Millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting X-ray pulsars

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Yang, Wen, Wang, Wei
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866911538285117440
author Yang, Wen
Wang, Wei
author_facet Yang, Wen
Wang, Wei
contents Accreting neutron stars exhibit pulsed X-rays and complex temporal variability across multi-wavelengths and different timescales. This variability could be driven by various physical processes including instability or inhomogeneous motions within the accretion flow, thermonuclear bursts on the neutron star surface. In this review, we present a concise overview of the observational features for millihertz (mHz) quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at a frequency range of $\sim 1- 1000$ mHz observed in light curves of X-ray pulsars for both low-mass X-ray binaries and high-mass X-ray binaries, based on recent X-ray missions, e.g., NICER, Insight-HXMT and NuSTAR. We further summarize current theoretical interpretations, discuss remaining challenges and propose potential directions for future studies to advance the understanding of the nature and physical origin of these QPOs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_22060
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting X-ray pulsars
Yang, Wen
Wang, Wei
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Accreting neutron stars exhibit pulsed X-rays and complex temporal variability across multi-wavelengths and different timescales. This variability could be driven by various physical processes including instability or inhomogeneous motions within the accretion flow, thermonuclear bursts on the neutron star surface. In this review, we present a concise overview of the observational features for millihertz (mHz) quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at a frequency range of $\sim 1- 1000$ mHz observed in light curves of X-ray pulsars for both low-mass X-ray binaries and high-mass X-ray binaries, based on recent X-ray missions, e.g., NICER, Insight-HXMT and NuSTAR. We further summarize current theoretical interpretations, discuss remaining challenges and propose potential directions for future studies to advance the understanding of the nature and physical origin of these QPOs.
title Millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting X-ray pulsars
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22060