# Timing Spectroscopy of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Low-Mass X-ray Neutron Star Binaries

## 1 Introduction

KiloHertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) in low mass X-ray neutron star (NS) binaries (LMXB’s) discovered by Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (Strohmayer et al. 1996, van der Klis et al. 1996, Zhang et al. 1996) made it possible to evaluate quantitatively the previously suggested beat-frequency model (Alpar & Shaham 1985). Most of the nineteen sources with QPO have twin peaks in the kHz part of the spectrum (lower frequency marked by K and the higher one by h in the spectrum of the source Sco X-1 shown in Figure 1). Within the beat-frequency interpretation, the upper kHz QPO represents the Keplerian frequency (van der Klis et al. 1996) while the lower kHz QPO is produced by the beating of this frequency with the NS spin frequency, $`\nu _{spin}`$, which has been identified with the frequency of nearly coherent oscillations observed during bursts, $`\nu _{burst}`$ or half that (Strohmayer et al. 1996, Miller et al. 1998). According to Mendez & van der Klis (1999), “if this interpretation is correct, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu `$ equals $`\nu _{spin}`$ and should remain constant. The NS spin cannot change by $`20\%30\%`$ on time scales of days to months.” For a number of sources it has been shown that $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu =\nu _h\nu _K`$ decreases systematically with $`\nu _K`$ (van der Klis et al. 1997, Psaltis et al. 1998, Markwardt, Strohmayer & Swank, 1999, Mendez et al. 1998, Mendez & van der Klis 1999). These recent findings have undermined the beat-frequency model. The new (two-oscillator) model (Osherovich and Titarchuk 1999a and Titarchuk and Osherovich 1999, hereafter OT99a and TO99, respectively) assumes that the lower frequency $`\nu _K`$ is the Keplerian frequency. Following Titarchuk, Lapidus & Muslimov (1998 hereafter TLM), we assume a viscous transition layer in the NS disk (see Figure 1) which is bounded by the solid surface of the NS (the inner boundary) and by the first Keplerian orbit (the outer boundary). The adjustment of the Keplerian disk to the sub-Keplerian inner boundary creates conditions favorable for the formation of a hot blob at the outer boundary of the transition layer (TLM). When thrown out into the magnetosphere, the blob becomes a Keplerian oscillator under the influence of the Coriolis force with two modes: a) a radial mode with frequency 

$$\nu _h=[\nu _K^2+(\mathrm{\Omega }/\pi )^2]^{1/2}$$
(1)   
where $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the angular velocity of the rotating magnetosphere, and b) a mode perpendicular to the disk with frequency

$$\nu _L=(\mathrm{\Omega }/\pi )(\nu _K/\nu _h)\mathrm{sin}\delta $$
(2)   
where $`\delta `$ is the angle between $`𝛀`$ and the vector normal to the plane of the Keplerian oscillations ($`\delta <<1`$). From the observed $`\nu _h`$ and $`\nu _K`$, using (1), one finds $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ as a function of $`\nu _K`$ and verifies the existence of the angle $`\delta `$ which satisfies equation (2) for all observed $`\nu _K`$ and $`\nu _h`$. For Sco X-1, it was found that $`\delta =5.5\pm 0.5^o`$ (OT99a). The second oscillator in the two-oscillator model has the frequency of viscous oscillations $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ for which the dependence of $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ on $`\nu _K`$ is obtained through the dimensional analysis of the radial transport of the angular momentum in the transition layer controlled by a viscous force determined by the Reynold’s number, which, in turn, is related to the mass accretion rate (TLM, TO99). The solution for $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ can be presented in the form

$$\nu _\mathrm{v}=f(\nu _K)C_N$$
(3)   
where $`f(\nu _K)`$ is a universal function for any NS and the constant $`C_N`$ reflects the properties of the specific source. The diffusive process in the transition layer is characterized by a break frequency $`\nu _b`$ (see Figure 1) which is related to $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ by a power law (TO99):

$$\nu _b\nu _\mathrm{v}^{1.61}.$$
(4)   
For the source 4U 1728-34, the coefficient of proportionality is found to be 0.041 (TO99). The angle $`\delta `$, the constant $`C_N`$ and the profile of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ determine the frequency range of $`\nu _L`$, $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ and $`\nu _b`$. Some of the QPOs have been described previously within the framework of the two-oscillator model (TO99). For the first time, we identify all predicted frequency branches and compare the inferred main physical parameters for two stars (section 2, 3 and 4). In section 5, we extend the comparison of the theoretical relation (4) with observed spectra from other atoll sources and Z-sources. The summary and discussion are presented in section 6. 

2. Classification of QPOs in Sco X-1

The frequencies of the observed QPOs for Sco X-1 are plotted in Figure 2 as a function of $`\nu _K`$. From the observed $`\nu _h`$ (upper hybrid frequency marked by asterisks in Figure 2) and $`\nu _K`$, the profile of $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$ has been calculated and modeled using the theoretically inferred magnetic multipole structure of the differentially rotating magnetosphere (OT99a). The resulting $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ profile is

$$\mathrm{\Omega }/2\pi =C_0+C_1\nu _K^{4/3}+C_2\nu _K^{8/3}+C_3\nu _K^4$$
(5)   
where $`C_2=2(C_1C_3)^{1/2}`$. The constants $`C_0\mathrm{\Omega }_0/(2\pi )=345`$ Hz, $`C_1=3.2910^2`$ Hz<sup>-1/3</sup>, $`C_2=1.01710^5`$ Hz<sup>-5/3</sup> and $`C_3=7.7610^{10}`$ Hz<sup>-3</sup> have been obtained by the least-squares fit with $`\chi ^2=37.6/39`$ (OT99a). Using equation (5) for $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, from formula (2) we have calculated $`\nu _L`$ for different $`\delta `$. The best fit to the data presented by open circles in Figure 2 has been found for $`\delta =5.5^o`$. The second harmonic of the low branch, $`2\nu _L90`$ Hz observed by van der Klis et al. 1997 has been also fitted by our theoretical curve in Figure 2. We employ the distance determination in the function Lebesgue’s space, $`L_2`$ (e.g. Korn & Korn, 1961, §15.2.2) defining the Relative Lebesgue’s measure $`\epsilon _{RL}`$ as a root of the ratio of the sum of the square difference (between the theoretical and observational values) and the sum of square of the theoretical values. Presumably $`\epsilon _{RL}`$ is a better measure of the difference between observations and theory than the $`\chi ^2`$ criteria in the case of the actual large uncertainty in determining the QPOs and break frequencies. This uncertainty is likely significantly larger than statistical errors because the low frequency features are broad and lie atop continuum noise of unknown shape. If the data set is not uniform for the better control one can use the second measure: the rms deviation, $`\epsilon _{rms}`$ which is defined as a ratio of the rms and the mean value of the frequency range, (cf. Bendat & Piersol 1971). Typically $`\epsilon _{RL}\epsilon _{rms}`$; for $`\nu _L`$ in Fig. 2 $`\epsilon _{RL}=\epsilon _{rms}=`$4.6%. The frequencies $`\nu _L`$ and $`2\nu _L`$ are marked as HBO in the original spectra for Sco X-1 QPOs presented by Wijnands & van der Klis 1999 (Figure 3 in their paper). In the same figure, the break frequency was marked (with question mark) and also an extra noise component was shown ($`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ in our interpretation). We have also analyzed the archival data obtained by the RXTE observatory in the course of Sco X-1 monitoring on May 25-28, 1996. Standard tasks from FTOOLS v4.2 were used in our data analysis according to the RXTE Cook Book. To obtain a broad band power density spectra (PDS), the original 1/8192 s data were regrouped in 32 s segments with 1/4096 s time resolution data and each spectrum was calculated over a continuous time interval with a constant offset. The PDS obtained were fit over the whole range (1/32 – 2048 Hz) using the King and Lorentzian profiles. The Lorentzian components were added to the model when their statistical significance was higher than $`4\sigma `$. In order to characterize the break in each PDS, we assume such a “break frequency” $`\nu _b`$, at which the power drops to 50% of the low frequency plateau value (in terms of the King model). Our confidence in the identification of $`\nu _b`$ and $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ (Figs. 1-2) for Sco X-1 is based on two tests. Firstly, the observations for the two branches in the lower part of the spectra satisfy our theoretical relation (4), namely, $`\nu _b=0.041\nu _\mathrm{v}^{1.61}`$. As a second test, we use the verification that the extra noise component has a frequency which satisfies the theoretically derived dependence of $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ on $`\nu _K`$. In formula (3), the universal function $`f(\nu _K)`$ obtained numerically from a solution for radial viscous oscillations at the outer edge of the transition region, in fact, can be approximated by a polynomial

$$\nu _\mathrm{v}=C_N(a_1\nu _K+a_2\nu _K^2+a_3\nu _K^3+a_4\nu _K^4)$$
(6)   
where $`a_1=1.503310^3`$, $`a_2=1.228910^6`$Hz<sup>-1</sup>, $`a_3=1.17610^8`$Hz<sup>-2</sup> and $`a_4=1.228910^{11}`$Hz<sup>-3</sup>. The best fit for $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ ($`\epsilon _{RL}=8.4`$%) presented in Figure 2 by a solid line (marked viscous) is found for $`C_N=9.76`$. The line for the related $`\nu _b`$ with the observational points (marked by filled circles) closely matching the theory ($`\epsilon _{RL}=13.9`$%) is also shown in Figure 2. Notice that in vicinity of $`\nu _K`$800 Hz the line for $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ crosses the line for $`\nu _L`$ suggesting the possibility of interactions of two oscillators.

3. Classification of the QPOs in the Source 4U 1728-34

The classification of QPOs in the source 4U 1728-34 is presented in Figure 3. The profile of $`\mathrm{\Omega }/2\pi `$ has been modelled using observations for $`\nu _h`$ (Mendez & van der Klis 1999) and formula (5) with constants $`C_0=382`$ Hz, $`C_1=5.47510^2`$ Hz<sup>-1/3</sup>, $`C_2=1.513210^5`$ Hz<sup>-5/3</sup> and $`C_3=1.049210^9`$Hz<sup>-3</sup> for $`\chi ^2=10.5/8`$ (OT99a). A survey of the observed QPO frequencies in the source 4U 1728-34 was presented in Ford & van der Klis 1998, (hereafter FVK). The 100 Hz Lorentzian frequency (presented in the Table 1 there) we identify with $`2\nu _L`$. The best fit is found for $`\delta =8.3\pm 1.0^o`$ using the extrapolation of $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$ into the range for $`\nu _K`$ below 550 Hz and also observed $`\nu _L`$ for $`\nu _K>800`$ Hz. The previously identified $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ (TO99) corresponds to the LF Lorentzian frequency in the above mentioned Table 1 of FVK and $`\nu _b`$ corresponds to the broken PL break frequency for three days March 1, February 24 and February 18. The data for February 16, as explained in FVK and TO99 have to be treated separately (the observed $`4.83\pm 0.69`$ Hz oscillation does not belong to the $`\nu _b`$ branch). For this source, the constant $`C_N`$ is found to be equal to 7.1. In comparison with the Sco X-1 classification (Figure 2), the $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ and $`\nu _b`$ branches for the source 4U 1728-34 have a much wider range and therefore are verified with greater confidence: $`\epsilon _{RL}=8.5`$% for $`\nu _\mathrm{V}`$ and $`\epsilon _{RL}=19.5`$% for $`\nu _b`$.. The branches $`\nu _L`$ and $`2\nu _L`$ are not observed simultaneously, but still match the theoretical curves ($`\epsilon _{RL}=21`$% for $`\nu _L`$).

4. Comparison Between QPO Spectra of Sco X-1 and Atoll Source 4U 1728-34

Due to the slightly higher $`\nu _h`$ for source 4U 1728-34, the resulting $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ profile has a higher frequency than the $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ profile for Sco X-1. For Sco X-1, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{max}/2\pi 348`$ Hz, while for source 4U 1728-34, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{max}/2\pi `$ 415 Hz. But even more important for the values of $`\nu _L,`$ is the difference in $`\delta `$ between the two stars. For the source 4U 1728-34, $`\delta =8.3\pm 1.0^o`$ and the $`2\nu _L`$ branch in Figure 3 changes from 124 Hz ($`\nu _K=353`$ Hz) to 182 Hz ($`\nu _K=788`$ Hz). The same $`2\nu _L`$ branch for Sco X-1 stays below 100 Hz for all observed $`\nu _K`$ due to the smaller $`\delta =5.5\pm 0.5^o`$ and the smaller $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ \[see formula (2)\]. On the other hand, for Sco X-1 the constant $`C_N=9.76`$ is greater than $`C_N=7.1`$ for source 4U 1728-34. Therefore, the frequency of viscous oscillations $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ and the related $`\nu _b`$ are higher for Sco X-1 for the same $`\nu _K`$, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. For the same Reynold’s number, the greater $`C_N`$ implies a higher viscosity (TO99).

5. Relation Between the Break Frequencies $`\nu _b`$ and Viscous Frequency $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$

The relation between $`\nu _b`$ and $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ has been approximated by a power law (4) (TO99). Recent observations of Wijnands & van der Klis (1999) make it possible to verify formula (4) for a number of atoll sources and Z-sources. In Figure 4, the observed $`\nu _b`$ are plotted vs. $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ on a log-log scale. The open circles correspond to Z-sources and asterisks represent data for atoll sources. The straight theoretical line confirms that the power law $`\nu _b0.041\nu _\mathrm{v}^{1.61}`$ is correct for atoll sources. When $`\nu _b`$ is multiplied by a factor of 4, data for Z-sources match the same straight line (closed circles represent $`4\nu _b`$ for Z-sources in Figure 4). Thus for Z-sources

$$\nu _b0.01\nu _\mathrm{v}^{1.61}.$$
(7)   
It is conceivable that the factor of 4 difference in the proportionality constant is due to the dominant role of different eigenmodes of the diffusive process for Z-sources in comparison with atoll sources. If this is the case, then relation (7) corresponds to the first mode and formula (4) represents the second mode of break frequency (see e.g. Titarchuk 1994 for the details of the diffusion theory). In general, the diffusion equation suggests $`\nu _b(n)n^2`$, where $`n`$ is the integer number of the corresponding eigenmode. The overall $`\epsilon _{RL}`$ including the Z-sources reduced points (closed circles) is 27%.

6. Summary and Discussion

In this Letter we have identified all predicted frequency branches for two stars. Their frequencies are compared favorably with the two-oscillator model. For the source 4U 1728-34, the angle $`\delta `$ is found ($`\delta =8.3\pm 1.0^o`$). This is the third star for which $`\delta `$ has been inferred from QPO observations. For Sco X-1, $`\delta =5.5\pm 0.5^o`$ (OT99a) and for source 4U 1702-42, $`\delta =3.9\pm 0.2^o`$ (Osherovich & Titarchuk 1999b). The predicted relation (4) has been confirmed for Sco X-1 and source 4U 1728-34 and also for a number of other atoll and Z-sources. The difference by a factor of 4 between the value of $`\nu _b`$ for two groups of stars suggests the participation of two modes in the diffusive process in the viscous transition layer in the disk. By comparison Sco X-1 has greater viscosity in the transition layer than the source 4U1728-34, assuming the same Reynold’s number. We stress the identification of the lowest of the twin kHz frequencies $`\nu _K`$ as a Keplerian frequency in contrast to the previous views. The solutions for $`\nu _\mathrm{v}`$ and $`\nu _b`$ have been found by integration along the radius $`R`$. The conversion of the resulting profiles into the frequency domain is done in according to the formula for the Keplerian frequency $`\nu _K`$ (e.g. TO99, Eq.1). The same is true for the modelling of the $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ profile. The resulting striking correspondence between the observed spectra of QPO (Figures 2 and 3) and the predictions of the two-oscillator model we view as confirmation of the correct identification. An extrapolation of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$profile is not expected to be accurate as the data are insufficient to allow a reliable estimate of the NS spin frequency. The complexity of the QPO phenomena still leaves unsolved problems such as $`1`$Hz and $`6`$Hz QPO phenomena.

We are grateful to Eric Ford, Mariano Mendez, Rudy Wijnands and Michiel van der Klis for the data and Joe Fainberg, Bob Stone and particularly the referee for the fruitful suggestions.