Thermonuclear explosions on neutron stars reveal the speed of their jets

Thomas D. Russell (), Nathalie Degenaar, Jakob van den Eijnden, Thomas Maccarone, Alexandra J. Tetarenko, Celia Sánchez-Fernández, James C. A. Miller-Jones, Erik Kuulkers and Melania Del Santo
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Thomas D. Russell: Institute of Space Astrophysics and Cosmic Physics, INAF
Nathalie Degenaar: University of Amsterdam
Jakob van den Eijnden: University of Warwick
Thomas Maccarone: Texas Tech University
Alexandra J. Tetarenko: Texas Tech University
Celia Sánchez-Fernández: European Space Astronomy Centre (ESA/ESAC)
James C. A. Miller-Jones: Curtin University
Erik Kuulkers: European Space Agency (ESA)
Melania Del Santo: Institute of Space Astrophysics and Cosmic Physics, INAF

Nature, 2024, vol. 627, issue 8005, 763-766

Abstract: Abstract Relativistic jets are observed from accreting and cataclysmic transients throughout the Universe, and have a profound impact on their surroundings1,2. Despite their importance, their launch mechanism is not known. For accreting neutron stars, the speed of their compact jets can reveal whether the jets are powered by magnetic fields anchored in the accretion flow3 or in the star itself4,5, but so far no such measurements exist. These objects can show bright explosions on their surface due to unstable thermonuclear burning of recently accreted material, called type-I X-ray bursts6, during which the mass-accretion rate increases7–9. Here, we report on bright flares in the jet emission for a few minutes after each X-ray burst, attributed to the increased accretion rate. With these flares, we measure the speed of a neutron star compact jet to be $$v={0.38}_{-0.08}^{+0.11}c$$ v = 0.38 − 0.08 + 0.11 c , much slower than those from black holes at similar luminosities. This discovery provides a powerful new tool in which we can determine the role that individual system properties have on the jet speed, revealing the dominant jet launching mechanism.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07133-5

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