Related papers: On the Dramatic Spin-up/Spin-down Torque Reversals…
Enigmatic transitions between spin-up and spin-down have been observed in several X-ray pulsars accreting matter via an accretion disk. In these transitions, the torque changes sign but remains at nearly the same magnitude. It has been…
Accretion-powered X-ray pulsars 4U 1626-67, GX 1+4, and OAO 1657-415 have recently shown puzzling torque reversals. These reversals are characterized by short time scales, on the order of days, nearly identical spin-up and spin-down rates,…
The observed abrupt torque reversals in X-ray pulsars, 4U 1626-67, GX 1+4, and OAO 1657-415, can be explained by transition in accretion flow rotation from Keplerian to sub-Keplerian, which takes place at a critical accretion rate, $\sim…
We numerically investigate the hydrodynamics of accretion disk reversal and relate our findings to the observed spin-rate changes in the accreting X-ray pulsar GX~1+4. In this system, which accretes from a slow wind, the accretion disk…
I review the rotation measurements of accreting neutron stars. Many of the highly magnetic accreting X-ray pulsars have been continuously observed with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray…
Accreting X-Ray Binaries display a wide range of behaviours. Some of them are observed to spin up steadily, others to alternate between spin-up and spin-down states, sometimes superimposed on a longer trend of either spin up or spin down.…
Over five years of daily hard X-ray (>20 keV) monitoring of the 2-min accretion-powered pulsar GX 1+4 with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory/BATSE large-area detectors has found nearly continuous rapid spin-down, interrupted by a bright…
The recent emergence of a new class of accretion-powered, transient, millisecond X-ray pulsars presents some difficulties for the conventional picture of accretion onto rapidly rotating magnetized neutron stars and their spin behavior…
The conventional picture of disk accretion onto magnetized neutron stars has been challenged by the spin changes observed in a few X-ray pulsars, and by theoretical results from numerical simulations of disk-magnetized star interactions.…
We present the detection of a positive correlation between spin-down rate $\dot{P}$ and pulsed X-ray luminosity in the BATSE archival data of the bright hard X-ray pulsar GX 1+4. We have also seen a delay of 5.6 $\pm$ 1.2 days between the…
We review recent results from the X-ray timing of accreting millisecond pulsars in Low Mass X-ray Binaries. This is the first time a timing analysis is performed on accreting millisecond pulsars, and for the first time we can obtain…
The interaction of a rotating star's magnetic field with a surrounding plasma disk lies at the heart of many questions posed by neutron stars in X-ray binaries. We consider the opening of stellar magnetic flux due to differential rotation…
Accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars are known to provide a wealth of physical information during their successive states of outburst and quiescence. Based on the observed spin-up and spin-down rates of these objects it is possible, among…
Cen X-3 shows alternate spin-up/spin-down episodes lasting for tens of days. We study the orbital profiles and spectra of Cen X-3 during these spin-up/spin-down intervals, using long-term data monitored by Fermi/GBM, Swift/BAT and MAXI/GSC.…
Several X-ray pulsars have been observed to experience torque reversals, which provide important observational clues to the interaction between the neutron star magnetic field and the accretion disk. We review the current models proposed…
We have extended the analytical model proposed earlier to estimate the inner disk radius of accreting neutron stars in the strong-propeller (SP) phase, and the conditions for the transitions between the strong and weak propeller (WP) phases…
Three high-mass X-ray binaries have been discovered recently exhibiting enormous spinup rates. Conventional accretion theory predicts extremely high surface dipolar magnetic fields that we believe are unphysical. Instead, we propose quite…
We summarize five years of continuous monitoring of accretion-powered pulsars with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Our 20-70 keV observations have determined or refined the orbital…
The accretion-powered, X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67 has recently shown an abrupt torque reversal accompanied by a dramatic spectral transition and a relatively small luminosity change. The time-averaged X-ray spectrum during spin-down is…
Recent X-ray observations by Fermi/GBM discovered a new torque reversal of 4U 1626-67 after 18 years of steady spinning down. Using Swift/BAT observations we were able to center this new torque reversal on Feb 4 2008, lasting approximately…