English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

X-ray observations of quiescent X-ray binaries have the potential to provideinsight into the structure and the composition of neutron stars. EXO 0748-676had been actively accreting for over 24 yr before its outburst ceased in late2008. Subsequent X-ray monitoring revealed a gradual decay of the quiescentthermal emission that can be attributed to cooling of the accretion-heatedneutron star crust. In this work, we report on new Chandra and Swiftobservations that extend the quiescent monitoring to ~5 yr post-outburst. Wefind that the neutron star temperature remained at ~117 eV between 2009 and2011, but had decreased to ~110 eV in 2013. This suggests that the crust hasnot fully cooled yet, which is supported by the lower temperature of ~95 eVthat was measured ~4 yr prior to the accretion phase in 1980. Comparing thedata to thermal evolution simulations reveals that the apparent lack of coolingbetween 2009 and 2011 could possibly be a signature of convection driven byphase separation of light and heavy nuclei in the outer layers of the neutronstar.

Probing the Crust of the Neutron Star in EXO 0748-676