FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES
We use a collection of 14 well-measured neutron-star masses to strengthen the case that a substantial fraction of these neutron stars were formed via electron-capture (e-capture) supernovae (SNe) as opposed to Fe core-collapse SNe. The e-capture SNe are characterized by lower resultant gravitational...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95686 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-5569 |
| _version_ | 1811091126393765888 |
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| author | Schwab, J. Podsiadlowski, Ph. Rappaport, Saul A |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Schwab, J. Podsiadlowski, Ph. Rappaport, Saul A |
| author_sort | Schwab, J. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We use a collection of 14 well-measured neutron-star masses to strengthen the case that a substantial fraction of these neutron stars were formed via electron-capture (e-capture) supernovae (SNe) as opposed to Fe core-collapse SNe. The e-capture SNe are characterized by lower resultant gravitational masses and smaller natal kicks, leading to lower orbital eccentricities when the e-capture SN has led to the formation of the second neutron star in a binary system. Based on the measured masses and eccentricities, we identify four neutron stars, which have a mean post-collapse gravitational mass of ~1.25 M [subscript ☉], as the product of e-capture SNe. We associate the remaining 10 neutron stars, which have a mean mass of ~1.35 M [subscript ☉], with Fe core-collapse SNe. If the e-capture SN occurs during the formation of the first neutron star, then this should substantially increase the formation probability for double neutron stars, given that more systems will remain bound with the smaller kicks. However, this does not appear to be the case for any of the observed systems and we discuss possible reasons for this. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:57:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/95686 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:57:25Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| spelling | mit-1721.1/956862022-10-01T23:34:27Z FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES Schwab, J. Podsiadlowski, Ph. Rappaport, Saul A Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Rappaport, Saul A. Schwab, J. We use a collection of 14 well-measured neutron-star masses to strengthen the case that a substantial fraction of these neutron stars were formed via electron-capture (e-capture) supernovae (SNe) as opposed to Fe core-collapse SNe. The e-capture SNe are characterized by lower resultant gravitational masses and smaller natal kicks, leading to lower orbital eccentricities when the e-capture SN has led to the formation of the second neutron star in a binary system. Based on the measured masses and eccentricities, we identify four neutron stars, which have a mean post-collapse gravitational mass of ~1.25 M [subscript ☉], as the product of e-capture SNe. We associate the remaining 10 neutron stars, which have a mean mass of ~1.35 M [subscript ☉], with Fe core-collapse SNe. If the e-capture SN occurs during the formation of the first neutron star, then this should substantially increase the formation probability for double neutron stars, given that more systems will remain bound with the smaller kicks. However, this does not appear to be the case for any of the observed systems and we discuss possible reasons for this. 2015-02-26T20:18:13Z 2015-02-26T20:18:13Z 2010-07 2009-11 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0004-637X 1538-4357 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95686 Schwab, J., Ph. Podsiadlowski, and S. Rappaport. “FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES.” The Astrophysical Journal 719, no. 1 (July 22, 2010): 722–727. © 2010 The American Astronomical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-5569 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/719/1/722 Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Schwab, J. Podsiadlowski, Ph. Rappaport, Saul A FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title | FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title_full | FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title_fullStr | FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title_full_unstemmed | FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title_short | FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRON-STAR MASSES |
| title_sort | further evidence for the bimodal distribution of neutron star masses |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95686 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-5569 |
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