Related papers: The variable quiescence of Cen X-4
Transiently accreting neutron stars in quiescence (Lx<10^34 erg/s) have been observed to vary in intensity by factors of few, over timescales of days to years. If the quiescent luminosity is powered by a hot NS core, the core cooling…
We report on the quiescent spectrum measured with Chandra/ACIS-S of the transient, type-I X-ray bursting neutron star Aql X-1, immediately following an accretion outburst. The neutron star radius, assuming a pure hydrogen atmosphere and…
We analyzed the power density spectra of a sample of 9 neutron star and 9 black hole binaries in the low/hard spectral state. In the power density spectra of accreting neutron stars with a weak magnetic field a significant power is…
We report on XMM-Newton observations of two X-ray transient millisecond pulsars (XRTMSPs). We detected XTE J0929-314 with an unabsorbed luminosity of \~7x10^{31} erg/s. (0.5-10 keV) at a fiducial distance of 10 kpc. The quiescent spectrum…
We report on BeppoSAX and Chandra observations of three Hard X-Ray Transients in quiescence containing fast spinning (P<5 s) neutron stars: A 0538-66, 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53. These observations allowed us to study these transients at the…
We obtained four Chandra/ACIS-S observations beginning two weeks after the end of the November 2000 outburst of the neutron star (NS) transient Aql X-1. Over the five month span in quiescence, the X-ray spectra are consistent with thermal…
The transient neutron star low-mass X-ray binary EXO 1745-248, located in the globular cluster Terzan 5, was detected during its quiescent state with Chandra in 2003. The source displayed a 0.5-10 keV X-ray luminosity of Lq ~ 1E33…
We conducted the first long-term (60 days), multiwavelength (optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray) simultaneous monitoring of Cen X-4 with daily Swift observations, with the goal of understanding variability in the low mass X-ray binary Cen X-4…
We present ESO-NTT low resolution spectroscopy of the neutron star X-ray transient Cen X-4 in quiescence over a complete orbital cycle. Our data reveal the presence of a K3-7 V companion which contributes 63% to the 5600-6900A flux and…
The Swift satellite monitored the quiescence of the low-mass X-ray binary transient Aql X-1 on a weekly basis during the March-November 2012 interval. A total of 42 observations were carried out in the soft X-ray (0.3-10 keV) band with the…
Context. Supergiant fast X-ray transients are a subclass of high mass X-ray binaries that host a neutron star accreting mass from the wind of its OB supergiant companion. They are characterized by an extremely pronounced and rapid…
Thermal X-ray radiation from neutron star soft X-ray transients in quiescence provides the strongest constraints on the cooling rates of neutron stars, and thus on the interior composition and properties of matter in the cores of neutron…
We have observed the radio-quiet X-ray pulsar 1E 1207.4-5209 with the high throughput EPIC cameras onboard XMM-Newton. The spectrum of this peculiar source is characterized by two broad absorption features which present significant…
We report on the detailed modelling of the X-ray spectra of three likely neutron stars. The neutron stars, observed with XMM-Newton are found in three quiescent X-ray binaries in the globular clusters: omega Cen, M 13 and NGC 2808. Whether…
Aql X-1 is the most prolific low mass X-ray binary transient hosting a neutron star. In this paper we focus on the return to quiescence following the 2010 outburst of the source. This decay was monitored thanks to 11 pointed observations…
Observations of cooling neutron stars allow to measure photospheric radii and to constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter at high densities. In this paper we concentrate on neutron stars, which show thermal (photospheric) X-ray…
We have observed the soft X-ray transient XTE J0421+56 in quiescence with XMM-Newton. The observed spectrum is highly unusual being dominated by a broad feature at 6.5 keV and can be modeled by a strongly absorbed continuum. The spectra of…
SAX J1808.4-3658 is a unique source being the first Low Mass X-ray Binary showing coherent pulsations at a spin period comparable to that of millisecond radio pulsars. Here we present an XMM-Newton observation of SAX J1808.4-3658 in…
We report on the quiescent X-ray properties of the recently discovered transiently accreting 11 Hz X-ray pulsar in the globular cluster Terzan 5. Using two archival Chandra observations, we demonstrate that the quiescent spectrum of this…
Nuclear reactions occurring deep in the crust of a transiently accreting neutron star efficiently maintain the core at a temperature >5e7 K. When accretion halts, the envelope relaxes to a thermal equilibrium set by the flux from the hot…