The role of A=33 mass chain in Urca Cooling of Accreting Neutron Star Crusts

ORAL

Abstract

Transient Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) in their quiescent phase are observed to be cooling over timescales of decades. Studying this cooling behavior reveals a great deal of information about the properties of neutron stars. The β-decay/e- capture cycles lead to an appreciable cooling of the crust but the strength of this Urca cooling depends primarily on the ground-state to ground-state β-decay transition strengths. A = 33 mass chain is supposedly the strongest cooling agent for crusts composed of X-ray burst ashes which relies in part on the strong ground state branch in 33Mg - 33Al decay measured with high resolution β-delayed γ-ray spectroscopy. However, 33Mg has been recently confirmed to have a negative parity ground state making 33Mg - 33Al a first-forbidden decay. This leads to a discrepancy with theoretical predictions and the 33Mg decay experiment results are questioned in the literature, citing Pandemonium effect as a possible reason. I will present the results and ongoing analysis of the re-measurement of the β-decay of 33Mg experiment performed with the Total Absorption Spectroscopy technique at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) using NERO/BCS/SuN detector systems.

*This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Nos. PHY-1430152 (JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements), OISE-1927130 (IReNA), PHY-1913554, and PHY-2209429.

–

Presenters

  • Rahul Jain

    • Michigan State University

Authors

  • Rahul Jain

    • Michigan State University

  • Hendrik Schatz

    • Michigan State University

  • Wei Jia Ong

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • LLNL
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Kirby Hermansen

    • Michigan State University

  • Nabin Rijal

    • Michigan State University

  • Hannah Berg

    • Michigan State University

  • Paul A Deyoung

    • Hope College
    • Department of Physics, Hope College

  • Eric Flynn

    • Michigan State University

  • Caley M Harris

    • Michigan State University

  • Sean N Liddick

    • Michigan State University
    • FRIB
    • FRIB/NSCL
    • Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
    • FRIB/MSU

  • Stephanie M Lyons

    • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  • Sara Miskovich

    • Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

  • Fernando Montes

    • Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

  • Timilehin H Ogunbeku

    • FRIB
    • Facility for Rare Isotope Beams
    • Mississippi State University

  • Alicia R Palmisano

    • University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    • UTK

  • Andrea Richard

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Mackenzie Smith

    • Michigan State University

  • Mallory K Smith

    • Facility for Rare Isotope Beams
    • FRIB
    • Michigan State University

  • Artemis Spyrou

    • Michigan State University
    • Department of Physics, Michigan State University