Investigating variability in quiescent neutron stars
Abstract
Quiescent X-ray emission from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries is seen to be variable on timescales as short as hundreds of seconds and as long as years. Yet, this variability is not understood. Our recent studies of the systems Cen X-4 and Aql X-1 have shown that the thermal component is variable. This poses a serious problem for using thermal emission to measure neutron star radii and constrain the dense matter equation of state. One possible explanation involves on-going low-level accretion during quiescence, which until now has been largely ignored. Here we propose a 100 ksec observation of Aql X-1 in quiescence to search for short-term variability in this object and hence further our understanding of accretion at low levels.
- Publication:
-
XMM-Newton Proposal
- Pub Date:
- October 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010xmm..prop..169C
- Keywords:
-
- White Dwarf Binaries;
- Neutron Star Binaries;
- Cataclysmic Variables;
- ULXs;
- Black Holes;
- Aql X-1