低质量X射线双星的毫秒级准周期信号—最近的进展

最近对低质量X射线双星中的千赫兹准周期振动的研究表明，是辐射压力，而不是盘和磁球的相互作用以及处于盘内边界的广义相对论效应在短时标的盘切断机制上起作用。本文给出了一些研究结果及讨论。     

Be／X射线双星的理论模型

为解释Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星波段联合观测结果，已发展了许多理论模型。在本文中简述这些Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星理论模型的研究现状，包括枞两个正常的Ｂ型星组成的密近双星演化成为Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星的演化模型，描述Ｂｅ星气壳的物理模型，Ｂｅ星和中子星的性质所决定的中子星吸积方式的吸积量及Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星Ｘ射线源光变曲线的理论解释。     

Be／X射线双星的多波段观测

简要地回顾了Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星２０多年来在红外、可见光、紫外和Ｘ射线波段所取得的观测结果，着重介绍了多波段联合观测对探讨双星间的相互作用如中子星的吸积方式和Ｘ射线产生的原因等方面的意义，对这些观测结果的分析研究，将是人们了解Ｂｅ／Ｘ射线双星的轨道参数和双星的物理参数、建立理论模型的基础。     

Be／X射线双星包层性质的研究

Ｂe单星和Ｂe／Ｘ射线双星作为一类特殊早型天体和特殊的大质量Ｘ射线双星,在各个波段都有与其它相同光谱型的Ｂ型天体显著不同的特征,因此长期以来引起中外天文学者的关注。首先在可见光波段发射线的存在,就是对仅产生吸收线的经典大气的挑战;其次Ｂe星作为一类早型带有包层天体,研究Ｂe星包层的性质,对研究原恒星包层性质和进一步了解早 型星其它光谱型的性质是非常重要的;再者可以研究Ｂe星的存在与星际磁场或湍流的星际     

黑洞候选体X射线双星Cyg X-1硬度比周期特性研究

利用离散傅里叶分析法,基于RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer)/ASM(All-Sky Monitor,1.5～12 keV)观测数据,对黑洞候选体X射线双星Cyg X-1硬度比HR(5～12 keV/3～5 keV)(简写HR)的时变特性进行了分析,结果表明黑洞候选体X射线双星Cyg X-1硬度比HR存在明显的周期特性:(1)混合态(硬态+软态,本文指MJD=50087～55841期间所有的观测数据)时,HR存在T≈5.6 d、40.0 d、78.4 d、173.8 d以及400/800 d的时变周期; (2)硬态时, HR存在T≈5.6 d、33.7/67.6 d、45.3 d和165.3 d的周期特性; (3)软态时,HR出现了T≈38.5 d、48.1 d和128.3 d的周期性变化.并利用粘滞理论和Zdziarski吸积盘模型讨论了以上周期特性的物理机制.     

X射线双星回旋吸收线研究进展

X射线双星中的回旋共振散射吸收特征(即回旋吸收线特征)是直接测量中子星磁场的工具。回旋吸收线表现为X射线能谱中多阶吸收特征。截至目前,已在30多颗源中探测到该现象,其能量范围为10-80 keV,对应的磁场强度范围为10^7-10^9 T。随着X射线探测技术的进步,回旋吸收线观测及理论研究也迅速发展,包括谐频和基频回旋吸收线能量之比、回旋吸收线形状的复杂性、回旋吸收线形态参数间的相关性、回旋吸收线能量与光度的关系、回旋吸收线的脉冲相位解析谱及回旋吸收线能量的长时标演化等。未来,人们将通过对回旋吸收线的研究,在探测高磁场中子星,以及在探究中子星磁场结构和吸积柱物理等方面取得更多成果。     

Be／X射线双星UBV光电测光的预备性观测

为研究Be/X射线双星的光度变化,正利用北京天文台60cm望远镜进行UBV光电测光。本文叙述一年来的观测。并结合观测结果对观测和归算方法作了若干讨论,我们主要采用较差测光附加标准星观测以便转换到标准系统。消光计算时考虑零点漂移和可能与大气质量平方的线性关系:m-m_0=k′X k″c k_2X~2 k_tt q。标准系统与观测系统的星等和色指数采用线性关系转换。     

天鹰座 X-1能谱和千赫兹准周期振荡频率的相关

通过分析1997年2月27日和3月1日对天鹰座X-1的两次空间数据观测．发现千赫兹QPO频率同X射线能诺有一定相关,其行为类似于另一个X射线暂现源4U1608-52,讨论了分析结果对了解吸积及QPO产生过程的意义．     

On the maximum amplitude and coherence of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in low-mass X-ray binaries

I study the behaviour of the maximum rms fractional amplitude, r _max, and the maximum coherence, Q _max, of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in a dozen low-mass X-ray binaries. I find that (i) the maximum rms amplitudes of the lower- and upper-kHz QPOs,   r ^ℓ_max  and   r ^u_max  , respectively, decrease more or less exponentially with increasing luminosity of the source; (ii) the maximum coherence of the lower-kHz QPO,   Q ^ℓ_max  , first increases and then decreases exponentially with luminosity, at a faster rate than both   r ^ℓ_max  and   r ^u_max  ; (iii) the maximum coherence of the upper-kHz QPO,   Q ^u_max  , is more or less independent of luminosity; and (iv) r _max and Q _max show the opposite behaviour with hardness of the source, consistent with the fact that there is a general anticorrelation between luminosity and spectral hardness in these sources. Both r _max and Q _max in the sample of sources, and the rms amplitude and coherence of the kHz QPOs in individual sources show a similar behaviour with hardness. This similarity argues against the interpretation that the drop of coherence and rms amplitude of the lower-kHz QPO at high QPO frequencies in individual sources is a signature of the innermost stable circular orbit around a neutron star. I discuss possible interpretations of these results in terms of the modulation mechanisms that may be responsible for the observed variability.     

Warped accretion discs and the long periods in X-ray binaries

Precessing accretion discs have long been suggested as explanations for the long periods observed in a variety of X-ray binaries, most notably Her X-1/HZ Her. We show that an instability of the response of the disc to the radiation reaction force from the illumination by the central source can cause the disc to tilt out of the orbital plane and precess in something like the required manner. The rate of precession and disc tilt obtained for realistic values of system parameters compare favourably with the known body of data on X-ray binaries with long periods. We explore other possible types of behaviour than steadily precessing discs that might be observable in systems with somewhat different parameters. At high luminosities, the inner disc tilts through more than 90°, i.e., it rotates counter to the usual direction, which may explain the torque reversals in systems such as 4U 1626−67.     

Correlated optical and X-ray variability in LMC X-2

We have obtained high time resolution (seconds) photometry of LMC X-2 in 1997 December, simultaneously with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ), in order to search for correlated X-ray and optical variability on time-scales from seconds to hours. We find that the optical and X-ray data are correlated only when the source is in a high, active X-ray state. Our analysis shows evidence for the X-ray emission leading the optical with a mean delay of <20 s. The time-scale for the lag can be reconciled with disc reprocessing, driven by the higher-energy X-rays, only by considering the lower limit for the delay. The results are compared with a similar analysis of archival data of Sco X-1.     

黑洞候选体X射线双星Cyg X-1光变曲线的研究

利用Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer(RXTE)卫星从1996年1月到2005年5月的公共资料,研究了黑洞候选体X射线双星Cyg X-1光变曲线的周期性,并且发现了一些有趣的周期特性(T=1．0±0．2天和T=18．0±3．0天)．在硬态时,T=1．0±0．2天和T=18．0±3．0天的周期特性同时出现在它的光变曲线之中,但在软态时仅有T=1．0±0．2天的周期出现．采用一种新的方法(即微分法),同时为了检验微分法的正确性,还利用传统的方法(即快速傅立叶变换和叠加法)分析了相同的资料,并得到了与微分法相同的结果．另外也对Cyg X-1的轨道周期进行了研究,结果发现T=5．6天的轨道周期不仅出现在硬态,同时也出现在软态,只是在硬态时比在软态时明显．     

Orbital evolution and orbital phase resolved spectroscopy of the HMXB pulsar 4U 1538-52 with RXTE-PCA and BeppoSAX

We report here results from detailed timing and spectral studies of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1538-52 over several binary periods using observations made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and BeppoSAX satellites. Pulse timing analysis with the 2003 RXTE data over two binary orbits confirms an eccentric orbit of the system. Combining the orbitial parameters determined from this observation with the earlier measurements we did not find any evidence of orbital decay in this X-ray binary. We have carried out orbital phase resolved spectroscopy to measure changes in the spectral parameters with orbital phase, particularly the absorption column density and the iron line flux. The RXTE-PCA spectra in the 3–20 keV energy range were fitted ∼6.4 keV, whereas the BeppoSAX spectra needed only a power law and Gaussian emission line at ∼6.4 keV in the restricted energy range of 0.3–10.0 keV. An absorption along the line of sight was included for both the RXTE and BeppoSAX data. The variation of the free spectral parameters over the binary orbit was investigated and we found that the variation of the column density of absorbing material in the line of sight with orbital phase is in reasonable agreement with a simple model of a spherically symmetric stellar wind from the companion star.     

Superhumps in low-mass X-ray binaries

We propose a mechanism for the superhump modulations observed in optical photometry of at least two black-hole X-ray transients (SXTs). As in extreme mass-ratio cataclysmic variables (CVs), superhumps are assumed to result from the presence of the 3:1 orbital resonance in the accretion disc. This causes the disc to become non-axisymmetric and precess. However, the mechanism for superhump luminosity variations in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) must differ from that in CVs, where it is attributed to a tidally-driven modulation of the disc's viscous dissipation, varying on the beat between the orbital and disc precession period. By contrast in LMXBs, tidal dissipation in the outer accretion disc is negligible: the optical emission is overwhelmingly dominated by reprocessing of intercepted central X-rays. Thus a different origin for the superhump modulation is required. Recent observations and numerical simulations indicate that in an extreme mass-ratio system the disc area changes on the superhump period. We deduce that the superhumps observed in SXTs arise from a modulation of the reprocessed flux by the changing area. Therefore, unlike the situation in CVs, where the superhump amplitude is inclination-independent, superhumps should be best seen in low-inclination LMXBs, whereas an orbital modulation from the heated face of the secondary star should be more prominent at high inclinations. Modulation at the disc precession period (10 s of days) may indicate disc asymmetries such as warping. We comment on the orbital period determinations of LMXBs, and the possibility and significance of possible permanent superhump LMXBs.