Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Mar 1978
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1978apj...220.1041c&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 220, Mar. 15, 1978, p. 1041-1050.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
5
Neutron Stars, Radiative Transfer, Shock Waves, Stellar Mass Accretion, Supersonic Flow, Binary Stars, Energy Dissipation, Flow Velocity, Gas Density, Stellar Winds, Turbulent Wakes, X Ray Binaries
Scientific paper
Supersonic gas flow onto a neutron star is investigated. There are two regimes of accretion flow, differentiated by whether the gas can cool significantly before it falls to the magnetosphere. If radiative losses are negligible, the captured gas falls inward adiabatically in a wide accretion column. If the radiative energy-loss time scale is less than the fall time, the gas will cool to some equilibrium temperature which determines the width of the wake. An accreting neutron star generates sufficient luminosity that radiation heating may determine the temperature of the accretion column, provided the accretion column is optically thin. Gas crossing the shock beyond the critical radius forms an extended turbulent wake which gradually merges into the surrounding medium. As a specific example, the flow for the range of parameters suggested for the stellar wind X-ray binaries is considered.
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