Abstract
We use time-resolved spectroscopy of thermonuclear X-ray bursts observed from SAX J1748.9-2021 to infer the mass and the radius of the neutron star in the binary. Four X-ray bursts observed from the source with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer enable us to measure the angular size and the Eddington limit on the neutron star surface. Combined with a distance measurement to the globular cluster NGC 6440, in which SAX J1748.9-2021 resides, we obtain two solutions for the neutron star radius and mass, R = 8.18 ± 1.62 km and M = 1.78 ± 0.3 M⊙ or R = 10.93 ± 2.09 km and M = 1.33 ± 0.33 M⊙.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | L1 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Volume | 765 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1 2013 |
Keywords
- X-rays: binaries
- X-rays: individual (SAX J1748-2021)
- stars: neutron
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
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