Hard X-ray emission from weakly magnetized neutron stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Gamma Ray Astronomy, Neutron Stars, X Ray Astronomy, X Ray Binaries, X Ray Spectra, Black Holes (Astronomy), Bursts, Stellar Luminosity, Stellar Mass Accretion

Scientific paper

In the light of recent results obtained with the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray telescope SIGMA, we review the present status of high-energy observations (E greater than or equal to 30 keV) of low-mass X-ray binaries containing weakly magnetized neutron stars, i.e., the high-luminosity X-ray sources, and low-luminosity X-ray bursters. By combining soft (1 less than or equal to E less than or equal to 20 keV) and hard X-ray observations, we found that for the brightest soft X-ray sources, there is no indication that they are capable of emitting substantial hard X-ray fluxes. On the other hand, hard power-law tails extending up to approx. 100-200 keV (or more), similar to those observed by SIGMA, are likely to arise in X-ray bursters, if they reach sufficiently low intensity states. This implies that the use of a high energy emission criterion alone, as a possible means of discriminating between black hole and neutron star systems, is not valid. However, it seems that unlike black hole candidates, neutron star systems are unable to emit hard X-rays when the overall X-ray luminosity (i.e., the accretion rate) is high.

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