Related papers: Crust composition and the Shallow Heat Source in K…
The cooling process of a protoneutron star is investigated with focus on its sensitivity to properties of hot and dense matter. An equation of state, which includes the nucleon effective mass and nuclear symmetry energy at twice the…
Based on new Chandra X-ray telescope data, we present empirical evidence of plasma Compton cooling during a flare in the non pulsating massive X-ray binary 4U1700-37. This behaviour might be explained by quasispherical accretion onto a…
We compute the thermal conductivity and thermoelectric power (thermopower) of the inner crust of compact stars across a broad temperature-density domain relevant for proto-neutron stars, binary neutron-star mergers, and accreting neutron…
The interior of a neutron star is expected to exhibit different states of matter. In particular, complex non-spherical configurations known as `pasta' phases may exist at the highest densities in the inner crust, potentially having an…
Based on recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations in far-UV and groundbased observations in optical bands, Pavlov and colleagues have revealed a thermal component in the spectrum of the old pulsar B0950+08 (spin-down age 17.5 Myr)…
Equilibrium phase diagrams for neutron star matter at subnuclear densities are obtained at zero temperature. Spherical, rod-like and slab-like nuclei as well as spherical and rod-like nuclear bubbles are taken into account by using a…
We derive analytic approximations for the neutrino luminosities and the heat capacities of neutron stars with isothernal nucleon cores as functions of the mass and radius of stars. The neutrino luminosities are approximated for the three…
We present the results of continued monitoring of the quiescent neutron star low-mass X-ray binary XTE J1701-462 with Chandra and Swift. A new Chandra observation from 2010 October extends our tracking of the neutron star surface…
We performed an optical/infrared study of the counterpart of the low-mass X-ray binary KS1731-260 to test its identification and obtain information about the donor. Optical and infrared images of the counterpart of KS1731-260 were taken in…
The inner crust of neutron stars, formed of a crystal lattice of uclear clusters immersed in a sea of unbound neutrons, may be the nique example of periodic nuclear systems. We have calculated the neutron specific heat in the shallow part…
Recent observational data on transiently-accreting neutron stars has unequivocally shown fast-cooling sources, such as in the case of neutron star MXB 1659-29. Previous calculations have estimated its total neutrino luminosity and heat…
Fitting the thermal X-ray spectra of neutron stars (NSs) in quiescent X-ray binaries can constrain the masses and radii of NSs. The effect of undetected hot spots on the spectrum, and thus on the inferred NS mass and radius, has not yet…
Recent observations show that the thermal X-ray spectra of many isolated neutron stars are featureless and in some cases (e.g., RX J1856.5-3754) well fit by a blackbody. Such a perfect blackbody spectrum is puzzling since radiative…
We study thermal relaxation in a neutron star after internal heating events (outbursts) in the crust. We consider thin and thick spherically symmetric heaters, superfluid and non-superfluid crusts, stars with open and forbidden direct Urca…
We present X-ray observations of the transient accretion-powered millisecond pulsar IGR J00291+5934 during quiescence. IGR J00291+5934 is the first source among accretion powered millisecond pulsars to show signs of a thermal component in…
We investigate the influence of different magnetic field configurations on the temperature distribution in neutron star crusts. We consider axisymmetric dipolar fields which are either restricted to the stellar crust, ``crustal fields'', or…
We analyzed the thermal emission from the entire surface of the millisecond pulsar PSR J0437-4715 observed in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray bands. For this, we calculated non-magnetized, partially ionized atmosphere models of hydrogen,…
Background: Nuclear pasta, emerging due to the competition between the long-range Coulomb force and the short-range strong force, is believed to be present in astrophysical scenarios, such as neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae. Its…
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…
Nuclear reactions heat and cool the crust of accreting neutron stars and need to be understood to interpret observations of X-ray bursts and of long-term cooling in transiently accreting systems. It was recently suggested that previously…