119218814
Infrared Observations of the Millisecond Pulsar Binary J1023+0038: Evidence for the Short-term Nature of Its Interacting Phase in 2000-2001
We report our multi-band infrared (IR) imaging of the transitional millisecond pulsar system J1023+0038, a rare pulsar binary known to have an accretion disk in 2000-2001. The observations were carried out with ground-based and space telescopes from near-IR to far-IRwavelengths. We detected the source in near-IR JH bands and Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 mu m mid-IR channels. Combined with the previously reported optical spectrum of the source, the IR emission is found to arise from the companion star, with no excess emission detected in the wavelength range. Because our near-IR fluxes are nearly equal to those obtained by the 2MASS all-sky survey in 2000 February, the result indicates that the binary did not contain the accretion disk at the time, whose existence would have raised the near-IR fluxes to twice larger values. Our observations have thus established the short-term nature of the interacting phase seen in 2000-2001: the accretion disk existed for at most 2.5 yr. The binary was not detected by the WISE all-sky survey carried out in 2010 at its 12 and 22 mu m bands and our Herschel far-IR imaging at 70 and 160 mu m. Depending on the assumed properties of the dust, the resulting flux upper limits provide a constraint of <3 x 10(22)-3 x 10(25) g on the mass of the dust grains that possibly exist as the remnants of the previously seen accretion disk.
14349816
The Near-infrared Counterpart to the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1e 1048.1−5937
We report our discovery of the likely near-infrared counter part to the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 1E 1048.1−5937, using observations from the 6.5 m Baade (Magellan I) te lescope in Chile. We derived a precise position for the X-ray source using archival data from t heChandra X-Ray Observatory. Since this position is inconsistent with a position reported earlier from XMM-Newton, we conservatively considered eight optical and near-infrared sources within both error circles as cand id te counterparts, although we also show that the XMM-Newton observation likely suffered from attitude reconstruction problems. Two of the infrared objects have unusual colors, and one of these has colors consistent with t hose of the identified counterparts of two other AXPs. The latter object is the only source detected within the Chandra error circle, and we identify it as the counterpart to 1E 1048.1 −5937. This is the first AXP counterpart detected in multiple i nfrared bands, with magnitudes J=21.7(3),H=20.8(3), andK=19.4(3). There is marginal evidence for spectral flattenin g at longer wavelengths. Subject headings: pulsars: individual (1E 1048.1 −5937) — stars: neutron
18351437
Search for the Optical Counterparts of Southern Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars and Radio-Quiet Neutron Stars in Young Supernova Remnants
We report on our search for the optical counterparts of the Southern Hemisphere anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E1048.1-5937 and the radio-quiet neutron stars in supernova remnants Puppis A, RCW 103, and PKS 1209-52. The observations were carried out with the new MIT/CfA MagIC camera on the Magellan-I 6.5 m telescope in Chile. We present deep multiband optical images of the X-ray error circles for each of these targets and discuss the resulting candidates and limits.
119233030
Dynamics of neutrino-driven winds: inclusion of accurate weak interaction rates in strong magnetic fields
Solving Newtonian steady-state wind equations while considering the accurate weak interaction rates and magnetic fields (MFs) of young neutron stars, we study the dynamics and nucleosynthesis of neutrino-driven winds (NDWs) from proto neutron stars (PNSs). For a typical 1.4 M ⊙ PNS model, we find that the nucleosynthesis products are closely related to the luminosity of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos. The lower the luminosity is, the larger is the effect on the NDWs caused by weak interactions and MFs. At a high anti-neutrino luminosity of typically 8 × 10 51 erg s −1 , neutrinos and anti-neutrinos dominate the processes in an NDW and the MFs hardly change the wind’s properties. But at a low anti-neutrino luminosity of 10 51 erg s −1 at the late stage of an NDW the mass of the product and process of nucleosynthesis are changed significantly in strong MFs. Therefore, in most of the models considered for the NDWs from PNSs, based on our calculations, the influences of MFs and the net weak interactions on the nucleosynthesis are not significant.
14090535
An Accurate Determination of the Optical Periodic Modulation in the X-Ray Binary SAX J1808.4-3658
We report on optical imaging of the X-ray binary SAX J1808.4 – 3658 with the 8 m Gemini South Telescope. The binary, containing an accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, appears to have a large periodic modulation in its quiescent optical emission. In order to clarify the origin of this modulation, we obtained three time-resolved r'-band light curves (LCs) of the source over five days. The LCs can be described by a sinusoid, and the long time-span between them allows us to determine optical period P = 7251.9 s and phase 0.671 at MJD 54599.0 (TDB; phase 0.0 corresponds to the ascending node of the pulsar orbit), with uncertainties of 2.8 s and 0.008 (90% confidence), respectively. This periodicity is highly consistent with the X-ray orbital ephemeris. By considering this consistency and the sinusoidal shape of the LCs, we rule out the possibility of the modulation arising from the accretion disk. Our study supports the previous suggestion that the X-ray pulsar becomes rotationally powered in quiescence, with its energy output irradiating the companion star, causing the optical modulation. While it has also been suggested that the accretion disk would be evaporated by the pulsar, we argue that the disk exists and gives rise to the persistent optical emission. The existence of the disk can be verified by long-term, multiwavelength optical monitoring of the source in quiescence, as an increasing flux and spectral changes from the source would be expected based on the standard disk-instability model.
119069538
Search for gamma-ray emission from four accreting millisecond pulsars with Fermi/LAT
We report our search for -ray emission in the energy range from 100 MeV to 300 GeV from four Accreting Millisecond Pulsars (AMPs), SAX J1808.4 3658, IGR J00291+5934, XTE J1814 338, and XTE J0929 314. The data are from four-year observations carried out by Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi -ray Space Telescope. The AMPs were not detected, and their -ray luminosity upper limits we obtain are 5.1 × 10 33 ergs s −1 for SAX J1808.4 3658, 2.1 × 10 33 ergs s −1 for IGR J00291+5934, 1.2 × 10 34 ergs s −1 for XTE J1814 338, and 2.2 × 10 33 ergs s −1 for XTE J0929 314. We compare our results with -ray irradiation luminosities required for producing optical modulations seen from the companions in the AMPs, which has been suggested by Takata et al. (2012), and our upper limits have excluded -ray emission as the heating source in these systems except XTE J0929 314, the upper limit of which is not deep enough. Our results also do not support the model proposed by Takata et al. (2012) that relatively strong -ray emission could arise from the outer gap of a high-mass neutron star controlled by the photon-photon pair-creation for the AMPs. Two AMPs, SAX J1808.4 3658 and IGR J00291+5934, have the measurements of their spin-down rates, and we derive the upper limits of their -ray conversion efficiencies, which are 57% and 3%, respectively. We discuss the implications to the AMP systems by comparing the efficiency upper limit values with that of 20 -ray millisecond pulsars (MSP) detected by Fermi and the newly discovered transitional MSP binary J1023+0038. Subject headings: pulsars: general – stars: neutron – binaries: close – gamma rays: stars
119266949
MULTIBAND STUDIES OF THE OPTICAL PERIODIC MODULATION IN THE X-RAY BINARY SAX J1808.4–3658 DURING ITS QUIESCENCE AND 2008 OUTBURST
We report on time-resolved optical imaging of the X-ray binary SAX J1808.4-3658 during its quiescent state and 2008 outburst. The binary, containing an accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, has a large sinusoidal-like modulation in its quiescent optical emission. We employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique to fit our multi-band light curve data in quiescence with an irradiated star model, and derive a tight constraint of 50(-5)(+6) deg on the inclination angle i of the binary system. The pulsar and its companion are constrained to have masses of 0.97(-0.22)(+0.31) M-circle dot and 0.04(-0.01)(+0.02) M-circle dot (both 1 sigma ranges), respectively. The dependence of these results on the measurements of the companion's projected radial velocity is discussed. We also find that the accretion disk had nearly constant optical fluxes over a similar to 500 day period in the quiescent state our data covered, but started brightening 1.5 months before the 2008 outburst. Variations in modulation during the outburst were detected in our four observations made 7-12 days after the start of the outburst, and a sinusoidal-like modulation with 0.2 mag amplitude changed to have a smaller amplitude of 0.1 mag. The modulation variations are discussed. We estimate the albedo of the companion during its quiescence and the outburst, which was approximately 0 and 0.8 (for isotropic emission), respectively. This large difference probably provides additional evidence that the neutron star in the binary turns on as a radio pulsar in quiescence.
17015371
Analysis of the X(1576) as a tetraquark state with the QCD sum rules
In this letter, we take the point of view that the X(1576) be tetraquark state which consists of a scalar-diquark and an anti-scalar-diquark in relative P -wave, and calculate its mass in the framework of the QCD sum rules approach. The numerical value of the mass mX = (1.66±0.14)GeV is consistent with the experimental data, there may be some tetraquark component in the vector meson X(1576). PACS numbers: 12.38.Lg; 12.39.Mk
27335793
Intruder negative-parity states of neutron-rich Si-33
This work was supported in part by the EPSRC (UK) and by the European Union under Contract No. RII3-CT-2004-506065. Five of us (D.O., M.B., A.H., K.K., and A.P.)acknowledge financial support from the EPSRC. Z.M.W acknowledges support from ORSAS and from the University of the West of Scotland. A.J. acknowledges financial supportfrom the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under Contract Nos. FPA2007-66069 and FPA2009-13377-C02-02. Zs.D. acknowledges the financial support from OTKA Project No. K68801.
117918704
Some new insights on the statistical origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy I: Some heuristic arguments
Now that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy has been found within the traditional theory, its physical interpretation should hide in quantum field theory in curved spacetime (only its quantum corrections require a detailed knowledge of quantum gravity). However, to interpret the statistical origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, there have developed many microscopic pictures, some of them are based on the theories that themselves remain to be experimentally verified, while some cite the Hawking temperature formula and actually argue in circle (and then they have not provided more information than the seminal work of Bekenstein and Hawking). Within quantum field theory in curved spacetime (without introducing any new hypothesis), it is inevitable for us to attribute the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy to entanglement entropy. In the first part we just provide a heuristic argument, a rigorous theoretical model will be presented in our next work.
13852548
Optical/Infrared Observations of the Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 1E 1048.1-5937 During Its 2007 X-Ray Flare
We report on optical and infrared observations of the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 1E 1048.1–5937 made during its ongoing X-ray flare that started in 2007 March. We detected the source in the optical I and near-infrared Ks bands in two ground-based observations and obtained deep flux upper limits from four observations, including one with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 and 8.0 μm. The detections indicate that the source was approximately 1.3-1.6 mag brighter than in 2003-2006, when it was at the tail of a previous similar X-ray flare. Similar related flux variations have been seen in two other AXPs during their X-ray outbursts, suggesting common behavior for large X-ray flux variation events in AXPs. The Spitzer flux limits are sufficiently deep that we can exclude mid-infrared emission similar to that from the AXP 4U 0142+61, which has been interpreted as arising from a dust disk around the AXP. The optical/near-infrared emission from 1E 1048.1–5937 probably has a magnetospheric origin. The similarity in the flux spectra of 1E 1048.1–5937 and 4U 0142+61 challenges the dust disk model proposed for the latter.