X-ray pulsars at very low mass accretion rates
Abstract
Accretion-powered pulsars are predicted to enter a centrifugally inhibited state at low mass accretion rates due to the propeller effect. In this state, accretion is halted. However, three Be/X-ray binaries show pulsations at low luminosities (< 10e34 erg/s). At least in one occasion X-ray pulsed emission was detected when the reservoir of matter that fuels the X-rays was exhausted. We propose to observe a maximum of two accreting pulsars as ToO (60 ks each) when mass transfer from the donor has presumably stopped. The requested time will yield a detection limit well below the "turn-off" luminosity based on the propeller effect and will allow us to characterize this very low-luminosity state.
- Publication:
-
XMM-Newton Proposal
- Pub Date:
- October 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013xmm..prop...13R
- Keywords:
-
- White Dwarf Binaries;
- Neutron Star Binaries;
- Cataclysmic Variables;
- ULXs;
- Black Holes;
- 4U 0115+63;
- V 0332+530;
- RX J0440.9+4431;
- XTE J0658-073;
- XTE J1946+274;
- KS 1947+300;
- EXO 2030+375;
- GRO J2058+42;
- SAX J2239.3+611