Quasi-periodic oscillations and noise in neutron star and black-hole X-ray binaries

Abstract

Before the launch of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite, the differences in the rapid X-ray variability between the two main types of neutron star binaries (i.e., the Z and atoll sources) could be explained by invoking different mass accretion rates and magnetic field strengths. However, the results obtained with RXTE now show that these systems are more similar than previously thought and although differences in mass accretion rate are still likely, the differences in the magnetic field strength have become questionable. The great similarities between the neutron star systems and the black-hole candidates at low mass accretion rates also point towards a similar origin of their timing phenomena indicating that the presence or absence of a solid surface, a magnetic field, or an event horizon do not play a significant role in the production mechanisms for the rapid X-ray variability.

Talk presented at the 33rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Warsaw, Poland, 16-23 July 2000. Submitted for publication in Advances in Space Research

References in corpus (6)

• Millisecond Oscillations in X-Ray Binaries
• Relations Between Timing Features and Colors in the X-Ray Binary 4U 0614+09
• Study of the Temporal Behavior of 4U 1728-34 as a Function of its Position in the Color-Color Diagram
• The power spectral properties of the Z-source GX 340+0
• Discovery of a ~1 Hz quasi-periodic oscillation in the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1746-37
• Detection of a 5-Hz QPO from X-ray Nova GRS 1739-278

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• A peculiar spectral state transition of 4U1705--44: when an Atoll looks like a Z
• Evolution of the 0.01 - 25 Hz power spectral components in Cygnus X-1
• Peculiar spectral and power spectral behaviour of the LMXB GX 13+1
• An observational review of accretion-driven millisecond X-ray pulsars
• An explanation for the kHz-QPO twin peaks separation in slow and fast rotators
• Correlated timing and spectral behavior of 4U 1705-44
• Forced oscillations in magnetized accretion disks and QPOs
• Rapid X-ray variability properties during the unusual very hard state in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries
• Modelling the energy dependencies of X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting compact objects
• Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs
• Timing and spectral study of XB 1254-690 using new RXTE PCA data
• Fourier resolved spectroscopy of 4U 1728-34: New Insights into Spectral and Temporal Properties of Low-Mass X-ray Binaries