No Arabic abstract
We investigate remnant neutron star masses (in particular, the minimum allowed mass) by performing advanced stellar evolution calculations and neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics simulations for core-collapse supernova explosions. We find that, based on standard astrophysical scenarios, low-mass carbon-oxygen cores can have sufficiently massive iron cores that eventually collapse, explode as supernovae, and give rise to remnant neutron stars that have a minimum mass of 1.17 M$_odot$ --- compatible with the lowest mass of the neutron star precisely measured in a binary system of PSR J0453+1559.
We analyze observations of eight quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries in globular clusters and combine them to determine the neutron star mass-radius curve and the equation of state of dense matter. We determine the effect that several uncertainties may have on our results, including uncertainties in the distance, the atmosphere composition, the neutron star maximum mass, the neutron star mass distribution, the possible presence of a hotspot on the neutron star surface, and the prior choice for the equation of state of dense matter. We find that the radius of a 1.4 solar mass neutron star is most likely from 10 to 14 km and that tighter constraints are only possible with stronger assumptions about the nature of the neutron stars, the systematics of the observations, or the nature of dense matter. Strong phase transitions are preferred over other models and interpretations of the data with a Bayes factor of 8 or more, and in this case, the radius is likely smaller than 12 km. However, radii larger than 12 km are preferred if the neutron stars have uneven temperature distributions.
We present in this article an overview of the problem of neutron star masses. After a brief appraisal of the methods employed to determine the masses of neutron stars in binary systems, the existing sample of measured masses is presented, with a highlight on some very well-determined cases. We discuss the analysis made to uncover the underlying distribution and a few robust results that stand out from them. The issues related to some particular groups of neutron stars originated from different channels of stellar evolution are shown. Our conclusions are that last centurys paradigm that there a single, $1.4 M_{odot}$ scale is too simple. A bimodal or even more complex distribution is actually present. It is confirmed that some neutron stars have masses of $sim 2 M_{odot}$, and, while there is still no firm conclusion on the maximum and minimum values produced in nature, the field has entered a mature stage in which all these and related questions can soon be given an answer.
We have analyzed in this work the updated sample of neutron star masses derived from the study of a variety of 96 binary systems containing at least one neutron star using Bayesian methods. After updating the multimodality of the distributions found in previous works, we determined the maximum mass implied by the sample using a robust truncation technique, with the result $m_{max} sim 2.5-2.6 , M_{odot}$. We have checked that this mass is actually consistent by generating synthetic data and employing a Posterior Predictive Check. A comparison with seven published $m_{max}$ values inferred from the remnant of the NS-NS merger GW170817 was performed and the tension between the latter and the obtained $m_{max}$ value quantified. Finally, we performed a Local Outlier Factor test and verified that the result for $m_{max}$ encompasses the highest individual mass determinations with the possible exception of PSR J1748-2021B. The conclusion is that the whole distribution already points toward a high value of $m_{max}$, while several lower values derived from the NS-NS merger event are disfavored and incompatible with the higher binary system masses. A large $m_{max}$ naturally accommodates the lower mass component of the event GW190814 as a neutron star.
Observations have indicated that we do not see neutron stars (NS) of mass near the theoretical upper limit as predicted. Here we invoke the role of dark matter (DM) particles in star formation, and their role in lowering the mass of remnants eventually formed from these stars. Massive stars can capture DM particles more effectively than the lower mass stars, thus further softening the equation of state of neutron star. We also look at the capture of DM particles by the NS, which could further soften the upper mass limit of NS. The admixture of DM particles would be higher at earlier epochs (high z).
We present VLT intermediate resolution spectroscopy of UY Vol, the optical counterpart of the LMXB X-ray burster EXO 0748-676. By using Doppler tomography we detect narrow components within the broad He II 4542 A, 4686 A and 5412 A emission lines. The phase, velocity and narrowness of these lines are consistent with their arising from the irradiated hemisphere of the donor star, as has been observed in a number of LMXBs. Under this assumption we provide the first dynamical constraints on the stellar masses in this system. In particular, we measure K_2>K_em = 300 +/- 10 km/s. Using this value we derive 1 M_sun < M_1 < 2.4 M_sun and 0.11 < q < 0.28. We find M_1 > 1.5 M_sun for the case of a main sequence companion star. Our results are consistent with the presence of a massive neutron star as has been suggested by Ozel (2006), although we cannot discard the canonical value of ~1.4 M_sun.