Showing papers by "M. Coleman Miller published in 2016"

Colloquium: Measuring the neutron star equation of state using x-ray timing

Abstract: One of the primary science goals of the next generation of hard x-ray timing instruments is to determine the equation of state of matter at supranuclear densities inside neutron stars by measuring the radius of neutron stars with different masses to accuracies of a few percent. Three main techniques can be used to achieve this goal. The first involves waveform modeling. The flux observed from a hotspot on the neutron star surface offset from the rotational pole will be modulated by the star’s rotation, and this periodic modulation at the spin frequency is called a pulsation. As the photons propagate through the curved spacetime of the star, information about mass and radius is encoded into the shape of the waveform (pulse profile) via special and general-relativistic effects. Using pulsations from known sources (which have hotspots that develop either during thermonuclear bursts or due to channeled accretion) it is possible to obtain tight constraints on mass and radius. The second technique involves characterizing the spin distribution of accreting neutron stars. A large collecting area enables highly sensitive searches for weak or intermittent pulsations (which yield spin) from the many accreting neutron stars whose spin rates are not yet known. The most rapidly rotating stars provide a clean constraint, since the limiting spin rate where the equatorial surface velocity is comparable to the local orbital velocity, at which mass shedding occurs, is a function of mass and radius. However, the overall spin distribution also provides a guide to the torque mechanisms in operation and the moment of inertia, both of which can depend sensitively on dense matter physics. The third technique is to search for quasiperiodic oscillations in x-ray flux associated with global seismic vibrations of magnetars (the most highly magnetized neutron stars), triggered by magnetic explosions. The vibrational frequencies depend on stellar parameters including the dense matter equation of state, and large-area x-ray timing instruments would provide much improved detection capability. An illustration is given of how these complementary x-ray timing techniques can be used to constrain the dense matter equation of state and the results that might be expected from a 10 m2 instrument are discussed. Also discussed are how the results from such a facility would compare to other astronomical investigations of neutron star properties.

The role of the kozai–lidov mechanism in black hole binary mergers in galactic centers

Abstract: In order to understand the rate of merger of stellar mass black hole binaries (BHBs) by gravitational wave (GW) emission it is important to determine the major pathways to merger. We use numerical simulations to explore the evolution of BHBs inside the radius of influence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic centers. In this region, the evolution of binaries is dominated by perturbations from the central SMBH. In particular, as first pointed out by Antonini and Perets, the Kozai–Lidov mechanism trades relative inclination of the BHB to the SMBH for eccentricity of the BHB, and for some orientations can bring the BHB to an eccentricity near unity. At very high eccentricities, GW emission from the BHB can become efficient, causing the members of the BHB to coalesce. We use a novel combination of two N-body codes to follow this evolution. We are required to simulate small systems to follow the behavior accurately. We have completed 400 simulations that range from ∼300 stars around a 10(3) ${M}_{\odot }$ black hole to ∼4500 stars around a 10(4) ${M}_{\odot }$ black hole. These simulations are the first to follow the internal orbit of a binary near an SMBH while also following the changes to its external orbit self-consistently. We find that this mechanism could produce mergers at a maximum rate per volume of ∼100 Gpc(−)(3) yr(−)(1) or considerably less if the inclination oscillations of the binary remain constant as the BHB inclination to the SMBH changes, or if the binary black hole fraction is small.

Observational constraints on neutron star masses and radii

Abstract: Precise and reliable measurements of the masses and radii of neutron stars with a variety of masses would provide valuable guidance for improving models of the properties of cold matter with densities above the saturation density of nuclear matter. Several different approaches for measuring the masses and radii of neutron stars have been tried or proposed, including analyzing the X-ray fluxes and spectra of the emission from neutron stars in quiescent low-mass X-ray binary systems and thermonuclear burst sources; fitting the energy-dependent X-ray waveforms of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars, burst oscillations with millisecond periods, and accretion-powered millisecond pulsars; and modeling the gravitational radiation waveforms of coalescing double neutron star and neutron star - black hole binary systems. We describe the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, most of which currently have substantial systematic errors, and discuss the prospects for decreasing the systematic errors in each method.

The Role of the Kozai-Lidov Mechanism in Black Hole Binary Mergers in Galactic Centers

Abstract: In order to understand the rate of merger of stellar-mass black hole binaries (BHBs) by gravitational wave (GW) emission it is important to determine the major pathways to merger. We use numerical simulations to explore the evolution of BHBs inside the radius of influence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic centers. In this region the evolution of binaries is dominated by perturbations from the central SMBH. In particular, as first pointed out by Antonini and Perets, the Kozai-Lidov (KL) mechanism trades relative inclination of the BHB to the SMBH for eccentricity of the BHB, and for some orientations can bring the BHB to an eccentricity near unity. At very high eccentricities, GW emission from the BHB can become efficient, causing the members of the BHB to coalesce. We use a novel combination of two N-body codes to follow this evolution. We are forced to simulate small systems to follow the behavior accurately. We have completed 400 simulations that range from $\sim$ 300 stars around a $10^{3}$ M$_{\odot}$ black hole to $\sim$ 4500 stars around a $10^{4}$ M$_{\odot}$ black hole. These simulations are the first to follow the internal orbit of a binary near a SMBH while also following the changes to its external orbit self-consistently. We find that this mechanism could produce mergers at a maximum rate per volume of $\sim 100$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ or considerably less if the inclination oscillations of the binary remain constant as the BHB inclination to the SMBH changes, or if the binary black hole fraction is small.

Observational Constraints on Neutron Star Masses and Radii

Abstract: Precise and reliable measurements of the masses and radii of neutron stars with a variety of masses would provide valuable guidance for improving models of the properties of cold matter with densities above the saturation density of nuclear matter. Several different approaches for measuring the masses and radii of neutron stars have been tried or proposed, including analyzing the X-ray fluxes and spectra of the emission from neutron stars in quiescent low-mass X-ray binary systems and thermonuclear burst sources; fitting the energy-dependent X-ray waveforms of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars, burst oscillations with millisecond periods, and accretion-powered millisecond pulsars; and modeling the gravitational radiation waveforms of coalescing double neutron star and neutron star -- black hole binary systems. We describe the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches, most of which currently have substantial systematic errors, and discuss the prospects for decreasing the systematic errors in each method.

The Case for PSR J1614-2230 as a NICER Target

Abstract: The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is expected to launch in early 2017 and will gather X-ray data on neutron stars and other high-energy sources from a berth on the International Space Station. Its prime scientific goal is to measure the masses and radii of non-accreting neutron stars via fits to the energy-dependent waveforms produced by the rotation of hot spots on their surfaces. These measurements will provide valuable input to theoretical models of cold matter beyond nuclear density. Here we propose that PSR J1614$-$2230, despite its low count rate, is a promising source to observe with NICER. The reason is that XMM-Newton observations suggest that the fractional oscillation amplitude from PSR J1614$-$2230 could be high enough that this star cannot be very compact. We show that if we analyze 0.5 Ms of NICER data and 0.1 Ms of nearby off-source data and combine that analysis with the known mass of this star, we would find a robust lower limit to the radius with a statistical uncertainty of only $\sim 0.5-0.7$ km. We also show that even if there is an unmodeled nonthermal component modulated at the pulsation frequency, good statistical fits could rule out significant biases. The low count rate will make reliable upper limits on the radius difficult, but the lower limit could rule out some equations of state that are currently being discussed. This analysis would require a good estimate of the non-source background, so Chandra observations of the vicinity of PSR J1614$-$2230 would be helpful.

Implications of the gravitational wave event GW150914

Abstract: The era of gravitational-wave astronomy began on 14 September 2015, when the LIGO Scientific Collaboration detected the merger of two $${\sim }30~M_\odot $$ black holes at a distance of $${\sim }400$$ Mpc. This event has facilitated qualitatively new tests of gravitational theories, and has also produced exciting information about the astrophysical origin of black hole binaries. In this review we discuss the implications of this event for gravitational physics and astrophysics, as well as the expectations for future detections. In brief: (1) because the spins of the black holes could not be measured accurately and because mergers are not well calculated for modified theories of gravity, the current analysis of GW150914 does not place strong constraints on gravity variants that change only the generation of gravitational waves, but (2) it does strongly constrain alterations of the propagation of gravitational waves and alternatives to black holes. Finally, (3) many astrophysical models for the origin of heavy black hole binaries such as the GW150914 system are in play, but a reasonably robust conclusion that was reached even prior to the detection is that the environment of such systems needs to have a relatively low abundance of elements heavier than helium.

A Test of the Nature of the Fe K Line in the Neutron Star Low-mass X-ray Binary Serpens X-1

Abstract: Broad Fe K emission lines have been widely observed in the X-ray spectra of black hole systems, and in neutron star systems as well. The intrinsically narrow Fe K fluorescent line is generally believed to be part of the reflection spectrum originating in an illuminated accretion disk, and broadened by strong relativistic effects. However, the nature of the lines in neutron star LMXBs has been under debate. We therefore obtained the longest, high-resolution X-ray spectrum of a neutron star LMXB to date with a 300 ks Chandra HETGS observation of Serpens X-1. The observation was taken under the "continuous clocking" mode and thus free of photon pile-up effects. We carry out a systematic analysis and find that the blurred reflection model fits the Fe line of Serpens X-1 significantly better than a broad Gaussian component does, implying that the relativistic reflection scenario is much preferred. Chandra HETGS also provides highest spectral resolution view of the Fe K region and we find no strong evidence for additional narrow lines.

Identifying Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic-Ray Accelerators with Future Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino Detectors

Abstract: The detection of ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino sources would contribute significantly to solving the decades-old mystery of the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We investigate the ability of a future UHE neutrino detector to identify the brightest neutrino point sources, by exploring the parameter space of the total number of observed events and the angular resolution of the detector. The favored parameter region can be translated to requirements for the effective area, sky coverage and angular resolution of future detectors, for a given source number density and evolution history. Moreover, by studying the typical distance to sources that are expected to emit more than one event for a given diffuse neutrino flux, we find that a significant fraction of the identifiable UHE neutrino sources may be located in the nearby Universe if the source number density is above $\sim10^{-6}\,\rm Mpc^{-3}$. If sources are powerful and rare enough, as predicted in blazar scenarios, they can first be detected at distant locations. Our result also suggests that if UHE cosmic-ray accelerators are neither beamed nor transients, it will be possible to associate the detected UHE neutrino sources with nearby UHE cosmic-ray and gamma-ray sources, and that they may also be observed using other messengers, including ones with limited horizons such as TeV gamma rays, UHE gamma rays and cosmic rays. We find that for a $\gtrsim5\sigma$ detection of UHE neutrino sources with a uniform density, $n_s\sim{10}^{-7}-{10}^{-5}~{\rm Mpc}^{-3}$, at least $\sim100-1000$ events and sub-degree angular resolution are needed, and the results depend on the source evolution model.

Gravitational waves from f-modes excited by the inspiral of highly eccentric neutron star binaries

Abstract: As gravitational wave instrumentation becomes more sensitive, it is interesting to speculate about subtle effects that could be analyzed using upcoming generations of detectors. One such effect that has great potential for revealing the properties of very dense matter is fluid oscillations of neutron stars. These have been found in numerical simulations of the hypermassive remnants of double neutron star mergers and of highly eccentric neutron star orbits. Here we focus on the latter and sketch out some ideas for the production, gravitational-wave detection, and analysis of neutron star oscillations. These events will be rare (perhaps up to several tens per year could be detected using third-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope or the Cosmic Explorer), but they would have unique diagnostic power for the analysis of cold, catalyzed, dense matter. Furthermore, these systems are unusual in that analysis of the tidally excited f-modes of the stars could yield simultaneous measurements of their masses, moments of inertia, and tidal Love numbers, using the frequency, damping time, and amplitude of the modes. They would thus present a nearly unique opportunity to test observationally the I-Love-Q relation. The analysis of such events will require significant further work in nuclear physics and general relativistic nonlinear mode coupling, and thus we discuss further directions that will need to be pursued. For example, we note that for nearly-grazing encounters, numerical simulations show that the energy delivered to the f-modes may be up to two orders of magnitude greater than predicted in the linear theory.

The Case for PSR J1614-2230 as a NICER Target

Abstract: The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is expected to launch in early 2017 and will gather X-ray data on neutron stars and other high-energy sources from a berth on the International Space Station. Its prime scientific goal is to measure the masses and radii of non-accreting neutron stars via fits to the energy-dependent waveforms produced by the rotation of hot spots on their surfaces. These measurements will provide valuable input to theoretical models of cold matter beyond nuclear density. Here we propose that PSR J1614$-$2230, despite its low count rate, is a promising source to observe with NICER. The reason is that XMM-Newton observations suggest that the fractional oscillation amplitude from PSR J1614$-$2230 could be high enough that this star cannot be very compact. We show that if we analyze 0.5 Ms of NICER data and 0.1 Ms of nearby off-source data and combine that analysis with the known mass of this star, we would find a robust lower limit to the radius with a statistical uncertainty of only $\sim 0.5-0.7$ km. We also show that even if there is an unmodeled nonthermal component modulated at the pulsation frequency, good statistical fits could rule out significant biases. The low count rate will make reliable upper limits on the radius difficult, but the lower limit could rule out some equations of state that are currently being discussed. This analysis would require a good estimate of the non-source background, so Chandra observations of the vicinity of PSR J1614$-$2230 would be helpful.

Implications of the Gravitational Wave Event GW150914

Abstract: The era of gravitational-wave astronomy began on 14 September 2015, when the LIGO Scientific Collaboration detected the merger of two $\sim 30 M_\odot$ black holes at a distance of $\sim 400$ Mpc. This event has facilitated qualitatively new tests of gravitational theories, and has also produced exciting information about the astrophysical origin of black hole binaries. In this review we discuss the implications of this event for gravitational physics and astrophysics, as well as the expectations for future detections. In brief: (1) because the spins of the black holes could not be measured accurately and because mergers are not well calculated for modified theories of gravity, the current analysis of GW150914 does not place strong constraints on gravity variants that change only the generation of gravitational waves, but (2) it does strongly constrain alterations of the propagation of gravitational waves and alternatives to black holes. Finally, (3) many astrophysical models for the origin of heavy black hole binaries such as the GW150914 system are in play, but a reasonably robust conclusion that was reached even prior to the detection is that the environment of such systems needs to have a relatively low abundance of elements heavier than helium.

Identifying ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray accelerators with future ultrahigh-energy neutrino detectors

Abstract: The detection of ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino sources would contribute significantly to solving the decades-old mystery of the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We investigate the ability of a future UHE neutrino detector to identify the brightest neutrino point sources, by exploring the parameter space of the total number of observed events and the angular resolution of the detector. The favored parameter region can be translated to requirements for the effective area, sky coverage and angular resolution of future detectors, for a given source number density and evolution history. Moreover, by studying the typical distance to sources that are expected to emit more than one event for a given diffuse neutrino flux, we find that a significant fraction of the identifiable UHE neutrino sources may be located in the nearby Universe if the source number density is above ~10−6 Mpc−3. If sources are powerful and rare enough, as predicted in blazar scenarios, they can first be detected at distant locations. Our result also suggests that if UHE cosmic-ray accelerators are neither beamed nor transients, it will be possible to associate the detected UHE neutrino sources with nearby UHE cosmic-ray and gamma-ray sources, and that they may also be observed using other messengers, including ones with limited horizons such as TeV gamma rays, UHE gamma rays and cosmic rays. We find that for a 5σ detection of UHE neutrino sources with a uniform density, ns~10−7−10−5 Mpc−3, at least ~100−1000 events and sub-degree angular resolution are needed, and the results depend on the source evolution model.

Gravitational waves: Dawn of a new astronomy

Abstract: The discovery of gravitational waves from a merging black-hole system opens a window on the Universe that promises to test gravity at its strongest, and to reveal many surprises about black holes and other astrophysical systems.

A new method for finding point sources in high-energy neutrino data

Abstract: The IceCube collaboration has reported the first detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos including $\sim 50$ high-energy starting events, but no individual sources have been identified. It is therefore important to develop the most sensitive and efficient possible algorithms to identify point sources of these neutrinos. The most popular current method works by exploring a dense grid of possible directions to individual sources, and identifying the single direction with the maximum probability of having produced multiple detected neutrinos. This method has numerous strengths, but it is computationally intensive and, because it focuses on the single best location for a point source, additional point sources are not included in the evidence. We propose a new maximum likelihood method that uses the angular separations between all pairs of neutrinos in the data. Unlike existing autocorrelation methods for this type of analysis, which also use angular separations between neutrino pairs, our method incorporates information about the point spread function and can identify individual point sources. We find that if the angular resolution is a few degrees or better, then this approach reduces both false positive and false negative errors compared to the current method, and is also more computationally efficient up to, potentially, hundreds of thousands of detected neutrinos.

A new method for finding point sources in high-energy neutrino data

Abstract: The IceCube collaboration has reported the first detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos including $\sim 50$ high-energy starting events, but no individual sources have been identified. It is therefore important to develop the most sensitive and efficient possible algorithms to identify point sources of these neutrinos. The most popular current method works by exploring a dense grid of possible directions to individual sources, and identifying the single direction with the maximum probability of having produced multiple detected neutrinos. This method has numerous strengths, but it is computationally intensive and, because it focuses on the single best location for a point source, additional point sources are not included in the evidence. We propose a new maximum likelihood method that uses the angular separations between all pairs of neutrinos in the data. Unlike existing autocorrelation methods for this type of analysis, which also use angular separations between neutrino pairs, our method incorporates information about the point spread function and can identify individual point sources. We find that if the angular resolution is a few degrees or better, then this approach reduces both false positive and false negative errors compared to the current method, and is also more computationally efficient up to, potentially, hundreds of thousands of detected neutrinos.