QPO emission from moving hot spots on the surface of neutron stars: a model
We present recent results of 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of neutron stars with small misalignment angles, as regards the features in lightcurves produced by regular movements of the hot spots during accretion onto the star. In particular, we show that the variation of position of the hot spot created by the infalling matter, as observed in 3D simulations, can produce high frequency Quasi Periodic Oscillations with frequencies associated with the inner zone of the disk. Previously reported simulations showed that the usual assumption of a fixed hot spot near the polar region is valid only for misalignment angles relatively large. Otherwise, two phenomena challenge the assumption: one …
A Hard Look at the Neutron Stars and Accretion Disks in 4U 1636-53, GX 17+2, and 4U 1705-44 with NuStar
We present $\emph{NuSTAR}$ observations of neutron star (NS) low-mass X-ray binaries: 4U 1636-53, GX 17+2, and 4U 1705-44. We observed 4U 1636-53 in the hard state, with an Eddington fraction, $F_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, of 0.01; GX 17+2 and 4U 1705-44 were in the soft state with fractions of 0.57 and 0.10, respectively. Each spectrum shows evidence for a relativistically broadened Fe K$_{\alpha}$ line. Through accretion disk reflection modeling, we constrain the radius of the inner disk in 4U 1636-53 to be $R_{in}=1.03\pm0.03$ ISCO (innermost stable circular orbit) assuming a dimensionless spin parameter $a_{*}=cJ/GM^{2}=0.0$, and $R_{in}=1.08\pm0.06$ ISCO for $a_{*}=0.3$ (errors quoted at 1 $\sig…
Timing of the accreting millisecond pulsar IGR~J17511--3057
{Timing analysis of Accretion-powered Millisecond Pulsars (AMPs) is a powerful tool to probe the physics of compact objects. The recently discovered \newigrj is the 12 discovered out of the 13 AMPs known. The Rossi XTE satellite provided an extensive coverage of the 25 days-long observation of the source outburst.} {Our goal is to investigate the complex interaction between the neutron star magnetic field and the accretion disk, determining the angular momentum exchange between them. The presence of a millisecond coherent flux modulation allows us to investigate such interaction from the study of pulse arrival times. In order to separate the neutron star proper spin frequency variations fro…