Improbability of DUrca Process Constraints EOS

According to recent observational and theoretical progresses,the DUrca process (direct Urca process) may be excluded from the category of neutron star cooling mechanisms. This result,combinedwith the latest nuclear symmetry energy experiments,will provideus an independent way of testing the EOS (equation of state) for supernuclear density. For example,soft EOSs,such as FPS,will probably be excluded.     

弱磁场及甚强磁场下奇异夸克物质Urca过程的中微子能量损失率

研究了磁场对奇异星模型中夸克直接Urca过程的中微子能量损失率的影响,首先改进了弱场条件下的近似计算方法,这一方法可以推广到其他弱作用过程．在甚强磁场下,严格地计算Urca过程的中微子能量损失率,结果显示辐射率强烈地依赖于磁场,与磁场的二次方成正比,更重要的是对温度的依赖关系不同于弱场及没有磁场时的情形．     

The imprint of the equation of state on the axial w-modes of oscillating neutron stars

We discuss the dependence of the pulsation frequencies of the axial quasi-normal modes of a non-rotating neutron star upon the equation of state describing the star interior. The continued fraction method has been used to compute the complex frequencies for a set of equations of state based on different physical assumptions and spanning a wide range of stiffness. The numerical results show that axial gravitational waves carry relevant information on both the structure of neutron star matter and the nature of the hadronic interactions.     

Temporal variations and spectral properties of the Be/X-ray pulsar GRO J1008–57 studied by INTEGRAL

The spin period variations and hard X-ray spectral properties of the Be/Xray pulsar GRO J1008–57 are studied with INTEGRAL observations during two outbursts in 2004 June and 2009 March.The pulsation periods of～93.66 s in 2004and～93.73 s in 2009 are determined.Pulse profiles of GRO J1008–57 during outbursts are strongly energy dependent with a double-peaked profile from 3–7 keV and a single-peaked profile in hard X-rays above 7 keV.Combined with previous measurements,we find that GRO J1008–57 has undergone a spin-down trend from 1993–2009 with a rate of～4.1×10-5s d-1,and could have changed into a spin-up trend after 2009.We find a relatively soft spectrum in the early phase of the 2009 outburst with cutoff energy～13 keV.Above a hard X-ray flux of～10-9erg cm-2s-1,the spectra of GRO J1008–57 during outbursts need an enhanced hydrogen absorption with column density～6×1022cm-2.The observed dip-like pulse profile of GRO J1008–57 in soft X-ray bands could be caused by this intrinsic absorption.Around the outburst peaks,a possible cyclotron resonance scattering feature at～74 keV is detected in the spectra of GRO J1008–57 which is consistent with the feature that was reported in MAXI/GSC observations,making the source a neutron star with the highest known magnetic field(～6.6×1012G)among accreting X-ray pulsars.This marginal feature is supported by the present detections in GRO J1008–57 following the correlation between the fundamental line energies and cutoff energies in accreting X-ray pulsars.Finally we discovered two modulation periods at～124.38 d and～248.78 d using RXTE/ASM light curves of GRO J1008–57.Two flare peaks appearing in the folded light curve had different spectral properties.The normal outburst lasting 0.1 of an orbital phase had a hard spectrum and could not be significantly detected below 3 keV.The second flare lasting ten days showed a very soft spectrum without significant detections above 5 keV.GRO J1008–57 is a good candidate of an accreting system with an equatorial circumstellar disk around the companion star.The neutron star passing the disk of the Be star near periastron and apastron produces two X-ray flares.The soft spectral properties in the secondary flares still need further detailed studies with soft X-ray spectroscopy.     

Heating and cooling of magnetars with accreted envelopes

We study the thermal structure and evolution of magnetars as cooling neutron stars with a phenomenological heat source in an internal layer. We focus on the effect of magnetized (   B ≳ 10¹⁴  G) non-accreted and accreted outermost envelopes composed of different elements, from iron to hydrogen or helium. We discuss a combined effect of thermal conduction and neutrino emission in the outer neutron star crust and calculate the cooling of magnetars with a dipole magnetic field for various locations of the heat layer, heat rates and magnetic field strengths. Combined effects of strong magnetic fields and light-element composition simplify the interpretation of magnetars in our model: these effects allow one to interpret observations assuming less extreme (therefore, more realistic) heating. Massive magnetars, with fast neutrino cooling in their cores, can have higher thermal surface luminosity.     

潮汐效应、系统自转效应对双星物质交换过程的影响

现今双星演化理论中,以子星的半径等于临界洛希瓣半径,作为双星中发生物质交换过程的判据,仅仅是一个为了将三维计算简化为一维计算而引入的近似判据．它在理论上是不严格的．本文给出了一个理论严格而又能一维计算的判据．并用新的判据和用子星半径等于临界洛希瓣半径的判据,对一个由９Ｍ和６Ｍ恒星组成的双星系统,进行了情况Ａ的演化计算（即物质交换过程发生在主星中心氢燃烧阶段）．结果证明,用新的判据时,双星中发生物质交换过程的起始时间提前,快速物质交换过程变短,平均物质交换率增大,但慢速物质交换过程变长．在物质交换过程结束时,主星和次星的质量、双星系统的轨道周期以及主星在赫罗图中的位置,都与采用子星半径等于相应洛希瓣半径作为判据的计算结果明显不同．这说明,发生物质交换过程的判据是否严格,对于双星演化的影响是不可忽略的．     

Relativistic mean-field theory equation of state of neutron star matter and a Maxwellian phase transition to strange quark matter

The equation of state of neutron star matter is examined in terms of the relativistic mean-field theory, including a scalar-isovector δ-meson effective field. The constants of the theory are determined numerically so that the empirically known characteristics of symmetric nuclear matter are reproduced at the saturation density. The thermodynamic characteristics of both asymmetric nucleonic matter and β-equilibrium hadron-electron npe-plasmas are studied. Assuming that the transition to strange quark matter is an ordinary first-order phase transition described by Maxwell's rule, a detailed study is made of the variations in the parameters of the phase transition owing to the presence of a δ-meson field. The quark phase is described using an improved version of the bag model, in which interactions between quarks are accounted for in a one-gluon exchange approximation. The characteristics of the phase transition are determined for various values of the bag parameter within the range B ∈ [60,120]MeV/fm³ and it is shown that including a δ-meson field leads to a reduction in the phase transition pressure P ₀ and in the concentrations n _N and n _Q at the phase transition point. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 147–164 (February 2009).     

Two-fluid models of superfluid neutron star cores

Both relativistic and non-relativistic two-fluid models of neutron star cores are constructed, using the constrained variational formalism developed by Brandon Carter and co-workers. We consider a mixture of superfluid neutrons and superconducting protons at zero temperature, taking into account mutual entrainment effects. Leptons, which affect the interior composition of the neutron star and contribute to the pressure, are also included. We provide the analytic expression of the Lagrangian density of the system, the so-called master function, from which the dynamical equations can be obtained. All the microscopic parameters of the models are calculated consistently using the non-relativistic nuclear energy density functional theory. For comparison, we have also considered relativistic mean field models. The correspondence between relativistic and non-relativistic hydrodynamical models is discussed in the framework of the recently developed 4D covariant formalism of Newtonian multifluid hydrodynamics. We have shown that entrainment effects can be interpreted in terms of dynamical effective masses that are larger in the relativistic case than in the Newtonian case. With the nuclear models considered in this work, we have found that the neutron relativistic effective mass is even greater than the bare neutron mass in the liquid core of neutron stars.     

Universality in quasi-normal modes of neutron stars

We study universality in gravitational waves emitted from non-rotating neutron stars characterized by different equations of state (EOSs). We find that the quasi-normal mode frequencies of such waves, including the w -modes and the f -mode, display similar universal scaling behaviours that hold for most EOSs. Such behaviours are shown to stem from the mathematical structure of the axial and the polar gravitational wave equations, and the fact that the mass distribution function can be approximated by a cubic–quintic polynomial in the radius. As a benchmark for other realistic neutron stars, a simple model of neutron stars is adopted here to reproduce the pulsation frequencies and the generic scaling behaviours mentioned above with good accuracy.