No Arabic abstract
In close binary systems composed of a normal, donor star and an accreting neutron star, the amount of material received by the accreting component is, so far, a real intrigue. In the literature there are available models that link the accretion disk surrounding the neutron star with the amount of material it receives, but there is no model linking the amount of matter lost by the donor star to that falling onto the neutron star. In this paper we explore the evolutionary response of these close binary systems when we vary the amount of material accreted by the neutron star. We consider a parameter beta, which represents the fraction of material lost by the normal star that can be accreted by the neutron star. beta is considered as constant throughout evolution. We have computed the evolution of a set of models considering initial donor star masses (in solar units) between 0.5 and 3.50, initial orbital periods (in days) between 0.175 and 12, initial masses of neutron stars (in solar units) of 0.80, 1.00, 1.20 and 1.40 and several values of beta. We assumed solar abundances. These systems evolve to ultracompact or to open binary systems, many of which form low mass helium white dwarfs. We present a grid of calculations and analyze how these results are affected upon changes in the value of beta. We find a weak dependence of the final donor star mass with respect to beta. In most cases this is also true for the final orbital period. The most sensitive quantity is the final mass of the accreting neutron star. As we do not know the initial mass and rotation rate of the neutron star of any system, we find that performing evolutionary studies is not helpful for determining beta.
We construct a set of binary evolutionary sequences for systems composed by a normal, solar composition, donor star together with a neutron star. We consider a variety of masses for each star as well as for the initial orbital period corresponding to systems that evolve to ultra-compact or millisecond pulsar-helium white dwarf pairs. Specifically, we select a set of donor star masses of 0.50, 0.65, 0.80, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50, 3.00, and 3.50 solar masses, whereas for the accreting neutron star we consider initial masses values of 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, and 1.4 solar masses. The considered initial orbital period interval ranges from 0.5 to 12 days. It is found that the evolution of systems, with fixed initial values for the orbital period and the mass of the normal donor star, heavily depends upon the mass of the neutron star. In some cases, varying the initial value of the neutron star mass, we obtain evolved configurations ranging from ultra-compact to widely separated objects. We also analyse the dependence of the final orbital period with the mass of the white dwarf. In agreement with previous expectations, our calculations show that the final orbital period-white dwarf mass relation is fairly insensitive to the initial neutron star mass value. A new period-mass relation based on our own calculations is proposed, which is in good agreement with period-mass relations available in the literature. As consequence of considering a set of values for the initial neutron star mass, these models allow finding different plausible initial configurations (donor and neutron star masses and orbital period interval) for some of the best observed binary systems of the kind we are interested in here. We apply our calculations to analyse the case of PSR J0437-4715.
The evolution of helium stars with masses of 1.5 - 6.7 M_sun in binary systems with a 1.4 M_sun neutron-star companion is presented. Such systems are assumed to be the remnants of Be/X-ray binaries with B-star masses in the range of 8 - 20 M_sun which underwent a case B or case C mass transfer and survived the common-envelope and spiral-in process. The orbital period is chosen such that the helium star fills its Roche lobe before the ignition of carbon in the centre. We distinguish case BA (in which mass transfer is initiated during helium core burning) from case BB (onset of Roche-lobe overflow occurs after helium core burning is terminated, but before the ignition of carbon). We found that the remnants of case BA mass transfer from 1.5 - 2.9 M_sun helium stars are heavy CO white dwarfs. This implies that a star initially as massive as 12 M_sun is able to become a white dwarf. CO white dwarfs are also produced from case BB mass transfer from 1.5 - 1.8 M_sun helium stars, while ONe white dwarfs are formed from 2.1 - 2.5 M_sun helium stars. Case BB mass transfer from more-massive helium stars with a neutron-star companion will produce a double neutron-star binary. We are able to distinguish the progenitors of type Ib supernovae (as the high-mass helium stars or systems in wide orbits) from those of type Ic supernovae (as the lower-mass helium stars or systems in close orbits). Finally, we derive a zone of avoidance in the helium star mass vs. initial orbital period diagram for producing neutron stars from helium stars.
We calculate the evolution of close binary systems (CBSs) formed by a neutron star (behaving as a radio pulsar) and a normal donor star, evolving either to helium white dwarf (HeWD) or ultra short orbital period systems. We consider X-ray irradiation feedback and evaporation due to radio pulsar irradiation. We show that irradiation feedback leads to cyclic mass transfer episodes, allowing CBSs to be observed in-between as binary radio pulsars under conditions in which standard, non-irradiated models predict the occurrence of a low mass X-ray binary. This behavior accounts for the existence of a family of eclipsing binary systems known as redbacks. We predict that redback companions should almost fill their Roche lobe, as observed in PSR J1723-2837. This state is also possible for systems evolving with larger orbital periods. Therefore, binary radio pulsars with companion star masses usually interpreted as larger than expected to produce HeWDs may also result in such {it quasi - Roche Lobe Overflow} states, rather than hosting a carbon-oxygen WD. We found that CBSs with initial orbital periods $mathrm{P_{i}<1}$ day evolve into redbacks. Some of them produce low mass HeWDs, and a subgroup with shorter $mathrm{P_{i}}$ become black widows (BWs). Thus, BWs descent from redbacks, although not all redbacks evolve into BWs. There is mounting observational evidence favoring that BW pulsars are very massive ($mathrm{gtrsim 2; M_{odot}}$). As they should be redback descendants, redback pulsars should also be very massive, since most of the mass is transferred before this stage.
We study the long-term evolution of ejecta formed in a binary neutron star (BNS) merger that results in a long-lived remnant NS by performing a hydrodynamics simulation with the outflow data of a numerical relativity simulation as the initial condition. At the homologously expanding phase, the total ejecta mass reaches $approx0.1,M_odot$ with an average velocity of $approx0.1,c$ and lanthanide fraction of $approx 0.005$. We further perform the radiative transfer simulation employing the obtained ejecta profile. We find that, contrary to a naive expectation from the large ejecta mass and low lanthanide fraction, the optical emission is not as bright as that in GW170817/AT2017gfo, while the infrared emission can be brighter. This light curve property is attributed to preferential diffusion of photons toward the equatorial direction due to the prolate ejecta morphology, large opacity contribution of Zr, Y, and lanthanides, and low specific heating rate of the ejecta. Our results suggest that these light curve features could be used as an indicator for the presence of a long-lived remnant NS. We also found that the bright optical emission broadly consistent with GW170817/AT2017gfo is realized for the case that the high-velocity ejecta components in the polar region are suppressed. These results suggest that the remnant in GW170817/AT2017gfo is unlikely to be a long-lived NS, but might have collapsed to a black hole within ${cal O}(0.1)$ s.
The recent gravitational wave measurements have demonstrated the existence of stellar mass black hole binaries. It is essential for our understanding of massive star evolution to identify the contribution of binary evolution to the formation of double black holes. A promising way to progress is investigating the progenitors of double black hole systems and comparing predictions with local massive star samples such as the population in 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Methods. To this purpose, we analyse a large grid of detailed binary evolution models at LMC metallicity with initial primary masses between 10 and 40 Msun, and identify which model systems potentially evolve into a binary consisting of a black hole and a massive main sequence star. We then derive the observable properties of such systems, as well as peculiarities of the OB star component. We find that about 3% of the LMC late O and early B stars in binaries are expected to possess a black hole companion, when assuming stars with a final helium core mass above 6.6 M to form black holes. While the vast majority of them may be X-ray quiet, our models suggest that these may be identified in spectroscopic binaries, either by large amplitude radial velocity variations ( > 50 km s ) and simultaneous nitrogen surface enrichment, or through a moderate radial velocity ( > 10 km/s ) and simultaneously rapid rotation of the OB star. The predicted mass ratios are such that main sequence companions could be excluded in most cases. A comparison to the observed OB+WR binaries in the LMC, Be/X-ray binaries, and known massive BH binaries supports our conclusion. We expect spectroscopic observations to be able to test key assumptions in our models, with important implications for massive star evolution in general, and for the formation of double-black hole mergers in particular.