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Tidal Streams in Massive X-ray Binary Systems: Neutron Star Close-up
A tiny neutron star orbits incessantly around a massive star with a diameter a million times larger than its own. The high luminosity of the massive star drives a strong wind from its surface. The neutron star crashes through this wind at over 300 kilometers per second. The gravity and X-ray luminosity of the neutron star act to disrupt the wind, producing an extended wake of dense gas trailing behind the neutron star. In this simulation, the tidal distortion of the primary star and the resultant tidal stream is shown.

The numerical simulations depicted here were computed using the Cray X-MP 48 at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.


A close-up of the tidal distortion of a neutron star orbiting a massive star    A close-up of the tidal distortion of a neutron star orbiting a massive star
Duration: 1.1 minutes
Available formats:
  352x240 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   9 MB
  160x80       PNG           16 KB
  80x40         PNG           5 KB
  320x238     JPEG         9 KB
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Animation Number:2
Animators:John Blondin (Lead)
 Alan McConnell
Studio:SVS
Completed:1990-07-10
Scientists:John Blondin (University of Virginia)
 Ian Stevens (NASA/GSFC)
 Tim Kallman (NASA/GSFC)
 Bruce Fryxell (University of Arizona)
 Ron Taam (Northwestern University)
Series:Neutron Star Tidal Distortion
Video:SVS1990-0001 *
Keywords:
SVS >> Neutron Star
DLESE >> Space science
SVS >> Stellar Wind
Science paper:Blondin, J. M., Kallman, T. R. , Fryxell, B. A., Taam, R. E., Hydrodynamic Simulations of Stellar Wind Disruption by a Compact X-ray Source, ApJ, 356, 591-608, 1990
 
 
Please give credit for this visualization to
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Scientific Visualization Studio


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