Libro
Gamma-Ray Emission from Be/X-Ray Binaries
Registro en:
isbn:978-1-4020-3214-1
isbn:978-1-4020-3881-5
Autor
Orellana, Mariana Dominga
Romero, Gustavo Esteban
Cheng, K. S.
Romero, Gustavo Esteban
Institución
Resumen
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. Capítulo reimpreso de la revista <i>Astrophysics and Space Science</i>, vol. 297, no. 1-4, un volumen temático que contiene los artículos de la primera reunión dedicada exclusivamente al enfoque de múltiples longitudes de onda para la identificación de fuentes de alta energía (Departamento de Física de la Universidad de Hong Kong, 1 al 4 de junio de 2004). Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía