Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-8mjnm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T01:21:08.662Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Coronal ejection and heating in variable-luminosity X-ray sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2013

Włodek Kluźniak*
Affiliation:
Copernicus Astronomical Center, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warszawa, Poland email: wlodekcamk@edu.pl
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A sudden increase in stellar luminosity may lead to the ejection of a large part of any optically thin gas orbiting the star. Test particles in circular orbits will become unbound, and will escape to infinity (if radiation drag is neglected), when the luminosity changes from zero to at least one half the Eddington value, or more generally, from L to (LEdd+L)/2 or more. Conversely, a decrease in luminosity will lead to the tightening of orbits of optically thin fluid. Even a modest fluctuation of luminosity of accreting neutron stars or black holes is expected to lead to substantial coronal heating. Luminosity fluctuations may thus account for the high temperatures of the X-ray corona in accreting black hole and neutron star systems.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013

References

Fender, R. P., Belloni, T. M., & Gallo, E., 2004, MNRAS 355, 1105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stahl, A., Kluźniak, W., Wielgus, M., & Abramowicz, M., 2012, submitted.Google Scholar
Walker, M. A. & Mészáros, P. 1989, ApJ 346, 844Google Scholar