Cooling of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients with realistic crust composition

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Potekhin, A. Y., Chugunov, A. I., Shchechilin, N. N., Gusakov, M. E.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Potekhin, A. Y.
Chugunov, A. I.
Shchechilin, N. N.
Gusakov, M. E.
author_facet Potekhin, A. Y.
Chugunov, A. I.
Shchechilin, N. N.
Gusakov, M. E.
contents Thermal radiation of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients (SXTs) in a quiescent state is believed to be powered by the heat deposited in the stellar crust due to nuclear reactions during accretion. Confronting observations of this radiation with simulations helps to verify theoretical models of the dense matter in neutron stars. We simulate the thermal evolution of the SXTs with theoretical models of the equation of state and composition of the accreted crust. The new family of such models were recently developed within a thermodynamically consistent approach by modeling the nuclear evolution of an accreted matter as it sinks toward the stellar center, starting from representative thermonuclear ash compositions. The crust cooling curves computed with the traditional and modern theory are compared with observations of SXTs MXB 1659-29 and IGR J17480-2446. We show that the new and traditional models of the accreted neutron star crusts are similar in their capability to explain the thermal evolution of neutron stars in SXTs. Both kinds of models require inclusion of additional ingredients not supplied by the current theory, such as the shallow heating and variation of thermal conductivity, to fit observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_14395
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cooling of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients with realistic crust composition
Potekhin, A. Y.
Chugunov, A. I.
Shchechilin, N. N.
Gusakov, M. E.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Thermal radiation of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients (SXTs) in a quiescent state is believed to be powered by the heat deposited in the stellar crust due to nuclear reactions during accretion. Confronting observations of this radiation with simulations helps to verify theoretical models of the dense matter in neutron stars. We simulate the thermal evolution of the SXTs with theoretical models of the equation of state and composition of the accreted crust. The new family of such models were recently developed within a thermodynamically consistent approach by modeling the nuclear evolution of an accreted matter as it sinks toward the stellar center, starting from representative thermonuclear ash compositions. The crust cooling curves computed with the traditional and modern theory are compared with observations of SXTs MXB 1659-29 and IGR J17480-2446. We show that the new and traditional models of the accreted neutron star crusts are similar in their capability to explain the thermal evolution of neutron stars in SXTs. Both kinds of models require inclusion of additional ingredients not supplied by the current theory, such as the shallow heating and variation of thermal conductivity, to fit observations.
title Cooling of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients with realistic crust composition
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.14395