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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

AR Sco: A Precessing White Dwarf Synchronar?

The emission of the white dwarf–M dwarf binary AR Sco is driven by the rapid synchronization of its white dwarf, rather than by accretion. Synchronization requires a magnetic field ∼100 Gauss at the M dwarf and ∼10{sup 8} Gauss at the white dwarf, larger than the fields of most intermediate polars but within the range of fields of known magnetic white dwarfs. The spindown power is dissipated in the atmosphere of the M dwarf, within the near zone of the rotating white dwarf’s field, by magnetic reconnection, accelerating particles that produce the observed synchrotron radiation. The displacement of the optical maximum from conjunction may be explained either by dissipation in a bow wave as the white dwarf’s magnetic field sweeps past the M dwarf or by a misaligned white dwarf rotation axis and oblique magnetic moment. In the latter case the rotation axis precesses with a period of decades, predicting a drift in the orbital phase of the optical maximum. Binaries whose emission is powered by synchronization may be termed synchronars, in analogy to magnetars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Properties of Magnetars Mimicking {sup 56}Ni-Powered Light Curves in Type IC Superluminous Supernovae

Many Type Ic superluminous supernovae have light-curve decline rates after their luminosity peak, which are close to the nuclear decay rate of {sup 56}Co, consistent with the interpretation that they are powered by {sup 56}Ni and possibly pair-instability supernovae. However, their rise times are typically shorter than those expected from pair-instability supernovae, and Type Ic superluminous supernovae are often suggested to be powered by magnetar spin-down. If magnetar spin-down is actually a major mechanism to power Type Ic superluminous supernovae, it should be able to produce decline rates similar to the {sup 56}Co decay rate rather easily. In this study, we investigate the conditions for magnetars under which their spin-down energy input can behave like the {sup 56}Ni nuclear decay energy input. We find that an initial magnetic field strength within a certain range is sufficient to keep the magnetar energy deposition within a factor of a few of the {sup 56}Co decay energy for several hundreds of days. Magnetar spin-down needs to be by almost pure dipole radiation with the braking index close to three to mimic {sup 56}Ni in a wide parameter range. Not only late-phase {sup 56}Co-decay-like light curves, but also rise time and peak luminosity of most {sup 56}Ni-powered light curves can be reproduced by magnetars. Bolometric light curves for more than 700 days are required to distinguish the two energy sources solely by them. We expect that more slowly declining superluminous supernovae with short rise times should be found if they are mainly powered by magnetar spin-down.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

XMM-Newton Observation of the Nearby Pulsar B1133+16

We constrain the X-ray properties of the nearby (360 pc), old (5 Myr) pulsar B1133+16 with ∼100 ks effective exposure time by XMM-Newton. The observed pulsar flux in the 0.2–3 keV energy range is ∼10{sup −14} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}, which results in the recording of ∼600 source counts with the EPIC pn and MOS detectors. The X-ray radiation is dominated by nonthermal radiation and is well described by both a single power-law model (PL) and a sum of blackbody and power-law emission (BB+PL). The BB+PL model results in a spectral photon index Γ=2.4{sub −0.3}{sup +0.4} and a nonthermal flux in the 0.2–3 keV energy range of (7±2)×10{sup −15} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. The thermal emission is consistent with the blackbody emission from a small hot spot with a radius of R{sub pc}≈14{sub −5}{sup +7} m and a temperature of T{sub s}=2.9{sub −0.4}{sup +0.6} MK. Assuming that the hot spot corresponds to the polar cap of the pulsar, we can use the magnetic flux conservation law to estimate the magnetic field at the surface B{sub s}≈3.9×10{sup 14} G. The observations are in good agreement with the predictions of the partially screened gap model, which assumes the existence of small-scale surface magnetic field structures in the polar cap region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetar Central Engine and Possible Gravitational Wave Emission of Nearby Short GRB 160821B

GRB 160821B is a short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) at redshift z = 0.16, with a duration less than 1 s and without any “extended emission” detected up to more than 100 s in both Swift /BAT and Fermi /GBM bands. An X-ray plateau with a sharp drop 180 s after the BAT trigger was observed with Swift /XRT. No supernova or kilo-nova signature was detected. Assuming the central engine of this SGRB is a recently born supra-massive magnetar, we can explain the SGRB as jet radiation and its X-ray plateau as the internal energy dissipation of the pulsar wind as it spins down. We constrain its surface magnetic field to B {sub p} < 3.12 × 10{sup 16} G and initial spin period to P{sub 0} < 8.5 × 10{sup −3} s. Its equation of state is consistent with the GM1 model with M{sub TOV} ∼ 2.37 M {sub ⊙} and ellipticity ϵ < 0.07. Its gravitational wave (GW) radiation may be detectable with the future Einstein Telescope, but is much weaker than the current detectability limit of Advanced LIGO. The GW radiation of such an event would be detectable by Advanced LIGO if it occurred at a distance of 100 Mpc ( z = 0.023).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic Fields in the Massive Dense Cores of the DR21 Filament: Weakly Magnetized Cores in a Strongly Magnetized Filament

We present Submillimeter Array 880 μ m dust polarization observations of six massive dense cores in the DR21 filament. The dust polarization shows complex magnetic field structures in the massive dense cores with sizes of 0.1 pc, in contrast to the ordered magnetic fields of the parsec-scale filament. The major axes of the massive dense cores appear to be aligned either parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic fields of the filament, indicating that the parsec-scale magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of the massive dense cores. However, the correlation between the major axes of the cores and the magnetic fields of the cores is less significant, suggesting that during the core formation, the magnetic fields below 0.1 pc scales become less important than the magnetic fields above 0.1 pc scales in supporting a core against gravity. Our analysis of the angular dispersion functions of the observed polarization segments yields a plane-of-sky magnetic field strength of 0.4–1.7 mG for the massive dense cores. We estimate the kinematic, magnetic, and gravitational virial parameters of the filament and the cores. The virial parameters show that the gravitational energy in the filament dominates magnetic and kinematic energies, while the kinematic energy dominates in the cores. Our work suggests that although magnetic fields may play an important role in a collapsing filament, the kinematics arising from gravitational collapse must become more important than magnetic fields during the evolution from filaments to massive dense cores.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

What Can We Learn about GRB from the Variability Timescale Related Correlations?

Recently, two empirical correlations related to the minimum variability timescale (MTS) of the light curves are discovered in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). One is the anti-correlation between MTS and Lorentz factor Γ, and the other is the anti-correlation between the MTS and gamma-ray luminosity L {sub γ}. Both of the two correlations might be used to explore the activity of the central engine of GRBs. In this paper, we try to understand these empirical correlations by combining two popular black hole central engine models (namely, the Blandford and Znajek mechanism (BZ) and the neutrino-dominated accretion flow (NDAF)). By taking the MTS as the timescale of viscous instability of the NDAF, we find that these correlations favor the scenario in which the jet is driven by the BZ mechanism.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence Mediated by Reconnection

Magnetic field fluctuations in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence can be viewed as current sheets that are progressively more anisotropic at smaller scales. As suggested by Loureiro and Boldyrev and Mallet et al., below a certain critical thickness, λ{sub c}, such current sheets become tearing-unstable. We propose that the tearing instability changes the effective alignment of the magnetic field lines in such a way as to balance the eddy turnover rate at all scales smaller than λ{sub c}. As a result, turbulent fluctuations become progressively less anisotropic at smaller scales, with the alignment angle increasing as θ∼(λ/λ{sub ∗}){sup −4/5+β}, where λ{sub ∗}∼L{sub 0}S{sub 0}{sup −3/4} is the resistive dissipation scale. Here L {sub 0} is the outer scale of the turbulence, S {sub 0} is the corresponding Lundquist number, and 0⩽β<4/5 is a parameter. The resulting Fourier energy spectrum is E(k{sub ⊥})∝k{sub ⊥}{sup −11/5+2β/3}, where k{sub ⊥} is the wavenumber normal to the local mean magnetic field, and the critical scale is λ{sub c}∼S{sub L}{sup −(4−5β)/(7−20β/3)}. The simplest model corresponds to β = 0, in which case the predicted scaling formally agrees with one of the solutions obtained in Mallet et al. from a discrete hierarchical model of abruptly collapsing current sheets, an approach different from and complementary to ours. We also show that the reconnection-mediated interval is non-universal with respect to the dissipation mechanism. Hyper-resistivity of the form η-tilde k{sup 2+2s} leads (in the simplest case of β = 0) to the different transition scale λ{sub c}∼L{sub 0} S-tilde {sub 0}{sup −4/(7+9s)} and the energy spectrum E(k{sub ⊥})∝k{sub ⊥}{sup −(11+9s)/(5+3s)}, where S-tilde {sub 0} is the corresponding hyper-resistive Lundquist number.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining Parameters in Pulsar Models of Repeating FRB 121102 with High-energy Follow-up Observations

Recently, a precise (sub-arcsecond) localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) 121102 led to the discovery of persistent radio and optical counterparts, the identification of a host dwarf galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.193, and several campaigns of searches for higher-frequency counterparts, which gave only upper limits on the emission flux. Although the origin of FRBs remains unknown, most of the existing theoretical models are associated with pulsars, or more specifically, magnetars. In this paper, we explore persistent high-energy emission from a rapidly rotating highly magnetized pulsar associated with FRB 121102 if internal gradual magnetic dissipation occurs in the pulsar wind. We find that the efficiency of converting the spin-down luminosity to the high-energy (e.g., X-ray) luminosity is generally much smaller than unity, even for a millisecond magnetar. This provides an explanation for the non-detection of high-energy counterparts to FRB 121102. We further constrain the spin period and surface magnetic field strength of the pulsar with the current high-energy observations. In addition, we compare our results with the constraints given by the other methods in previous works and expect to apply our new method to some other open issues in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Generation Mechanisms of Quasi-parallel and Quasi-circular Flare Ribbons in a Confined Flare

We analyze a confined multiple-ribbon M2.1 flare (SOL2015-01-29T11:42) that originated from a fan-spine coronal magnetic field configuration, within active region NOAA 12268. The observed ribbons form in two steps. First, two primary ribbons form at the main flare site, followed by the formation of secondary ribbons at remote locations. We observe a number of plasma flows at extreme-ultraviolet temperatures during the early phase of the flare (as early as 15 minutes before the onset) propagating toward the formation site of the secondary ribbons. The secondary ribbon formation is co-temporal with the arrival of the pre-flare generated plasma flows. The primary ribbons are co-spatial with Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager ( RHESSI ) hard X-ray sources, whereas no enhanced X-ray emission is detected at the secondary ribbon sites. The (E)UV emission, associated with the secondary ribbons, peaks ∼1 minute after the last RHESSI hard X-ray enhancement. A nonlinear force-free model of the coronal magnetic field reveals that the secondary flare ribbons are not directly connected to the primary ribbons, but to regions nearby. Detailed analysis suggests that the secondary brightenings are produced due to dissipation of kinetic energy of the plasma flows (heating due to compression), and not due to non-thermal particles accelerated by magnetic reconnection, as is the case for the primary ribbons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and black hole mergers

The recent detection of the gravitational-wave source GW150914 by the LIGO collaboration motivates a speculative source for the origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays as a possible byproduct of the immense energies achieved in black hole (BH) mergers, provided that the BHs have spin, as seems inevitable, and there are relic magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the formation of the BHs or from their accretion history. We argue that given the modest efficiency <0.01 required per event per unit of gravitational-wave energy release, merging BHs potentially provide an environment for accelerating cosmic rays to ultrahigh energies. The presence of tidally disrupted planetary or asteroidal debris could lead to associated fast radio bursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A magnetar-like outburst from a high-B radio pulsar

Radio pulsars are believed to have their emission powered by the loss of rotational kinetic energy. By contrast, magnetars show intense X-ray and γ-ray radiation whose luminosity greatly exceeds that due to spin down and magnetar luminosity is believed to be powered by intense internal magnetic fields. A basic prediction of this picture is that radio pulsars of high magnetic field should show magnetar-like emission. Here we report on a magnetar-like X-ray outburst from the radio pulsar PSR J1119–6127, heralded by two short bright X-ray bursts on 2016 July 27 and 28. Using target of opportunity data from the Swift X-ray Telescope and NuSTAR, we show that this pulsar’s flux has brightened by a factor of >160 in the 0.5–10 keV band, and that its previously soft X-ray spectrum has undergone a strong hardening with strong pulsations appearing for the first time above 2.5 keV, with phase-averaged emission detectable up to 25 keV. By comparing Swift-XRT and NuSTAR timing data with a pre-outburst ephemeris derived from Fermi Large Area Telescope data, we find that the source has contemporaneously undergone a large spin-up glitch of amplitude Δν/ν=5.74(8)×10{sup −6}. The collection of phenomena observed thus far in this outburst strongly mirrors those in most magnetar outbursts and provides an unambiguous connection between the radio pulsar and magnetar populations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1967

Fragmentation.

Fragmentation of clouds of diffuse matter and condensation into stars, discussing gravitational instability and galactic magnetic field effects

Hunter, C.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A new measurement of the Hercules X-1 X-ray pulse profile

Report on measurements of a triple-peaked 1.24-sec pulse profile in a 1-minute rocket-borne exposure to Her X-1, in contrast to the double-peaked profiles expected from models which maximize the X-ray emission at the magnetic equator of an accreting neutron star. The profile exhibits statistically significant energy dependence, with the emission greater than about 12 keV having narrower peaks which appear to lag (by approximately 5% of the pulse period) the corresponding peaks at lower energies. Approximately one-third of the total emission from the source is nonpulsed.

Holt, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A new measurement of the Her X-1 X-ray pulse profile

A triple peaked 1.24 sec. pulse profile in a 1-minute rocket borne exposure to Her X-1 was measured, in contrast to the doublepeaked profiles expected from models which maximize the X ray emission at the magnetic equator of an accreting neutron star. The profile exhibits statistically significant energy dependence, with the emission approximately greater than 12 keV having narrower peaks which lag (by approximately 5% of the pulse period) the corresponding peaks at lower energies. Approximately one third of the total emission from the source is nonpulsed.

Holt, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Clusters in the distribution of pulsars in period, pulse-width, and age

The question of whether pulsars form a single group or whether pulsars come in two or more different groups is discussed. It is proposed that such groups might be related to several factors such as the initial creation of the neutron star, or the orientation of the magnetic field axis with the spin axis. Various statistical models are examined.

Baker, K. B.↗