Experimental constraints on shallow heating in accreting neutron-star crusts
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
2020-08-05 v1 Nuclear Theory
Abstract
The observed thermal relaxation of transiently accreting neutron stars during quiescence periods in low-mass X-ray binaries suggests the existence of unknown heat sources in the shallow layers of neutron-star crust. Making use of existing experimental nuclear data, we estimate the maximum possible amount of heat that can be deposited in the outer crust of an accreting neutron star due to electron captures and pycnonuclear fusion reactions triggered by the burial of X-ray burst ashes.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2007.01664,
title = {Experimental constraints on shallow heating in accreting neutron-star crusts},
author = {Nicolas Chamel and Anthea Francesca Fantina and Julian-Leszek Zdunik and Pawel Haensel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2007.01664},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
18 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C