Thermonuclear explosions on neutron stars reveal the speed of their jets

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Russell, Thomas D.; Degenaar, Nathalie; van den Eijnden, Jakob; Maccarone, Thomas; Tetarenko, Alexandra J.; Sanchez-Fernandez, Celia; Miller-Jones, James C. A.; Kuulkers, Erik; Del Santo, Melania
• 署名单位: Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF); University of Amsterdam; University of Warwick; University of Oxford; Texas Tech University System; Texas Tech University; University of Lethbridge; European Space Agency; European Space Astronomy Center; Curtin University; University of Western Australia; European Space Agency; European Space Research & Technology Centre
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-5173
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07133-5
• 发表日期: 2024-03-28
• 关键词: x-ray binaries; infrared variability; accretion disks; 4u 1728-34; radio; hysteresis; science; FLOWS

摘要

Relativistic jets are observed from accreting and cataclysmic transients throughout the Universe, and have a profound impact on their surroundings1,2. Despite their importance, their launch mechanism is not known. For accreting neutron stars, the speed of their compact jets can reveal whether the jets are powered by magnetic fields anchored in the accretion flow3 or in the star itself4,5, but so far no such measurements exist. These objects can show bright explosions on their surface due to unstable thermonuclear burning of recently accreted material, called type-I X-ray bursts6, during which the mass-accretion rate increases7-9. Here, we report on bright flares in the jet emission for a few minutes after each X-ray burst, attributed to the increased accretion rate. With these flares, we measure the speed of a neutron star compact jet to be v=0.38-0.08+0.11c\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$v={0.38}_{-0.08}<^>{+0.11}c$$\end{document}, much slower than those from black holes at similar luminosities. This discovery provides a powerful new tool in which we can determine the role that individual system properties have on the jet speed, revealing the dominant jet launching mechanism. Relativistic jets observed from transient neutron stars throughout the Universe produce bright flares for minutes after each X-ray burst, helping to determine the role individual system properties have on the speed and revealing the dominant launching mechanism.