Search results for " pulsar"
showing 9 items of 119 documents
Optical pulsations from a transitional millisecond pulsar
2017
Weakly magnetic, millisecond spinning neutron stars attain their very fast rotation through a 1E8-1E9 yr long phase during which they undergo disk-accretion of matter from a low mass companion star. They can be detected as accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsars if towards the end of this phase their magnetic field is still strong enough to channel the accreting matter towards the magnetic poles. When mass transfer is much reduced or ceases altogether, pulsed emission generated by particle acceleration in the magnetosphere and powered by the rotation of the neutron star is observed, preferentially in the radio and gamma-ray bands. A few transitional millisecond pulsars that swing betwee…
CONTRIBUTION OF PSEUDO-FOCUSED SOFT PROTONS TO THE BACKGROUND OF ATHENA
2021
This PhD thesis explores the role of low energy protons, the so-called ‘soft protons', as a component of the background in view of the future ESA's X-ray mission Athena. As a matter of fact, a high level of soft proton flux at the focal plane of Athena can adversely affect the scientific goals of the mission. To prevent this, a correct estimate of the soft proton flux expected at the focal plane of the satellite is fundamental. Such an estimate can be achieved only if the reflectivity of soft protons from the optics is well understood, with efforts on both the experimental and the theoretical sides. To this aim, I applied the model of reflectivity of particles at grazing incidence proposed …
Discovery of a new accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar in the globular cluster NGC 2808
2016
We report on the discovery of coherent pulsations at a period of 2.9 ms from the X-ray transient MAXI J0911-655 in the globular cluster NGC 2808. We observed X-ray pulsations at a frequency of $\sim339.97$ Hz in three different observations of the source performed with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR during the source outburst. This newly discovered accreting millisecond pulsar is part of an ultra-compact binary system characterised by an orbital period of $44.3$ minutes and a projected semi-major axis of $\sim17.6$ lt-ms. Based on the mass function we estimate a minimum companion mass of 0.024 M$_{\odot}$, which assumes a neutron star mass of 1.4 M$_{\odot}$ and a maximum inclination angle of $75^{\…
The reflection component in NS LMXBs
2014
Thanks to the good spectral resolution and large effective area of the EPIC/PN instrument on board of XMM-Newton, we have at hand a large number of observations of accreting low-mass X-ray binaries, that allow for the fist time a comprehensive view on the characteristics of the reflection component at different accretion regimes and to probe the effects of a magnetosphere on its formation. We focus here on a comparative analysis of the reflection component from a series of spectroscopic studies on selected sources: 4U 1705-44, observed both in the soft and hard state, the pulsating ms pulsars SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J17511-3057, and the intermittent pulsar HETE J1900-2455. Although the sou…
Study of the accretion torque during the 2014 outburst of the X-ray pulsar GRO J1744−28
2017
We present the spectral and timing analysis of the X-ray pulsar GRO J1744-28 during its 2014 outburst using data collected with the X-ray satellites Swift, INTEGRAL, Chandra, and XMM-Newton. We derived, by phase-connected timing analysis of the observed pulses, an updated set of the source ephemeris. We were also able to investigate the spin-up of the X-ray pulsar as a consequence of the accretion torque during the outburst. Relating the spin-up rate and the mass accretion rate as $\dot{\nu}\propto\dot{M}^{\beta}$, we fitted the pulse phase delays obtaining a value of $\beta=0.96(3)$. Combining the results from the source spin-up frequency derivative and the flux estimation, we constrained …
Resolving the Fe XXV triplet with Chandra in Centaurus X-3
2005
We present the results of a 45 ks Chandra observation of the high-mass X-ray binary Cen X-3 at orbital phases between 0.13 and 0.40 (in the eclipse post-egress phases). Here we concentrate on the study of discrete features in the energy spectrum at energies between 6 and 7 keV, that is, on the iron K alpha line region, using the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) on board the Chandra satellite. We clearly see a K alpha neutral iron line at similar to 6.40 keV and were able to distinguish the three lines of the Fe xxv triplet at 6.61, 6.67, and 6.72 keV, with equivalent widths of 6, 9, and 5 eV, respectively. The equivalent width of the Ka neutral iron line is 13 eV, an or…
Discovery of slow X-ray pulsations in the high-mass X-ray binary 4U 2206+54
2008
Context. The source 4U 2206+54 is one of the most enigmatic high-mass X-ray binaries. In spite of intensive searches, X-ray pul- sations have not been detected in the time range 10−3–103 s. A cyclotron line at ∼30 keV has been suggested by various authors but never detected with significance. The stellar wind of the optical companion is abnormally slow. The orbital period, initially reported to be 9.6 days, disappeared and a new periodicity of 19.25 days emerged. Aims. The main objective of our RXTE monitoring of 4U 2206+54 is to study the X-ray orbital variability of the spectral and timing parameters. The new long and uninterrupted RXTE observations allow us to search for long (∼1 h) puls…
Timing an Accreting Millisecond Pulsar: Measuring the Accretion Torque in IGR J00291+5934
2006
We performed a timing analysis of the fastest accreting millisecond pulsar IGR J00291+5934 using RXTE data taken during the outburst of December 2004. We corrected the arrival times of all the events for the orbital (Doppler) effects and performed a timing analysis of the resulting phase delays. In this way we have the possibility to study, for the first time in this class of sources, the spin-up of a millisecond pulsar as a consequence of accretion torques during the X-ray outburst. The accretion torque gives us for the first time an independent estimate of the mass accretion rate onto the neutron star, which can be compared with the observed X-ray luminosity. We also report a revised valu…
A first-order phase transition for pulsar surface
2012
In this paper, we explain the existence of a possible first-order phase transition that may occur over the external solid crust of a pulsar, by means of an interpretation of a particular formal model (drawn from Theoretical Astrophysics) whose thermodynamical phenomenology shows a possible first-order phase transition (according to Landau’s Phenomenological Theory).