Nucleosynthesis in neutron star atmospheres
Neutron star atmospheric composition as function of time, including effects of diffusion, cooling and nucleosynthesis
Rosen, L. C.↗
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Theory of Radiation Transfer in Neutron Star Atmospheres
The possibility for direct investigation of thermal emission from isolated neutron stars opened about a quarter of century ago with the launch of the first X-ray observatories Einstein and EXOSAT stimulated developing models of the neutron star surface radiation which began at the end of 80's. Confronting observational data with theoretical models of thermal emission allows one to infer the surface temperatures, magnetic fields, chemical composition, and neutron star masses and radii. This information, supplemented with the model equations of state and neutron star cooling models, provides an opportunity to understand the fundamental properties of the superdense matter in the stars' interiors. Almost all available models are based on the assumption that thermal radiation emitted by a neutron star is formed in the superficial star's layers--atmosphere. The neutron star atmospheres are very different from those of usual stars due to the immense gravity and huge magnetic fields. In this presentation we review the current status of the neutron star atmosphere modeling, present most important results, discuss problems and possible future developments.
Zavlin, Vyacheslav↗
X-ray Emission from Magnetized Neutron Star Atmospheres at Low Mass Accretion Rates
Recent observations of X-ray pulsars at low luminosities allow, for the first time, to compare theoretical models for the emission from highly magnetized neutron star atmospheres at low mass accretion rates ( M ≲ 10(exp 15) g s(exp -1)) with the broadband X-ray data. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the spectral formation in the neutron star atmosphere at low M and to conduct a parameter study of physical properties of the emitting region. We obtain the structure of the static atmosphere, assuming that Coulomb collisions are the dominant deceleration process. The upper part of the atmosphere is strongly heated by the braking plasma, reaching temperatures of 30–40 keV, while its denser isothermal interior is much cooler (~2 keV). We numerically solve the polarized radiative transfer in the atmosphere with magnetic Compton scattering, free-free processes, and non-thermal cyclotron emission due to possible collisional excitations of electrons. The strongly polarized emitted spectrum has a double-hump shape that is observed in low-luminosity X-ray pulsars. A low-energy “thermal” component is dominated by extraordinary photons that can leave the atmosphere from deeper layers due to their long mean free path at soft energies. We find that a high-energy component is formed due to resonant Comptonization in the heated non-isothermal part of the atmosphere even in the absence of collisional excitations. The latter, however, affect the ratio of the two components. A strong cyclotron line originates from the optically thin, uppermost zone. A fit of the model to NuSTAR and Swift/XRT observations of GX3041 provides an accurate description of the data with reasonable parameters. The model can thus reproduce the characteristic double-hump spectrum observed in low-luminosity X-ray pulsars and provides insights into spectral formation.
X-Ray binaries↗
Hydrogen and helium abundances in neutron-star atmospheres.
Hydrogen and helium burning and diffusion in neutron star atmosphere
Rosen, L. C.↗
The CO/SiO radiative instability in cool star atmospheres revisited
We revisit the formation of radiative instabilities in cool star atmospheres and compare our results with those given by Muchmore, Nuth, & Stencel. We have considered the combined influence of CO and SiO molecules and have computed models for a grid of effective temperatures and geometrical dilution factors for the stellar radiation. Our results are based on the analysis of the energy balance of gas elements with prescribed thermodynamic properties. Our results show that radiative instabilities are most likely primarily caused by CO, whereas SiO is expected to play only a minor role, except when the CO density is reduced compared to Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) values or the CO band can be assumed to be optically thick. The onset of radiative instabilities is expected to be strongly modified when dynamic phenomena such as stochastic shocks are present. Our results provide strong evidence that dust formation can most likely occur via a radiative instability alone. Therefore, we present a revised version of the Muchmore et al. dust formation paradigm, which also considers hydrodynamic cooling. The new paradigm is particularly relevant in cases where dust is formed relatively close to the stellar photosphere.
Cuntz, M.↗
The deceleration of infalling plasma in magnetized neutron star atmospheres - Nonisothermal atmospheres
This paper examines the deceleration of accreting material in the strongly magnetized plasma atmosphere of an X-ray pulsar, for accretion rates less than 0.1 times the Eddington flux. The previous work on accretion, flow deceleration is extended to nonisothermal atmospheres. A rough model of radiative processes in neutron star atmospheres bombarded by accreting material is used to calculate the atmosphere's temperature and density profiles. The atmospheric structure and the accretion flow stopping depth are computed iteratively. For cases where the infall velocity is close to the free-fall velocity, a simple prescription for an equivalent single temperature, T(iso), is given. It is found that the plasma deceleration is close to stopping in a homogeneous, isothermal atmosphere at T(iso). Exceptions to this result occur for small infall velocities.
Miller, Guy↗
Hydrogen and helium abundances in neutron star atmospheres
Identification of neutron stars by hydrogen and helium spectral line observations
Rosen, L. C.↗
The fate of accreted CNO elements in neutron star atmospheres - X-ray bursts and gamma-ray lines
The fate of incident C-12, N-14, and O-16 in accreting neutron star atmospheres is described. When the accreting material is stopped by Coulomb collisions with atmospheric electrons, all incoming elements heavier than helium thermalize at higher altitudes in the atmosphere than the accreting protons. The incoming protons and helium then destroy the elements via nuclear spallation reactions. A small fraction of the nuclear reactions cause nuclear excitation and subsequent gamma-ray emission. The probability for a nucleus to survive this bombardment depends on how long it spends in the hazardous region of the atmosphere. The fractions of incident C-12, N-14, and O-16 that survive proton bombardment are calculated as a function of the accretion rate, and the mass and radius of the neutron star. The subsequent paucity of CNO nuclei decreases hydrogen-burning rates in the deep regions of the atmosphere, thereby reducing the amount of helium available for the unstable nuclear flashes that cause type I X-ray bursts. The gamma-ray line emission from this collisional deceleration scenario is determined.
Bildstein, Lars↗
Cyclotron line resonant transfer through neutron star atmospheres
Monte Carlo methods are used to study in detail the resonant radiative transfer of cyclotron line photons with recoil through a purely scattering neutron star atmosphere for both the polarized and unpolarized cases. For each case, the number of scatters, the path length traveled, the escape frequency shift, the escape direction cosine, the emergent frequency spectra, and the angular distribution of escaping photons are investigated. In the polarized case, transfer is calculated using both the cold plasma e- and o-modes and the magnetic vacuum perpendicular and parallel modes.
Wang, John C. L.↗
A comparison of lyman alpha and He lambda 10830 line structures and variations in early-type star atmospheres
Line profiles were first obtained at maximum velocity separation of the spectroscopic binary Spica (alpha Vir), and then high resolution spectrophotometric images of selected features in the 1.1 micron spectrum of Comet Kohoutek were obtained in order to gain insight into the structures and variations in early-type star atmospheres.
Meisel, D. D.↗
Cyclotron line features from neutron star atmospheres
Cyclotron line features from the polar cap plasmas of accreting magnetized neutron stars are modeled. The polar cap environment is modeled by a homogeneous isothermal plane-parallel slab threaded by a uniform superstrong magnetic field oriented orthogonal to the slab. Two physical cyclotron photon source functions are used. For conventional stopping depths, the emergent line spectra are fairly independent of the source functions. For hot atmospheres the details of the line transfer using relativistic kinematics differ substantially from those using nonrelativistic kinematics. Aside from finite recoil, both a finite natural linewidth and conventional stopping depths suppress the escape of photons blueward of line center and potential line features tend to be smeared out into the low-energy continuum. The formation of a line features is most favorable in low-field high-temperature atmospheres where cyclotron photon production is confined to a layer of small column density.
Wang, John C. L.↗
A comparison of lyman alpha and HeI lambda 10830 line structure and variations in early-type star atmospheres
Fabry-Perot interferometric profiles for fifty of the early-type stars including supergiants, eclipsing binaries, Bp and Ap stars, Be and shell stars, and variable stars have been obtained. Results for beta Persei (Algol) just before primary and secondary eclipses show strong emission profiles lasting about 0.1 phase. An absorption line was seen during secondary eclipse. Bright supergiant stars (O9-A2) show time-variable, complicated absorption/emission profiles similar to those obtained for the Be/shell stars.
Meisel, D. D.↗
Dynamic processes in Be star atmospheres. 2: He I 2P-nD line formation in lambda Eridani (outburst)
The He I lambda 6678 line of early Be stars generally shows violet (V) and red (R) emission whenever hydrogen alpha emission is present, but its use as a diagnostic has been handicapped by a poor understanding of the processes that drive it into emission. In an attempt to address this problem we obtained three series of eschelle spectra of the first two members of the singlet and triplet 2P-nD series of lambda Eri (B2e) during 1992 November 3-5 at Kitt Peak. During these observations lambda 6678 showed substantial emission variability in both the wings and central profile, providing an opportunity to compare its behavior with that of the lambda 4922, lambda 5876, and lambda 4471 lines. We found that the responses of the lines were different in several respects. Whereas the emissions in the V wings of all four lines scaled together, the R wing of the lambda 4922 line invariably responded with increased absorption whenever the R wing of lambda 6678 line showed increased emission. These same trends occurred within the central photospheric profiles. The R-wing behavior shows that much, but not all of the emission in lambda 6678 is caused by matter projected against the stellar disk. The excitation temperatures of the neighboring 2(sup 1) P transitions, lambda 6678 and lambda 4922 must be greater than and less than the photospheric continuum temperature, respectively. We have investigated departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for the He I spectrum in a variety of ad hoc, perturbed model atmospheres. We have found only one way to cause the source function of lambda 6678 to increase so strongly, namely, by increasing the atmospheric temperature in the line formation region to 30,000 - 40,000 K. This effect was discovered by Auer and Mihalas for O3-O4 atmospheric models, but it has not been applied to active B stars. Our models suggest that lambda 6678 emission in Be stars can be used as a sensitive monitor of localized hot spots on these stars' surfaces. The energies involved in heating the active portions of the atmosphere are too high to be produced by gravitational infall. This leaves magnetically induced flares among the few known processes on the surfaces of stars capable of sustaining this energy level.
Smith, Myron A.↗
The structure and energy balance of cool star atmospheres
The atmospheric structure and energy balance phenomena associated with magnetic fields in the Sun are reviewed and it is shown that similar phenomena occur in cool stars. The evidence for the weakening or disappearance of transition regions and coronae is discussed together with the appearance of extended cool chromospheres with large mass loss, near V-R = 0.80 in the H-R diagram. Like the solar atmosphere, these atmospheres are not homogeneous and there is considerable evidence for plage regions with bright TR emission lines that overlie dark (presumably magnetic) star spots. The IUE observations are providing important information on the energy balance in these atmospheres that should guide theoretical calculations of the nonradiative heating rate. Recent high dispersion spectra are providing unique information concerning which components of close binary systems are the dominant contributors to the observed emission. A recent unanticipated discovery is that the transition lines are redshifted (an antiwind) in DRa (G2 Ib) and perhaps other stars. Finally, the G and K giants and supergiants are classified into three groups depending on whether their atmospheres are dominated by closed magnetic flux tubes, open field geometries, or a predominately open geometry with a few closed flux tubes embedded.
Linsky, J. L.↗
Soft X-ray spectral fits of Geminga with model neutron star atmospheres
The spectrum of the soft X-ray pulsar Geminga consists of two components, a softer one which can be interpreted as thermal-like radiation from the surface of the neutron star, and a harder one interpreted as radiation from a polar cap heated by relativistic particles. We have fitted the soft spectrum using a detailed magnetized hydrogen atmosphere model. The fitting parameters are the hydrogen column density, the effective temperature T(sub eff), the gravitational redshift z, and the distance to radius ratio, for different values of the magnetic field B. The best fits for this model are obtained when B less than or approximately 1 x 10(exp 12) G and z lies on the upper boundary of the explored range (z = 0.45). The values of T(sub eff) approximately = (2-3) x 10(exp 5) K are a factor of 2-3 times lower than the value of T(sub eff) obtained for blackbody fits with the same z. The lower T(sub eff) increases the compatibility with some proposed schemes for fast neutrino cooling of neutron stars (NSs) by the direct Urca process or by exotic matter, but conventional cooling cannot be excluded. The hydrogen atmosphere fits also imply a smaller distance to Geminga than that inferred from a blackbody fit. An accurate evaluation of the distance would require a better knowledge of the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) response to the low-energy region of the incident spectrum. Our modeling of the soft component with a cooler magnetized atmosphere also implies that the hard-component fit requires a characteristic temperature which is higher (by a factor of approximately 2-3) and a surface area which is smaller (by a factor of 10(exp 3), compared to previous blackbody fits.
Meyer, R. D.↗
Dynamic Processes in Be Star Atmospheres.: Simultaneous X-Ray, Ultraviolet, and Optical Variations in lambda Eridani - 6
This report describes a joint X ray/ultraviolet/ground based study of the abnormal Be star lambda Eri which has previously shown evidence of X ray flaring from Rosat observations in 1991. The 1991 flare event caught the astronomical hot star community by surprise because x ray flares have not been observed from other single B-type stars, before or since. Both optical (H-alpha) and UV/Voyager observations provide evidence for transient heating events near the surface of lambda Eri.
Smith, Myron A.↗
Dynamic processes in Be star atmospheres. 3: Rapid multiwavelength variability in gamma Cassiopeiae
A review of the characteristics of X-ray emission from gamma Cas suggests various weaknesses with conventional scenarios that invoke Be wind interactions with a putative binary companion. To explore whether this emission might arise instead from sporadic high-energy events on the Be star itself, we have examined the temporal behavior of Voyager 1 FUV spectra and He I lambda 6678 line profiles. The FUV continuum light curves show a continuous rapid variability with a range of greater than or = 0.2 mag over a timescale of approximately 1 hr. All indications are that this variability is real. The difference spectrum of the inferred fluctuating component is identical to the photospheric spectrum, ruling out an origin much hotter than the star's effective temperature. A histogram of flux differences formed from consecutive observations shows a flat-topped distribution out to 0.2 mag. This result bears a striking resemblance to histograms constructed from EXOSAT and Ginga data, suggesting that the X-ray and FUV variabilities could have a common origin. Evidence is also presented of rapid variability in optical spectral lines associated with the stars photosphere. Time series of difference profiles of the lambda 6678 line confirm the existence of migrating subfeatures reported by earlier studies. The comoving average of these profiles shows that these features have a shape resembling a symmetrical 'wave-packet'. Wave packets appear to be preceeded and rejuvenated by a sharp central absorption feature. We also report a transient emission feature in lambda 6678 that is similar to brief emissions once reported by Slettebak & Snow in UV resonance line profiles of Si IV and Mg II. We argue that the FUV and optical variability may find an explanation in terms of magnetic flares. Solar white-light flares offer a possible paradigm. However, problems remain with such explanations, in particular their high mean energy, frequency, and temperature.
Smith, Myron A.↗
Dynamic processes in Be star atmospheres. I - 'Dimple' formation in the He I lambda 6678 line of lambda Eridani
Several examples of weakenings of the C IV and N V resonance lines are found to coincide with the appearance of lambda 6678 dimples. The absence of variations in other UV lines and in the UV continuum at the same time or nearly the same time argues against dimples being caused by thermal variations from the underlying star. It is instead suggested that the resonance line weakenings are caused by non-LTE effects associated with the condensation of high density structures at some elevation over the star. A simple model of an opaque, essentially stationary slab which backscatters lambda 6678 line radiation into a surrounding 'penumbral' region is presented. Lambda 6678 photons are scattered a second time in this region back into the observer's line of sight and in the process acquire the local projected Doppler shift from rotation. Slabs would probably produce too little emission to be easily detected in the H alpha profile. Their detection in strong He I lines seems the best strategy among early Be stars.
Smith, Myron A.↗