Interpretation of tails of X-ray bursts
Abstract
ALCOCK AND HATCHETT1 recently proposed that the tails of X-ray bursts2,3 observed during burst decay (time scales typically tens of seconds) are due to the small-angle scattering of the original pulse of X rays on interstellar dust grains. To produce the desired tails, and obey constraints set by optical interstellar reddening data, their model uses grains with a typical size of ~3 µm. Here we give four independent reasons which rule out their model (see also ref. 3).
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- November 1978
- DOI:
- 10.1038/276249a0
- Bibcode:
- 1978Natur.276..249V
- Keywords:
-
- Astronomical Models;
- Bursts;
- X Ray Sources;
- Interstellar Extinction;
- Interstellar Matter;
- Astrophysics