced by the interaction of the ejecta with the ambient gas. We find that ejecta with minimum velocity β0 ≃ 0.3 and energy E ∼ 1051 erg, as inferred from kilonova modelling, has a detectable radio, and possibly X-ray, afterglow for a broad range of parameter space. This afterglow component is expected to dominate the observed emission on a time-scale of a few years post-merger and peak around a decade later. Its light curve can be used to determine properties of the kilonova ejecta and, in particular, the ejecta velocity distribution α, the minimum velocity β0, and its total kinetic energy E. We also predict that an afterglow rebrightening, that is associated with the kilonova component, will be accompanied by a shift of the centroid of the radio source towards the initial position of the explosion.

1996 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 313-319
Author(s):  
Mark H. Finger ◽  
Robert B. Wilson ◽  
B. Alan Harmon ◽  
William S. Paciesas

A “giant” outburst of A 0535+262, a transient X-ray binary pulsar, was observed in 1994 February and March with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. During the outburst power spectra of the hard X-ray flux contained a QPO-like component with a FWHM of approximately 50% of its center frequency. Over the course of the outburst the center frequency rose smoothly from 35 mHz to 70 mHz and then fell to below 40 mHz. We compare this QPO frequency with the neutron star spin-up rate, and discuss the observed correlation in terms of the beat frequency and Keplerian frequency QPO models in conjunction with the Ghosh-Lamb accretion torque model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (1) ◽  
pp. L72-L78
Author(s):  
K Mohamed ◽  
E Sonbas ◽  
K S Dhuga ◽  
E Göğüş ◽  
A Tuncer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Similar to black hole X-ray binary transients, hysteresis-like state transitions are also seen in some neutron-star X-ray binaries. Using a method based on wavelets and light curves constructed from archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations, we extract a minimal timescale over the complete range of transitions for 4U 1608-52 during the 2002 and 2007 outbursts and the 1999 and 2000 outbursts for Aql X-1. We present evidence for a strong positive correlation between this minimal timescale and a similar timescale extracted from the corresponding power spectra of these sources.


2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Chen Li ◽  
Guobao Zhang ◽  
Mariano Méndez ◽  
Jiancheng Wang ◽  
Ming Lyu

ABSTRACT We have found and analysed 16 multipeaked type-I bursts from the neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636 − 53 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). One of the bursts is a rare quadruple-peaked burst that was not previously reported. All 16 bursts show a multipeaked structure not only in the X-ray light curves but also in the bolometric light curves. Most of the multipeaked bursts appear in observations during the transition from the hard to the soft state in the colour–colour diagram. We find an anticorrelation between the second peak flux and the separation time between two peaks. We also find that in the double-peaked bursts the peak-flux ratio and the temperature of the thermal component in the pre-burst spectra are correlated. This indicates that the double-peaked structure in the light curve of the bursts may be affected by enhanced accretion rate in the disc, or increased temperature of the neutron star.


Author(s):  
R Pattnaik ◽  
K Sharma ◽  
K Alabarta ◽  
D Altamirano ◽  
M Chakraborty ◽  
...  

Abstract Low Mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are binary systems where one of the components is either a black hole or a neutron star and the other is a less massive star. It is challenging to unambiguously determine whether a LMXB hosts a black hole or a neutron star. In the last few decades, multiple observational works have tried, with different levels of success, to address this problem. In this paper, we explore the use of machine learning to tackle this observational challenge. We train a random forest classifier to identify the type of compact object using the energy spectrum in the energy range 5-25 keV obtained from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer archive. We report an average accuracy of 87±13% in classifying the spectra of LMXB sources. We further use the trained model for predicting the classes for LMXB systems with unknown or ambiguous classification. With the ever-increasing volume of astronomical data in the X-ray domain from present and upcoming missions (e.g., SWIFT, XMM-Newton, XARM, ATHENA, NICER), such methods can be extremely useful for faster and robust classification of X-ray sources and can also be deployed as part of the data reduction pipeline.


2013 ◽  
Vol 436 (3) ◽  
pp. 2465-2483 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bernardini ◽  
E. M. Cackett ◽  
E. F. Brown ◽  
C. D'Angelo ◽  
N. Degenaar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
X Ray ◽  

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (05) ◽  
pp. 825-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. TAGIEVA ◽  
E. YAZGAN ◽  
A. ANKAY

We examined the fall-back disk models, and in general accretion, proposed to explain the properties of AXPs and SGRs. We checked the possibility of some gas remaining around the neutron star after a supernova explosion. We also compared AXPs and SGRs with the X-ray pulsars in X-ray binaries. We conclude that the existing models of accretion from a fall-back disk are insufficient to explain the nature of AXPs and SGRs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 808 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Coleman Miller ◽  
Frederick K. Lamb
Keyword(s):  

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