Related papers: A Debris Disk Around An Isolated Young Neutron Sta…
The center of our disk galaxy, the Milky Way, is dominated by a boxy/peanut-shaped bulge. Numerous studies of the bulge based on stellar photometry have concluded that the bulge stars are exclusively old. The perceived lack of young stars…
Almost 40 years after the discovery of pulsars -- and despite a plethora of secured data on them -- pulsar theory is still beset by a number of fundamental inconsistencies. In this short contribution, I will argue that (i) magnetars do not…
We present multi-wavelengths observations and a radiative transfer model of a newly discovered massive circumstellar disk of gas and dust which is one of the largest disks known today. Seen almost edge-on, the disk is resolved in…
Pulsars spin-down due to magnetic torque reducing its radius and increasing the central energy density. Some pulsar which are born with central densities close to the critical value of quark deconfinement may undergo a phase transition and…
The Crab Nebula is likely to be expanding into freely expanding supernova ejecta, although the energy in the ejecta may be less than is typical for a Type II supernova. Pulsar nebulae much younger than the Crab have not been found and could…
We show that the period clustering of anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), their X-ray luminosities, ages and statistics can be explained with fallback disks with large initial specific angular momentum. The…
The paucity of old millisecond pulsars observed at the galactic center of the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter accumulating in and destroying neutron stars. In regions of high dark matter density, dark matter clumped in a pulsar…
Recent measurement of a high millisecond pulsar mass (PSR J1614-2230, 1.97+-0.04 Msun) compared with the low mass of PSR J0751+1807 (1.26+-0.14 Msun) indicates a large span of masses of recycled pulsars and suggests a broad range of neutron…
Theory holds that a star born with an initial mass between about 8 and 140 times the mass of the Sun will end its life through the catastrophic gravitational collapse of its iron core to a neutron star or black hole. This core collapse…
We show that a sterile neutrino with mass in the 1-20 keV range and a small mixing with the electron neutrino can simultaneously explain the origin of the pulsar motions and the dark matter in the universe. An asymmetric neutrino emission…
A scenario of the formation of isolated X-ray pulsars is discussed with an application to one of the best studied objects of this class 1E 161348-5055. This moderately luminous, 10^33 - 10^35 erg/s, pulsar with a relatively soft spectrum,…
We present a model for the spindown of young radio pulsars in which the neutron star loses rotational energy not only by emitting magnetic dipole radiation but also by torquing a surrounding accretion disk produced by supernova fallback.…
Close encounters between neutron stars and main-sequence stars occur in globular clusters and may lead to various outcomes. Here we study encounters resulting in tidal disruption of the star. Using $N$-body models, we predict the typical…
We present a model for the anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) in which the emission is powered by accretion from a fossil disk, established from matter falling back onto the neutron star following its birth. The time-dependent accretion drives…
The properties and star formation processes in the far-outer disks of nearby spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies are reviewed. The origin and structure of the generally exponential profiles in stellar disks is considered to result from…
It is now clear that a subset of supernovae display evidence for jets and are observed as gamma-ray bursts. The angular momentum distribution of massive stellar endpoints provides a rare means of constraining the nature of the central…
We present new proper motions from the 10 m Keck telescopes for a puzzling population of massive, young stars located within 3.5" (0.14 pc) of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. Our proper motion measurements have…
The early evolution of dense stellar systems is governed by massive single star and binary evolution. Core collapse of dense massive star clusters can lead to the formation of very massive objects through stellar collisions ($M\geq$ 1000…
Non-axisymmetric features are found in the core collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star, which might have important implications for magnetic field amplification and production of a bipolar outflow that can explode the star, as well as…
As a massive star evolves through multiple stages of nuclear burning on its way to becoming a supernova, a complex, differentially rotating structure is set up. Angular momentum is transported by a variety of classic instabilities, and also…