Spectral evidence for jets from Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsars

TL;DR

This paper presents evidence that jets in accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars dominate their radio-to-optical emission, offering a new way to study neutron star jets and compare them to black hole jets.

Contribution

It provides spectral evidence that jets in AMXPs dominate their emission, highlighting their potential for detailed jet studies unlike other neutron star systems.

Findings

Jets dominate radio-to-optical spectrum in AMXPs

Jets in AMXPs are brighter than previously thought

AMXPs are ideal for studying neutron star jets

Abstract

Transient radio emission from X-ray binaries is associated with synchrotron emission from collimated jets that escape the system, and accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (AMXPs) are no exception. Although jets from black hole X-ray binaries are well-studied, those from neutron star systems appear much fainter, for reasons yet uncertain. Jets are usually undetectable at higher frequencies because of the relative brightness of other components such as the accretion disc. AMXPs generally have small orbital separations compared with other X-ray binaries and as such their discs are relatively faint. Here, I present data that imply jets in fact dominate the radio-to-optical spectrum of outbursting AMXPs. They therefore may provide the best opportunity to study the behaviour of jets produced by accreting neutron stars, and compare them to those produced by black hole systems.