中子星中心致密天体的双星起源

探讨了认为中心致密天体(CCO)起源于双星的可能性.首先, CCO与正常遗迹脉冲星有着相似的平均自旋周期,但CCO的平均表面磁场强度(B～5.4×10~(10)Gs)低于正常遗迹脉冲星(B～7.7×10~(12)Gs)～2个量级.同时,几乎所有的正常遗迹脉冲星均分布在爱丁顿吸积加速线以上,而CCO全部分布在自旋加速线以下.因此怀疑CCO可能起源于双星吸积加速过程.其次,基于中子星再加速理论,分析了CCO可能的双星演化过程:双星系统中, CCO以M～1017g·s~(-1)的吸积率,经过～106yr的时间共吸积△M～10~(-2)M⊙的物质,其自旋周期将会从P～10 s降低至P～0.1 s,表面磁场强度将会从B～10~(12)Gs降低至B～1010Gs.考虑到～106yr的演化时标远大于CCO遗迹的年龄(～0.3–7 kyr),猜想CCO可能是双星系统中第1颗恒星超新星爆发的产物,而第2颗恒星超新星爆发后双星解体,留下CCO和第2颗恒星的超新星遗迹.该模型预言在CCO附近可能存在一颗年轻的正常脉冲星(P～0.02 s, B～1012Gs),并期望未来的射电望远镜和高能探测器能够进行搜寻.     

磁星的观测特性和理论模型

磁星(magnetar)是一类有着极强磁场的致密天体,它们的外部磁场强度是典型中子星磁场强度的100～1 000倍。在过去几十年中,软γ射线复现源(SGR)和反常X射线脉冲星(AXP)被认为是最有可能的磁星候选者。磁星有着独特的能谱性质和光变特征,它的观测现象丰富多彩,其观测波段跨越了射电、红外、光学、X射线和γ射线等。近些年来,多种理论模型也相继被提出来,以解释其独特的性质。以正常脉冲星为例,介绍了磁星与通常中子星的不同性质,详述了磁星在多波段的能谱、光变及周期跃变现象等观测特性,总结了为解释磁星的特殊性质而建立起来的多种理论模型,并详述了中子星框架下的扭曲磁层模型。此外还介绍了其他候选模型。     

磁星能量注入模型拟合伽玛射线暴X射线余辉光变曲线

某些伽玛射线暴(简称伽玛暴)的中心致密天体可能是一颗具有强磁场的毫秒脉冲星,它通过磁偶极辐射可对伽玛暴外激波注入能量,从而导致早期余辉光变曲线的变平.近年来,从Swift卫星观测到的大量伽玛暴X射线余辉中发现,很多X射线余辉光变曲线在暴后10~2～10~4s期间的确存在明显的变平现象.利用周期为毫秒量级的磁星能量注入模型对11个加玛暴的X射线余辉光变曲线进行了拟合,显示该模型在解释余辉变平现象上的有效性和广泛性,通过对余辉光变曲线的拟合,同时也给出了相关中心磁星的磁场强度和旋转周期.     

反常X射线脉冲星的研究进展

反常X射线脉冲星（Anomalous X-ra Pulsars，简称AXP）是一类特殊的X射线源。与X射线脉冲星（通常处于大质量X射线双星系统中）相比，它们具有以下特征：X射线谱较软、光度低页稳定（≈10^27－10^29J.s^-1）、自转周期集中在10s左右稳定增长、迄今没有找到它们的光学、红外、射电的对应体、有一些可能戌超新星遗迹成协等。由观测到的自转周期变化可以确定它们的自转能损不足以提供有X射线辐射。解释AXP能源机制的理论模型目前主要有两大类：在吸积模型中，AXP被认为具有正常磁场强度（≈10^8T）的中子量，物质吸积提供X射线辐射原能源，并造成中子星的自转变化；另一种观点认为AXP是具有超强磁场（≈10^10-10^11T）的中子量（即磁星），其辐射能源来自它们巨大的磁或残余的热能，观测到的自转周期及其变化被归因子中子星的磁偶极辐射和物质抛射。两种模型各有优缺点，但目前看来观测事实对磁星模型较为有利。为了进一步明确AXP的性质，提供解释它们能源机制的线索，在介绍AXP的基本观测特征和理论解释的基础上，还将AXP与射电脉冲星、特强磁场射电脉冲量、射电宁静脉冲星侯选体及软γ射线复现源分别进行了比较。     

特殊类型脉冲星的研究进展

脉冲星是演化末期的大质量恒星经过核坍缩形成的产物,它们在天体物理学、粒子物理学和卫星导航等方面具有重要的应用。自脉冲星发现50年来,其观测和理论研究取得了巨大进展。脉冲星主要在射电波段被探测到,部分脉冲星也有X射线和γ射线等波段的辐射,它们的信息非常丰富。根据其不同的观测特征可以把脉冲星分为多种类型。主要对射电、X射线以及γ射线波段的特殊类型脉冲星,包括旋转射电暂现源、间歇脉冲星、态转换X射线脉冲星、磁星、暗X射线孤立中子星、中心致密天体以及γ射线脉冲星的基本性质及其研究进展进行综述。     

超强磁场下的相对论电子

在以前工作的基础上,推导出超强磁场下简并的、相对论的电子压强P。的普遍表达式：讨论了电子的朗道能级量子化;探索了量子电动力学效应（QED）对中子压强占主导的理想的n-P-e气体系统的影响。主要结论包括：Pe与磁场强度B、物质密度P及电子丰度L有关;磁场越强,电子压强越大;增加的压强是由高值的电子费米能引起的;在超强磁场下,磁星内部总压强是各向异性的;如果考虑到各向异性的总压强,磁星可能是一种更致密、形变后类似于椭球状的中子星;如果考虑到磁场能对状态方程的正能量的贡献,相对于普通射电脉冲星,磁星的质量可能更大些。     

超强磁场下的相对论电子

在以前工作的基础上,推导出超强磁场下简并的、相对论的电子压强P e的普遍表达式;讨论了电子的朗道能级量子化;探索了量子电动力学效应(QED)对中子压强占主导的理想的n-p-e气体系统的影响。主要结论包括:P e与磁场强度B、物质密度ρ及电子丰度Y e有关;磁场越强,电子压强越大;增加的压强是由高值的电子费米能引起的;在超强磁场下,磁星内部总压强是各向异性的;如果考虑到各向异性的总压强,磁星可能是一种更致密、形变后类似于椭球状的中子星;如果考虑到磁场能对状态方程的正能量的贡献,相对于普通射电脉冲星,磁星的质量可能更大些。     

双中子星质量分布的统计研究

通过对12对双中子星(DNS)系统进行质量分布统计,得到其质量加权平均值为(1.339±0.042)M_⊙,其中主星和伴星的质量加权平均值分别为(1.439±0.036)M_⊙和(1.239±0.020)M_⊙.主星平均质量比伴星平均质量高,表明主星可能通过吸积获得质量,或者主星的前身星的质量更大.据此可以分析大质量恒星通过超新星爆发形成中子星的物理过程.此外还发现,DNS的总质量集中在一个比较狭小的范围(2.5–2.8 M_⊙),这说明DNS的质量形成受到伴星的影响.经过进一步的分析注意到DNS的质量比接近于1(略大于1),这可能暗示DNS系统的前身星质量比较相近.通过分析12对DNS在中子星的磁场强度-自旋周期关系图(B-P_s图)中的分布,发现DNS主星磁场强度约10~(10)Gs,自转周期约50 ms;PSR J1906+0746和PSR J0737-3039B处在正常脉冲星序列,磁场强度约10~(12)Gs,这说明两者没有吸积加速过程.     

低纬度未证认γ射线源的起源问题的探讨

对银道面附近(|b|<5°)未证认的伽玛射线源和年龄小于106年的银河系年轻脉冲星之间的成协的可能性进行了统计研究.结果表明,年轻脉冲星可能说明大多数未证认EGRET源,它们和超新星遗迹以及OB星协在位置上成协.其表现为有2/3是年轻射电宁静脉冲星,1/3是年轻射电脉冲星.对这些未证认γ射线源的变化性的研究发现,它们中的大部分都是不变的.同时我们预期,GLAST的空间探测将可能在银道面附近(|b|<5°)中检测到≈80N100颗射电脉冲星和≈1100N100颗未证认γ射线源,这里N100是以100年为单位的中子星生成率.     

超新星和中子星

现在我们对超新星的认识是跳跃式地发展的,近来突破性的进展是:Ⅰ型超新星的光变曲线的观测与1M的Ni~(50)的衰变模型符合得较好:Ⅱ型超新星的观测可描述为在超巨星壳层底部有10~(50)尔格能量沉积而产性爆发,形成中子星。本文探讨了超新星和中子星的关系,以及在超新星研究中的某些观点,介绍了超新星的观测特性、前身星的特点以及超新星模型。Ⅱ型超新星释放能量很可能与内部收缩成中子星和产生脉冲星联系在一起,而Ⅰ型超新星爆发将整个恒星毁掉不留下致密天体。某些脉冲星(中子星)可能是失去外层的大质量星爆发而产生的,这些事件并不伴随着明亮的超新星出现。超新星等于中子星形成的观念似乎应当解除.     

The spin evolution of nascent neutron stars

The loss of angular momentum owing to unstable r-modes in hot young neutron stars has been proposed as a mechanism for achieving the spin rates inferred for young pulsars. One factor that could have a significant effect on the action of the r-mode instability is fallback of supernova remnant material. The associated accretion torque could potentially counteract any gravitational-wave-induced spin-down, and accretion heating could affect the viscous damping rates and hence the instability. We discuss the effects of various external agents on the r-mode instability scenario within a simple model of supernova fallback on to a hot young magnetized neutron star. We find that the outcome depends strongly on the strength of the magnetic field of the star. Our model is capable of generating spin rates for young neutron stars that accord well with initial spin rates inferred from pulsar observations. The combined action of r-mode instability and fallback appears to cause the spin rates of neutron stars born with very different spin rates to converge, on a time-scale of approximately 1 year. The results suggest that stars with magnetic fields ≤10¹³ G could emit a detectable gravitational wave signal for perhaps several years after the supernova event. Stars with higher fields (magnetars) are unlikely to emit a detectable gravitational wave signal via the r-mode instability. The model also suggests that the r-mode instability could be extremely effective in preventing young neutron stars from going dynamically unstable to the bar-mode.     

Unifying neutron star sub-populations in the supernova fallback accretion model

We employ the supernova fallback disk model to simulate the spin evolution of isolated young neutron stars(NSs). We consider the submergence of the NS magnetic fields during the supercritical accretion stage and its succeeding reemergence. It is shown that the evolution of the spin periods and the magnetic fields in this model is able to account for the relatively weak magnetic fields of central compact objects and the measured braking indices of young pulsars. For a range of initial parameters, evolutionary links can be established among various kinds of NS sub-populations including magnetars, central compact objects and young pulsars. Thus, the diversity of young NSs could be unified in the framework of the supernova fallback accretion model.     

Revisiting Field Burial by Accretion onto Neutron Stars

The surface magnetic field strength of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is found to be about 4 orders of magnitude lower than that of garden variety radio pulsars (with a spin of \({\sim }\)0.5–5 s and \(B{\sim }10^{12}\hbox { G}\)). The exact mechanism of the apparent reduction of field strength in MSPs is still a subject of debate. One of the proposed mechanisms is burial of the surface magnetic field under matter accreted from a companion. In this article we review the recent work on magnetic confinement of accreted matter on neutron stars poles. We present the solutions of the magneto-static equations with a more accurate equation of state of the magnetically confined plasma and discuss its implications for the field burial mechanism.     

The magnetar crustal magneto-thermal evolution

Magnetars are a type of pulsars powered by magnetic field energy. Part of the X-ray luminosities of magnetars in quiescence have a thermal origin and can be fitted by a blackbody spectrum with the surface temperature, much higher than the typical values for rotation-powered pulsars. The persistent thermal emissions and bursts of magnetars indicate the presence of some internal heat sources in their outer crusts. In this work, we have formulated the energy balance equation and applied it to investigate the thermal evolution in the magnetar crust, taking into account the heating mechanisms of Ohmic decay and electron capture processes. This model can explain the changes in the X-ray luminosity of the magnetars.     

Fallback Disk-Involved Spin-Down of Young Radio Pulsars

Disks originating from supernova fallback have been suggested to surround young neutron stars. Interaction between the disk and the magnetic field of the neutron star may considerably influence the evolution of the star through the so called propeller effect. There are many controversies about the efficiency of the propeller mechanism proposed in the literature. We investigate the fallback disk-involved spin-down of young pulsars. By comparing the simulated and measured results of pulsar evolution, we present some possible constraints on the propeller torques exerted by the disks on neutron stars.     

High Magnetic Field Pulsars and Magnetars: A Unified Picture

We propose a unified picture of high magnetic field radio pulsars and magnetars by arguing that they are all rotating high-field neutron stars but that their magnetic axes have different orientations with respect to their rotation axes. In strong magnetic fields where photon splitting suppresses pair creation near the surface, the high-field pulsars can have active inner accelerators while the anomalous X-ray pulsars cannot. This can account for the very different observed emission characteristics of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 2259+586 and the high-field radio pulsar PSR J1814-1744. A predicted consequence of this picture is that radio pulsars having surface magnetic fields greater than about 2x1014 G should not exist.     

Scenarios for the formation of binary and millisecond pulsars – A critical assessment

The evolution of high-and low-mass X-ray binaries (HMXB and LMXB) into different types of binary radio pulsars, the ‘high-mass binary pulsars’(HMBP) and ‘low-mass binary pulsars’ (LMBP) is discussed. The HMXB evolve either into Thorne-Zytkow objects or into short-period binaries consisting of a helium star plus a neutron star (or a black hole), resembling Cygnus X-3. The latter systems evolve (with or without a second common-envelope phase) into close binary pulsars, in which the companion of the pulsar may be a massive white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole ( some final systems may also consist of two black holes). A considerable fraction of the systems may also be disrupted in the second supernova explosion. We discuss the possible reasons why the observed numbers of double neutron stars and of systems like Cyg X-3 are several orders of magnitude lower than theoretically predicted. It is argued that the observed systems form the tip of an iceberg of much larger populations of unobserved systems, some of which may become observable in the future. As to the LMBP, we consider in some detail the origins of systems with orbital periods in the range 1–20 days. We show that to explain their existence, losses of orbital angular momentum (e.g., by magnetic braking) and in a number of cases: also of mass, have to be taken into account. The masses of the low-mass white dwarf companions in these systems can be predicted accurately. We notice a clear correlation between spin period and orbital period for these systems, as well as a clear correlation between pulsar magnetic field strength and orbital period. These relations strongly suggest that increased amounts of mass accreted by the neutron stars lead to increased decay of their magnetic fields: we suggest a simple way to understand the observed value of the ‘bottom’ field strengths of a few times 10⁸ G. Furthermore, we find that the LMBP-systems in which the pulsar has a strong magnetic field (> 10¹¹ G) have an about two orders of magnitude larger birth rate (i.e., about 4 × 10^-4 yr^-1 in the Galaxy) than the systems with millisecond pulsars (which have B < 10⁹ G). Using the observational fact that neutron stars receive a velocity kick of ∼450 km/s at birth, we find that some 90% of the potential progenitor systems of the strong-field LMBP must have been disrupted in the Supernovae in which their neutron stars were formed. Hence, the formation rate of the progenitors of the strong-field LMBP is of the same order as the galactic supernova rate (4 × 10^-3 yr^-1). This implies that a large fraction of all Supernovae take place in binaries with a close low-mass (< 2.3 M⊙) companion.     

Early evolution of newly born magnetars with a strong toroidal field

We present a state-of-the-art scenario for newly born magnetars as strong sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the early days after formation. We address several aspects of the astrophysics of rapidly rotating, ultra-magnetized neutron stars (NSs), including early cooling before transition to superfluidity, the effects of the magnetic field on the equilibrium shape of NSs, the internal dynamical state of a fully degenerate, oblique rotator and the strength of the electromagnetic torque on the newly born NS. We show that our scenario is consistent with recent studies of supernova remnant surrounding Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs) in the Galaxy that constrains the electromagnetic energy input from the central NS to be  ≤ 10⁵¹  erg. We further show that if this condition is met, then the GW signal from such sources is potentially detectable with the forthcoming generation of GW detectors up to Virgo cluster distances where an event rate ∼1 yr⁻¹ can be estimated. Finally, we point out that the decay of an internal magnetic field in the 10¹⁶ G range couples strongly with the NS cooling at very early stages, thus significantly slowing down both processes: the field can remain this strong for at least 10³ yr, during which the core temperature stays higher than several times 10⁸ K.     

A possible association of a young pulsar (PSR J0855−4644) with the young Vela supernova remnant RX J0852.0−4622

The recently discovered young supernova remnant (SNR) RX J0852.0−4622 has attracted much interest since its discovery because of the possibility that it may have been generated by the nearest supernova in recent history. We note the presence of two Parkes Multibeam Survey pulsars within the boundary of the remnant. We discuss the properties of the two pulsars and the likelihood of either of them being physically linked to the SNR. We tentatively suggest that, given the current uncertainties in the distance to RX J0852.0−4622, one of these pulsars, the 65-ms period PSR J0855−4644 could indeed be the compact remnant of this supernova explosion. If the pulsar birth site is at the geometrical centre of the nebula, then, for the transverse pulsar velocity to be reasonable, the SNR must be nearby (around 250 pc) and no younger than about 3000 yr old.     

The strongest cosmic magnets: soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars

Two classes of X-ray pulsars, the anomalous X-ray pulsars and the soft gamma-ray repeaters, have been recognized in the last decade as the most promising candidates for being magnetars: isolated neutron stars powered by magnetic energy. I review the observational properties of these objects, focussing on the most recent results, and their interpretation in the magnetar model. Alternative explanations, in particular those based on accretion from residual disks, are also considered. The possible relations between these sources and other classes of neutron stars and astrophysical objects are also discussed.