Central Compact Object Research Articles

Signatures of wakefield acceleration in astrophysical jets via gamma-rays and UHECRs

ABSTRACT We present six case studies from a comprehensive mass range (1–109 M⊙) of astrophysical objects, each of which possess jets, emit high-energy gamma radiation and in some instances spatially identifiable ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). All sources are strong candidates for UHECR emission, if not already known to emit them. We surmise that wakefield acceleration in conjunction with the magnetorotational instability of the accretion disc explains both structural properties of the jets and details in their emission signals, such as correlations in neutrino and gamma-ray bursts, and in the case of blazars, anticorrelations in flux and spectral index. Furthermore, our model predicts an upper bound for the energy of UHECRs emitted from a source given the mass of its central compact object and total jet luminosity. To provide context for our model predictions, we quantitatively compare them with observational data, however, we have not accounted for the GZK limit and assumed universal values for several model parameters (e.g. jet-spreading index, p) that likely differ between sources. Since the accretion and acceleration mechanisms are independent of mass, aside from determining maximum values, blazars (∼109 M⊙), radio galaxies ($\sim 10^8\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ ), Seyfert galaxies ($\sim 10^6 \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ ), starburst galaxies ($\sim 10^{3}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ ), even microquasars (1–10 M⊙) interestingly exhibit the same physics. Other radiation bands, such as X-ray, ultraviolet, or radio, may harbour additional information, but we chose not to focus on them for brevity. However, such an endeavour may open the door to a new multimessenger approach for understanding these objects.

Expected polarization properties of nonmagnetized CCOs

Central compact objects (CCOs) are neutron stars found close to the center of some supernova remnants. A certain number of them are presumably covered by carbon envelopes. Their unpulsed thermal X-ray emission can originate either from the entire surface covered by a carbon atmosphere or alternatively from a nonuniformly emitting hydrogen atmosphere. However, the latter scenario appears unlikely given the available upper limits on the amplitude of pulsations. Here we explore a possibility to further discriminate between the two scenarios using X-ray polarimetric observations. We compute the polarization degree (PD) for nonmagnetized pure-carbon and pure-hydrogen atmospheres with effective temperatures of between 1 and 6 MK and find that it can reach up to 25% and 40% for hydrogen and carbon atmospheres, respectively, in the photon energy band 1–10 keV. However, given the available constraints on possible inhomogeneities of the temperature distribution deduced from models of the X-ray spectrum of the CCO in HESS J1731−347, the integrated PD appears to be very low for both carbon (< 0.25%) and hydrogen (a few percent) compositions in the energy band of 2–8 keV covered by the recently launched Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. We therefore conclude that polarization from CCOs is not expected to be detectable by current facilities, but future detection would strongly support nonuniform hydrogen composition models.

Key Science Goals for the Next-Generation Event Horizon Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has led to the first images of a supermassive black hole, revealing the central compact objects in the elliptical galaxy M87 and the Milky Way. Proposed upgrades to this array through the next-generation EHT (ngEHT) program would sharply improve the angular resolution, dynamic range, and temporal coverage of the existing EHT observations. These improvements will uniquely enable a wealth of transformative new discoveries related to black hole science, extending from event-horizon-scale studies of strong gravity to studies of explosive transients to the cosmological growth and influence of supermassive black holes. Here, we present the key science goals for the ngEHT and their associated instrument requirements, both of which have been formulated through a multi-year international effort involving hundreds of scientists worldwide.

Evolutionary Deformation toward the Elastic Limit by a Magnetic Field Confined in the Neutron-star Crust

Occasional energetic outbursts and anomalous X-ray luminosities are expected to be powered by the strong magnetic field in a neutron star. For a very strong magnetic field, elastic deformation becomes excessively large such that it leads to crustal failure. We studied the evolutionary process driven by the Hall drift for a magnetic field confined inside the crust. Assuming that the elastic force acts against the Lorentz force, we examined the duration of the elastic regime and maximum elastic energy stored before the critical state. The breakup time was longer than that required for extending the field to the exterior, because the tangential components of the Lorentz force vanished in the fragile surface region. The conversion of large magnetic energy, confined to the interior, into Joule heat is considered to explain the power for central compact objects. This process can function without reaching its elastic limit, unless the magnetic energy exceeds 2 × 1047 erg, which requires an average field strength of 2 × 1015 G. Thus, the strong magnetic field hidden in the crust is unlikely to cause outbursts. Furthermore, the magnetic field configuration can discriminate between central compact objects and magnetars.

A light strange star in the remnant HESS J1731−347: Minimal consistency checks

Context. Recently, Doroshenko and collaborators reported a very low-mass compact star, a Central Compact Object named XMMU J173203.3−344518 inside the supernova remnant HESS J1731−347. Its tiny mass is at odds with all calculations of minimum masses of neutron stars generated by iron cores, therefore (and even if not compellingly) it has been suggested to be a “strange star”. In addition to the mass, the radius and surface temperature were extracted from the data, and the whole body of information should ultimately reveal whether this object is truly consistent with an exotic composition. Aims. Our aim is to understand the status of the compact object XMMU J173203.3−344518 in HESS J1731−347 within the existing models of strange stars, including its prompt formation. Methods. The information obtained on the mass, radius and surface temperature are compared to theoretical calculations performed within usual theoretical models using General Relativity as the assumed theory of gravitation and a handful of cooling scenarios. A qualitative discussion showing the consistency of the strange-matter driven supernova scenario with a low-mass compact star is provided. Results. We found that the object HESS J1731−347 fits within the same quark star models recently employed to explain the masses and radii of the NICER objects PSR J040+6620 and PSR J0030+0451, in which both quantities were simultaneously determined. It is also remarkable to find that a simple cooling scenario devised 30 yr ago with superconducting quarks provides an overall good explanation of the surface temperature. Conclusions. We conclude that XMMU J173203.3−344518 in the remnant HESS J1731−347 fits into a strange star scenario that is also consistent with heavier compact stars, which can also belong to the same class and constitute an homogeneous type of self-bound objects produced in Nature.

Algorithms and radiation dynamics for the vicinity of black holes

We present the results of our studies on accretion disks in the proximity of astrophysical black holes. These disks can be of varying degrees of opacity, geometrical shapes, sizes, and volumes. The central compact object is a Schwarzschild or a Kerr black hole of various spin parameters. We describe the environment and the physics of the systems under examination and the disk models considered. We first investigate the effects of the spacetime rotation on photon trajectories. We then examine the radiation forces recorded at various points of the arrangement inside and outside the disk material, and in the inner, outer, and off-equatorial material orbits. We document and explore the radiation effects, which are revealed to be significant and positively consequential. Afterward, we inspect the possible imaging outcome of various types of black hole and accretion disk configurations, and we show our results for plots that could be used to estimate the central black hole spin in a system. Finally, we show results regarding the disk material orbit degradation due to its thermal radiation.

Lower bound on the time-to-mass ratio of closed circular motions around spinning and charged naked singularities

It has recently been conjectured that circular trajectories (geodesic as well as non-geodesic) around central compact objects are characterized by the time-to-mass universal lower bound T_{infty }/M>{{mathcal {C}}}, where {T_{infty },M} are respectively the orbital period as measured by flat-space asymptotic observers and the mass of the central compact object, and mathcal{C}=O(1) is a dimensionless constant of order unity. In the present paper we prove that this dimensionless bound is respected by circular orbits around central naked singularities. Intriguingly, it is explicitly proved that the orbital-time-to-mass ratio T_{infty }/M around a central super-spinning singularity remains finite even in the rrightarrow 0 limit of circular orbits with infinitesimally small radial coordinates (which are characterized by a diverging time-to-radius ratio, T_{infty }/rrightarrow infty ). In particular, we reveal the fact that the shortest orbital period around a super-spinning naked singularity is given by the dimensionless relation T_{infty }/M=2pi . In addition, we explore the functional behavior of the time-to-mass ratio of circular trajectories around super-charged (non-vacuum) naked singularities and prove that the dimensionless ratio T_{infty }/M(r) is bounded from below, where M(r) is the gravitational mass contained within the orbital radius of the test particle.

Do Central Compact Objects have Carbon Atmospheres?

Only three of the dozen central compact objects (CCOs) in supernova remnants (SNRs) show thermal X-ray pulsations due to nonuniform surface temperature (hot spots). The absence of X-ray pulsations from several unpulsed CCOs has motivated suggestions that they have uniform-temperature carbon atmospheres (UTCAs), which adequately fit their spectra with appropriate neutron star (NS) surface areas. This is in contrast to the two-temperature blackbody or hydrogen atmospheres that also fit well. Here we investigate the applicability of UTCAs to CCOs. We show the following: (i) The phase-averaged spectra of the three pulsed CCOs can also be fitted with a UTCA of the appropriate NS area, despite pulsed CCOs manifestly having nonuniform surface temperature. A good spectral fit is therefore not strong support for the UTCA model of unpulsed CCOs. (ii) An improved spectrum of one unpulsed CCO, previously analyzed with a UTCA, does not allow an acceptable fit. (iii) For two unpulsed CCOs, the UTCA does not allow a distance compatible with the SNR distance. These results imply that, in general, CCOs must have hot, localized regions on the NS surface. We derive new X-ray pulse modulation upper limits on the unpulsed CCOs, and constrain their hot spot sizes and locations. We develop an alternative model that accounts for both the pulsed and unpulsed CCOs: a range of angles between hot spot and rotation axes consistent with an exponential distribution with scale factor λ ∼ 20°. We discuss the physical mechanisms that could produce such small angles and small hot spots.

Regularized stable Kerr black hole: cosmic censorships, shadow and quasi-normal modes

Black hole solutions in general relativity come with pathologies such as singularity and mass inflation instability, which are believed to be cured by a yet-to-be-found quantum theory of gravity. Without such consistent description, one may model theory-agnostic phenomenological black holes that bypass the aforesaid issues. These so-called regular black holes are extensively studied in the literature using parameterized modifications over the black hole solutions of general relativity. However, since there exist several ways to model such black holes, it is important to study the consistency and viability of these solutions from both theoretical and observational perspectives. In this work, we consider a recently proposed model of regularized stable rotating black holes having two extra parameters in addition to the mass and spin of a Kerr solution. We start by computing their quasi-normal modes under scalar perturbation and investigate the impact of those additional parameters on black hole stability. In the second part, we study shadows of the central compact objects in M87^* and Sgr, A^* modelled by these regularized black holes and obtain stringent bounds on the parameter space requiring consistency with Event Horizon Telescope observations.

Relativistic equilibrium fluid configurations around rotating deformed compact objects

The main goal of this paper is to investigate the physical properties of equilibrium sequences of non-self-gravitating surfaces that characterize Thick disks around a rotating deformed compact object described by a stationary generalization of the static mathrm q-metric. The space-time corresponds to an exact solution of Einstein’s field equations so that we can perform the analysis for arbitrary values of the quadrupole moment and rotation parameter. To study the properties of this disk model, we analyze bounded trajectories in this space-time. Further, we find that depending on the values of the parameters, we can have various disk structures that can easily be distinguished from the static case and also from the Schwarzschild background. We argue that this study may be used to evaluate the rotation and quadrupole parameters of the central compact object.

Snapshot of a magnetohydrodynamic disk wind traced with water masers

AbstractDisk-jet systems are common in astrophysical sources of different nature, from black holes to gaseous giant planets. The disk drives the mass accretion onto a central compact object and the jet ejects material along the disk rotation axis. Magnetohydrodynamic disk winds can provide the link between mass accretion and ejection, which is essential to ensure that the excess angular momentum is removed and accretion can proceed. However, up to now, we have been lacking direct observational proof of disk winds. This work presents a direct view of the velocity field of a disk wind around a forming massive star. Achieving a very high spatial resolution of 0.05 au, our water maser observations trace the velocities of individual streamlines emerging from the disk orbiting the forming star. We find that, at low elevation above the disk midplane, the flow co-rotates with its launch point in the disk, in agreement with magneto-centrifugal acceleration. Beyond the co-rotation point, the flow rises spiraling around the disk rotation axis along a helical magnetic field. We have performed (resistive-radiative-gravito-) magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the formation of a massive star and record the development of a magneto-centrifugally launched jet presenting many properties in agreement with our observations.

A strangely light neutron star within a supernova remnant

To constrain the equation of state of cold dense matter, astrophysical measurements are essential. These are mostly based on observations of neutron stars in the X-ray band, and, more recently, also on gravitational wave observations. Of particular interest are observations of unusually heavy or light neutron stars which extend the range of central densities probed by observations and thus permit the testing of nuclear-physics predictions over a wider parameter space. Here we report on the analysis of such a star, a central compact object within the supernova remnant HESS J1731-347. We estimate the mass and radius of the neutron star to be \(M=0.7{7}_{-0.17}^{+0.20}\,{M}_{\odot }\) and \(R=10.{4}_{-0.78}^{+0.86}\) km, respectively, based on modelling of the X-ray spectrum and a robust distance estimate from Gaia observations. Our estimate implies that this object is either the lightest neutron star known, or a ‘strange star’ with a more exotic equation of state. Adopting a standard neutron star matter hypothesis allows the corresponding equations of state to be constrained.

Impact of accretion disk on the gravitational wave profile emitted from binary merger

In the present work, we study the emission of the gravitational wave from the extreme mass ratio inspiral containing an accretion disk around the central compact object. The disk exerts a hydrodynamic drag on the companion black hole. The emitted gravitational wave from such systems may be modified due to the modified motion of the companion by the influence of the hydrodynamic drag of the disk. In the present work, we investigate this issue using full general relativistic formalism and calculate the possible error introduced in the estimation of the mass of the black holes.

Snapshot of a magnetohydrodynamic disk wind traced by water maser observations

The formation of astrophysical objects of different nature, from black holes to gaseous giant planets, involves a disk–jet system, where the disk drives the mass accretion onto a central compact object and the jet is a fast collimated ejection along the disk rotation axis. Magnetohydrodynamic disk winds can provide the link between mass accretion and ejection, which is essential to ensure that the excess angular momentum is removed and accretion can proceed. However, until now, we have been lacking direct observational proof of disk winds. Here we present a direct view of the velocity field of a disk wind around a forming massive star. Achieving a very high spatial resolution of about 0.05 au, our water maser observations trace the velocities of individual streamlines emerging from the disk orbiting the forming star. We find that, at low elevation above the disk midplane, the flow co-rotates with its launch point in the disk, in agreement with magneto-centrifugal acceleration. Beyond the co-rotation point, the flow rises spiralling around the disk rotation axis along a helical magnetic field. We have performed (resistive-radiative-gravito-)magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the formation of a massive star and record the development of a magneto-centrifugally launched jet presenting many properties in agreement with our observations.

Mass flows and their behaviors in the SS 433–W 50 system

Abstract We propose a scenario to interpret the overall observational features of the SS 433–W 50 system. The most unique features of SS 433 are the presence of the precessing, mildly relativistic jets and the obscuration of the central engine, which are considered to be due to a supercritical accretion on to the central compact object. The jets are likely to be ejected from the innermost region of the accretion flow. The concept of the accretion ring (Inoue, 2021, PASJ, 73, 795) is applied to the outer boundary of the accretion flow and the ring is supposed to have a precession. The accretion ring is expected to extend a two-layer outflow of a thin excretion disk and a thick excretion flow, as well as the accretion flow. The thin excretion disk is discussed as eventually forming the optically thick excretion belt along the Roche lobe around the compact object, contributing to the obscuration of the central engine. The thick excretion flow is likely to turn to the supersonic wind (disk wind) with the terminal velocity of ∼108 cm s−1 and to collide with the supernova remnant (SNR) matter at the distance of ∼1018 cm. The interactions of the jets with the disk wind are considered to cause the features of the jets observed at the distances of 1014–1015 cm and ∼1017 cm. Finally, it is discussed that the jets are braked by the SNR matter at the distance of ∼10 pc and the momentum carried by the jet is transferred to the SNR matter shoved by the jet. The SNR matter pushed to the inside of the precession cone is expected to gather along the cone axis and to form the elongated structures in the east and west directions from the main W 50 structure.

Initial periods and magnetic fields of neutron stars

ABSTRACT Initial distributions of pulsar periods and magnetic fields are essential components of multiple modern astrophysical models. Not enough work has been done to properly constrain these distributions using direct measurements. Here, we aim to fill this gap by rigorously analysing the properties of young neutron stars (NSs) associated to supernova remnants (SNRs). In order to perform this task, we compile a catalogue of 56 NSs uniquely paired to SNRs with known age estimate. Further, we analyse this catalogue using multiple statistical techniques. We found that distribution of magnetic fields and periods for radio pulsars are both well described using the lognormal distribution. The mean magnetic field is log10[B/G] = 12.44 and standard deviation is σB = 0.44. Magnetars and central compact objects do not follow the same distribution. The mean initial period is $\log _{10} P_0 [P / \mathrm{s}] = -1.04_{-0.2}^{+0.15}$ and standard deviation is $\sigma _{\rm p} = 0.53_{-0.08}^{+0.12}$. We show that the normal distribution does not describe the initial periods of NSs sufficiently well. Parameters of the initial period distribution are not sensitive to the exact value of the braking index.

The Cooling of the Central Compact Object in Cas A from 2006 to 2020

We report on the study of six Chandra observations (four epochs) of the Central Compact Object (CCO) in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant with the ACIS instrument in the subarray mode. This mode minimizes spectrum-distorting instrumental effects such as pileup. The data were taken over a time span of ∼14 yr. If a non-magnetic carbon atmosphere is assumed for this youngest known CCO, then the temperature change is constrained to be K yr−1 or K yr−1 (1σ uncertainties) for constant or varying absorbing hydrogen column density. These values correspond to cooling rates of −1.5% ± 0.3% per 10 yr and −2.3% ± 0.4% per 10 yr, respectively. We discuss an apparent increase in the cooling rate in the last five years and the variations of the inferred absorbing hydrogen column densities between epochs. Considered together, these changes could indicate systematic effects such as caused by, e.g., an imperfect calibration of the increasing contamination of the ACIS filter.

On LGRB progenitors: An approach from thermally-produced neutrinos

Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are the most intense electromagnetic (EM) sources in the Universe. Long GRB (LGRB) correspond to those events with a typical prompt emission of more than a few seconds. It is generally assumed that they are originated after an implosion of a very massive star within a central compact object engine that can be either a black hole (BH) or a rapidly-spinning highly-magnetized neutron star (NS). Nevertheless, one of the most challenging aspects of defining a unique model is that the progenitor remains initially hidden for direct EM observation. In this work, we investigate the evolution of thermally-produced neutrino properties in both GRB progenitors to provide an alternative solution. We consider the characteristics of both progenitors and the fireball scenario to calculate the oscillation probabilities within a three-flavor admixture regime. Then we obtain the expected neutrino ratio and we also estimate the number of events from these sources that could be detected in the future Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K) detector, considering a sample of previously observed GRB with remarkably signs of being magnetar-produced. Our findings indicate that examining the predicted neutrino rates result in an additional mechanism to determine the type of progenitor associated with these events. This is especially useful when, for instance, we cannot directly observe an electromagnetic counterpart, such as so-called “failed” GRB with hidden jets, or when light curve analysis is inconclusive.

Dust scattering halo around the CCO in HESS J1731–347: A detailed analysis

The supernova remnant (SNR) HESS J1731−347 is one of the few objects exhibiting emission up to the TeV energy band and it stands as a prime target for the study of cosmic ray acceleration in SNRs. It also hosts a central compact object (CCO), which is of interest in the context of the ultra-dense matter equation of state in neutron stars. For both types of studies, however, the parameters of the respective models depend crucially on the assumed distance to the object and are affected to a certain extent by the assumed interstellar medium (ISM) properties around the SNR. Here, we report on the first quantitative analysis of the properties of the compact X-ray dust scattering halo that is assumed to be present around the CCO based on Chandra observations of the source. Our findings unambiguously confirm the presence of a compact halo around the CCO, and we show that the observed halo properties are consistent with expectations from independent measurements of the dust distribution along the line of sight and the distance to the source. Although we were not able to significantly improve those constraints, our results are important for future studies of the CCO itself. Indeed, the halo contribution is expected to affect the X-ray spectrum and the derived parameters of the neutron star when observed with moderate angular resolutions. Our results, which offer a quantitative characterization of the halo properties, will be useful in accounting for this effect.

Measuring the Nonaxially Symmetric Surface Temperature Distribution of the Central Compact Object in Puppis A

Abstract The surface temperature distributions of central compact objects (CCOs) are powerful probes of their crustal magnetic field strengths and geometries. Here we model the surface temperature distribution of RX J0822−4300, the CCO in the Puppis A supernova remnant, using 471 ks of XMM-Newton data. We compute the energy-dependent pulse profiles in 16 energy bands, fully including the general relativistic effects of gravitational redshift and light bending, to accurately model the two heated surface regions of different temperatures and areas, in addition to constraining the viewing geometry. This results in precise measurements of the two temperatures: kT warm = ( 1 + z ) × 0.222 − 0.019 + 0.018 keV and kT hot = (1 + z) × 0.411 ± 0.011 keV. The two heated surface regions are likely located very close to the rotational poles, with the most probable position of the hotter component ≈ 6° from the rotational pole. For the first time, we are able to measure a deviation from a pure antipodal hot-spot geometry, with a longitudinal offset δ γ = 11 .° 7 − 2 .° 5 + 2 .° 6 . The discovery of this asymmetry, along with the factor of ≈2 temperature difference between the two emitting regions, may indicate that RX J0822−4300 was born with a strong, tangled crustal magnetic field.