paper

Signatures of Energetic Protons in Hot Accretion Flows: Synchrotron Cooling of Protons in Strongly Magnetized Pulsars

arXiv:astro-ph/9905212 · doi:10.1086/311985

Abstract

The existence of hot, two-temperature accretion flows is essential to the recent discussions of the low luminosity, hard X-ray emission from accreting neutron stars and black holes in Galactic binaries and massive black holes in low luminosity galactic nuclei. In these flows, protons are essentially virialized and relativistic energies for non-thermal protons are likely. Observational confirmation of the energetic protons' presence could further support the two-temperature accretion flow models. We point out that synchrotron emission from nonthermal relativistic protons could provide an observational signature in strongly magnetized neutron star systems. The self-absorbed synchrotron emission from an accreting neutron star with the magnetic moment is expected to exhibit a spectrum νI_ν~ ν**2 with the luminosity ~ a few x 10^**33 (L_x/10**36 erg/s)**0.4 erg/s at ν~10**15 Hz where L_x is the X-ray luminosity from the neutron star surface. The detection of the expected synchrotron signature in optical and UV bands during the low luminosity state of the pulsar systems such as 4U 1626-67 and GX 1+4 could prove the existence of the hot, two-temperature accretion flows during their spin-down episodes. The detected optical emission in 4U 1626-67 has a spectral shape and luminosity level very close to our predictions.

10 pages, ApJL

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