Gamma-Ray Emission from Be/X-Ray Binaries
Be/X-ray binaries are systems formed by a massive Be star and a magnetized neutron star, usually in an eccentric orbit. The Be star has strong equatorial winds occasionally forming a circumstellar disk. When the neutron star intersects the disk the accretion rate dramatically increases and a transie...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Libro Capitulo de libro |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Springer, Dordrecht
2005
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/123502 |
| Aporte de: |
| Sumario: | Be/X-ray binaries are systems formed by a massive Be star and a magnetized neutron star, usually in an eccentric orbit. The Be star has strong equatorial winds occasionally forming a circumstellar disk. When the neutron star intersects the disk the accretion rate dramatically increases and a transient accretion disk can be formed around the compact object. This disk can last longer than a single orbit in the case of major outbursts. If the disk rotates faster than the neutron star, the Cheng-Ruderman mechanism can produce a current of relativistic protons that would impact onto the disk surface, producing gamma-rays from neutral pion decays and initiating electromagnetic cascades inside the disk. In this paper we present calculations of the evolution of the disk parameters during both major and minor X-ray events, and we discuss the generation of gamma-ray emission at different energies within a variety of models that include both screened and unscreened disks. |
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