The Structure and Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

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For a few decades after Robert Oppenheimer's 1939 announcement of the probable existence of "neutron stars", the field of neutron star astronomy was arguably held back by a lack of understanding of what such objects would look like if astronomers on Earth looked in their direction. Studies have found that nonmagnetic neutron stars reveal their presence by emitting high energy radiation in response to primarily matter falling onto them from an orbiting companion star. The Principal Investigator (PI) proposes a series of theoretical investigations that would predict the radiation emitted a matter-accretion process. He suspects that the response is reponsible for the pulses of x-ray and gamma ray radiation recently detected by balloon and space-borne high energy experiments. The PI hopes to confirm or refute this idea by his modeling of what these "signatures" of a brief radiation-driven wind would look like. He anticipates further that these events can be used to estimate the masses and radii of neutron stars directly, which has not been possible up to now. In addition, he points out that a knowledge of high energy signatures from accretion events may be essential in the interpretation of data from several x- and gamma-ray space missions now being planned. Finally, the PI wishes to examine the spiralling in of neutron stars in decaying orbits around one another. This process would proceed so fast (within seconds) that it can be fairly described as a "neutron star collision". Much of the gravitational energy liberated in a collision would be emitted in a brief burst of gravitational radiation. It is possible that such events could be a major source of any gravitational radiation detected on Earth. ***//