The light curves of soft X-ray transients

Details The light curves of soft X-ray transients The light curves of soft X-ray transients

Jan 1998

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998mnras.293l..42k&link_type=abstract

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 293, p. L42-L48

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

147

Light Curve, Accretion Disks, X Ray Binaries, Dwarf Novae, Light Emission, Irradiation

Scientific paper

We show that the light curves of soft X-ray transients (SXTs) follow naturally from the disk instability picture, adapted to take account of irradiation by the central X-ray source during the outburst. Irradiation prevents the disk from returning to the cool state until central accretion is greatly reduced. This happens only after most of the disk mass has been accreted by the central object, on a viscous timescale, accounting naturally for the exponential decay of the outburst on a far longer timescale (tau about 20-40 d) than seen in dwarf novae, without any need to manipulate the viscosity parameter alpha. The accretion of most of the disk mass in outburst explains the much longer recurrence time of SXTs compared with dwarf novae. This picture also suggests an explanation of the secondary maximum seen in SXT light curves about 50-75 d after the start of each outburst, since central irradiation triggers the thermal instability of the outer disk, adding to the central accretion rate one viscous time later.

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