Related papers: ASTRO-H White Paper - Low-mass X-ray Binaries
The equation of state for ultra-dense matter can be tested from observations of the ratio of mass to radius of neutron stars. This could be measured precisely from the redshift of a narrow line produced on the surface. X-rays bursts have…
X-ray spectral analysis of quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) has been one of the most common tools to measure the radius of neutron stars (NSs) for over a decade. So far, this method has been mainly applied to NSs in globular…
We propose a simplified picture of low mass X-ray binaries containing a neutron star (NS-LMXBs) based on data obtained from AqlX-1 and 4U1608-52 which often produce outbursts. In this picture we propose at least three states and three state…
The fundamental properties of neutron stars provide a direct test of the equation of state of cold nuclear matter, a relationship between pressure and density that is determined by the physics of the strong interactions between the…
Neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) systems depict a variety of X-ray spectral and timing features, which can be useful to probe the accretion-ejection mechanism in the strong gravity regime. Here, we study the relatively…
Determining the type of matter that is inside a neutron star (NS) has been a long-standing goal of astrophysics. Despite this, most of the NS equations of state (EOS) that predict maximum masses in the range 1.4-2.8 solar masses are still…
Bursting X-ray binaries in globular clusters are ideal sources for measuring neutron star masses and radii, and hence, for determining the equation of state of cold, ultradense matter. We use time-resolved spectroscopic data from EXO…
We try to constrain the Equation-of-State (EoS) of supra-nuclear-density matter in neutron stars (NSs) by observations of nearby NSs. There are seven thermally emitting NSs known from X-ray and optical observations, the so-called…
Accreting neutron stars (NSs) are expected to emit a redshifted 2.2 MeV line due to the capture of neutrons produced through the spallation processes of $^4$He and heavier ions in their atmospheres. Detecting this emission would offer an…
We present \nustar{} observation of the atoll type neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) Serpens~X-1 (Ser~X-1) performed on 17 February 2018. We observed Ser~X-1 in a soft X-ray spectral state with 3-79 keV luminosity of…
Neutrons stars are unique laboratories to discriminate between the various proposed equations of state of matter at and above nuclear density. One sub-class of neutron stars - those inside quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs) -…
We report the broadband spectro-temporal study of the poorly studied accreting neutron star (NS) low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1724-30 using data from Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) and Large Area X-ray Proportional Counters (LAXPC)…
X-ray timing of neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) with RXTE has since 1996 revealed several distinct high-frequency phenomena. Among these are oscillations during thermonuclear (type-I) bursts, which (in addition to…
Low-mass X-ray binaries hosting weakly magnetized neutron stars (NS-LMXBs) are among the brightest sources in the X-ray sky. Since 2021, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has provided new measurements of the X-ray polarization…
This paper presents the measurement of the neutron star (NS) radius using the thermal spectra from quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs) inside globular clusters (GCs). Recent observations of NSs have presented evidence that cold ultra…
We report on observations of the neutron star (NS) residing in the low-mass X-ray binary 1RXS J180408.9-34205 taken 2015 March by $\emph{NuSTAR}$ and $\emph{XMM-Newton}$ while the source was in the hard spectral state. We find multiple…
Neutron stars accreting from OB supergiants are often divided between persistently and transiently accreting systems, called Supergiant X-ray Binaries (SgXBs) and Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). This dichotomy in accretion…
Chandra or XMM-Newton observations of quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries can provide important constraints on the equation of state of neutron stars. The mass and radius of the neutron star can potentially be determined from fitting a…
We explain why it is possible to detect directly X-ray emission from near the surface of the neutron star (NS) in SAX J1808.4-3658 but not in most other low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), with the exception that emission from the surface can…
Accreting neutron stars (NSs) represent a unique laboratory for probing the physics of accretion in the presence of strong magnetic fields ($B\gtrsim 10^8$ G). Additionally, the matter inside the NS itself exists in an ultra-dense, cold…