Quest for quiescent neutron star low mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud

• Author / Creator

  Chowdhury, Md. Mizanul Huq

• We present the first spectral search for neutron stars (NSs) in low-mass X-ray
  binaries (LMXBs) between outbursts in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC).
  We identify and discuss candidate LMXBs in quiescence in the SMC using
  deep Chandra X-ray observations of two portions of the SMC. We produce
  X-ray color-magnitude-diagrams of XRSs of these two fields and identify 10
  candidates for quiescent NS LMXBs. Spectral fitting and searches for optical
  counterparts rule out five, leaving five candidate quiescent NS LMXBs.
  We estimate that we are sensitive to ~10% of quiescent NS LMXBs in our
  fields. Our fields include 4.4×10^7 M⊙ of stellar mass, giving an upper limit of 10^{−6} LMXBs per M⊙ in the SMC. We place a lower limit on the average duty cycle of NS LMXBs as ~0.003.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Small Magellanic Cloud
  • Quiescent behavior
  • Low Mass X-ray Binaries

• Graduation date

  Spring 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3VG8G

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.