# Kilohertz QPOs in Neutron Star Binaries modeled as Keplerian Oscillations in a Rotating Frame of Reference

## 1 Introduction

Kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (KQPO) have been discovered by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in a number of low mass X-ray binaries (Strohmayer et al. 1996). The existence of two observed peaks with frequencies $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$ in the upper part of the QPO spectrum became a natural starting point in modeling the phenomenon. Attempts have been made to relate $`\omega _K`$, $`\omega _h`$ and the peak difference frequency $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =\omega _h\omega _K`$ with the neutron star spin and possible Keplerian motion of the hot matter surrounding the star \[see origin of Keplerian motion discussed in Titarchuk, Lapidus & Muslimov 1998 (hereafter TLM) and Titarchuk & Osherovich 1999\].

In the beat frequency model, the burst oscillations and the kHz peak separation $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ are both considered to be close to the neutron star spin frequency and thus $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ is predicted to be constant (see, e.g., review by van der Klis 1998). However, recent observations of kHz QPO’s in Sco X-1, 4U 1608-52 and 4U 1702-429 showed that $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ decreases systematically when $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$ increases (van der Klis et al. 1997; Mendez et al. 1998; Markwardt, Strohmayer & Swank 1999). Indications of such a decrease was found by Wijnands et al. (1998) and Ford et al. (1998) for 4U 1735-44 as well. Psaltis et al. (1998) showed that the measured $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ in all other known sources is consistent with the values found in Sco X-1 and 4U 1608-52. These sources have become standards for comparison between the kHz QPO phenomena in different sources because of the high accuracy of measurements and the wide range of values of $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$ available. For Sco X-1 and 4U 1608-52, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega /2\pi `$ changes from $`320`$ Hz to $`220`$ Hz when $`\omega _K/2\pi `$ changes from $`500`$ Hz to $`850`$ Hz

In the lower part of the Sco X-1 spectra, van der Klis et al. (1997) found two frequencies $`45`$ Hz (referred to below as $`\omega _L/2\pi `$) and $`90`$ Hz which also slowly increase with increase of $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$; presumably 90 Hz is the second harmonic of $`\omega _L/2\pi `$. Any consistent model faces a challenging task of describing the dependence of $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ and $`\omega _L`$ on $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$ for the available sources.

In the beat-frequency model (BFM) considered by Miller, Lamb & Psaltis (1998), the kHz QPO’s are identified with the orbital frequency at the sonic radius and its beat with the neutron star spin, and the lower frequency of horizontal branch oscillations (HBO) in Z-sources with the beat of the orbital motion at the magnetospheric radius with the neutron star spin. In the general-relativistic (GR) precession/apsidal motion discussed by Stella and Vietri (1998,1999), the kHz peaks are due to orbital motion and GR apsidal motion of a slightly eccentric orbit, and low-frequency QPO to the Lense-Thirring precession of the same orbit. Titarchuk and Muslimov (1997) suggested that a set of peaks seen in the kHz QPOs can be naturally explained in terms of the effect of rotational splitting of the main oscillation frequency in the disk. The type of peak (eigenmodes) is dependent on mode numbers and a parameter describing disk structure. In TLM the authors argue that this effect of the rotational splitting originated in a disk region identified as the centrifugal barrier (CB) region oscilatted in the vertical and radial directions. The size oscillations of the CB disk region and reprocessing of the disk photons there (due to Comptonization) led to an oscillation signal.

In this Letter, we take a different approach and we suggest that a kHz QPO can be explained as oscillations of large scale inhomogeneities (hot blobs) thrown into the neutron star’s magnetosphere. Participating in the radial oscillations with Keplerian frequency $`\omega _K`$, such blobs are simultaneously under the influence of the Coriolis force. The present model is very different than the TLM one where the site of the rotational splitting was associated with the CB disk region. Thus, studying the Keplerian oscillator in the rotating frame of reference (magnetosphere), we attempt to relate $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega `$ and $`\omega _L`$ with $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$. In our model, we compare results of linear theory with the observations for three sources. We stress the fundamental role of the Keplerian frequency (which we identify with $`\omega _K`$) and the upper hybrid frequency relation between $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$. In this first Letter, we depict the main features of the kHz QPO phenomena. The discussion identifies some limitations of our approach and suggests further directions of the research we shall pursue.

## 2 Keplerian Oscillator Under the Influence of the Coriolis Force

We assume that the interplay between the centrifugal, gravitational force and magnetic force maintains radial oscillations (along the axis x) with the Keplerian frequency 

$$\omega _K=\left(\frac{GM}{R^3}\right)^{1/2}$$
(1)   
where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the compact object and R is the radius of an orbit. Self-similar spheromak-type models of a magnetic atmosphere can serve as an example of the exact time dependent MHD solutions in which non-radial equilibrium is maintained by magnetic force, while all motion is strictly radial (Farrugia et al. 1995 and references there in). Taking the magnetospheric rotation with angular velocity $`𝛀`$ (not perpendicular to the plane of the equatorial disk), the small amplitude oscillations of such a blob thrown into the magnetosphere are described by equations (Landau and Lifshitz, 1960)

$$\ddot{x}+\omega _K^2x2\dot{y}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\delta =0$$
(2)   
$$\ddot{y}+2\dot{x}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\delta 2\dot{z}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\delta =0$$
(3)   
$$\ddot{z}+2\dot{y}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\delta =0$$
(4)   
where $`\delta `$ is the angle between $`𝛀`$ and the vector normal to the plane of radial oscillations, y is the azimuthal component of the displacement vector and z is the vertical component which is perpendicular to the plane of Keplerian oscillations. The dispersion relation for the frequency $`\omega `$

$$\omega ^2[\omega ^4(\omega _K^2+4\mathrm{\Omega }^2)\omega ^2+4\mathrm{\Omega }^2\omega _K^2\mathrm{sin}^2\delta ]=0$$
(5)   
besides the non-oscillating mode ($`\omega =0`$), describes two spectral branches (eigenmodes), high and low:

$$(\omega ^2)_{1,2}=\frac{\omega _h^2\pm (\omega _h^416\mathrm{\Omega }^2\omega _K^2\mathrm{sin}^2\delta )^{1/2}}{2}$$
(6)   
where

$$\omega _h=(\omega _K^2+4\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^{1/2}$$
(7)   
is the analog of the upper hybrid frequency $`f_{uh}`$ in plasma physics (Akhiezer et al., 1975; Benson 1977). When the angle $`\delta `$ is small (as we believe is indeed our case):

$$\omega _1=\omega _h$$
(8)   
is related with the radial eigenmode and

$$\omega _2\omega _L=2\mathrm{\Omega }(\omega _K/\omega _h)\mathrm{sin}\delta $$
(9)   
is related with the vertical eigenmode. For $`\delta 1`$, corrections for $`\omega _1`$ are of the second order in $`\delta `$, but for $`\omega _2`$, the angle dependent term is the main term.

## 3 Comparison of the Model with Observations

According to formula (7)

$$\mathrm{\Omega }=\frac{(\omega _h^2\omega _K^2)^{1/2}}{2}$$
(10)   
is the rotational frequency, which, for the highly conductive plasma in the case of corotation, should be approximately constant ($`\mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$). Interpreting the two frequencies in the upper part of the kHz spectrum as $`\omega _K`$ and $`\omega _h`$ \[where $`\omega _K<\omega _h`$\] for Sco X-1, we plotted in Figure 1, $`\nu =\mathrm{\Omega }/2\pi `$ versus $`\nu _K=\omega _k/2\pi `$ (solid circles). Indeed, one may notice that as a first approximation $`\mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{\Omega }_0=const.`$ The slow (but systematic) variation of $`\mathrm{\Omega }/2\pi `$ is between 330 and 350 Hz which should be compared with the variation by a factor of 1.5 for $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =\omega _h\omega _K`$ for the same range of $`\omega _K`$. If the magnetosphere corotates with the neutron star (solid body rotation), then our procedure would determine the spin rotation of the star. In fact, there is a differential rotation profile which depends on the magnetic field $`𝐁`$ which can be presented in terms of the Chandrasekhar potential $`A`$ (Chandrasekhar, 1956)

$$𝐁=\frac{1}{R}(\frac{1}{R}\frac{A}{\mu },\frac{1}{(1\mu ^2)^{1/2}}\frac{A}{R},\frac{B^{}(A)}{(1\mu ^2)^{1/2}})$$
(11)   
where $`\mu =\mathrm{cos}\theta `$, $`\theta `$ is the colatitude in the spherical system of coordinates and $`B^{}(A)`$ is a function of $`A`$ only. For a combination of dipole, quadrupole and octupole fields

$$A=A_0(1\mu ^2)\left[\frac{1}{R}+\frac{q}{R^2}\mu \frac{b}{R^3}(5\mu ^2+2)\right]$$
(12)   
where $`A_0`$, $`q`$ and $`b`$ are constants. For a highly conductive plasma, the MHD induction equation leads to the iso-rotation theorem of Ferraro (see Alfvén and Falthammar, 1963) which in our notation means that $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is a function of $`A`$ only. Following a recent suggestion of Osherovich and Gliner (1999), we assume that in the vicinity of a magnetic star $`\mathrm{\Omega }(A)`$ has a maximum and therefore can be presented as

$$\mathrm{\Omega }(A)=\mathrm{\Omega }_0a^2A^2$$
(13)   
where $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$ and $`a`$ are constants. Since in the equatorial plane ($`\mu =0`$), according to (12), the quadrupole term does not contribute to $`A`$, from formula (13) we find

$$\mathrm{\Omega }(A)=\mathrm{\Omega }_0\left(\frac{\alpha ^{}}{R}\frac{\beta ^{}}{R^3}\right)^2$$
(14)   
where $`\alpha ^{}`$ and $`\beta ^{}`$ are positive constants. Expressing $`R`$ through the Keplerian frequency $`\nu _K=\omega _K/(2\pi )`$ from equation (1), we find that formula (14) leads to the following presentation for $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$:

$$\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)/2\pi =C_0+C_1\nu _K^{4/3}+C_2\nu _K^{8/3}+C_3\nu _K^4$$
(15)   
where $`C_2=2\sqrt{C_1C_3}`$ (not a free parameter because the radial part of the expansion is a full square of $`\nu _K^{2/3}`$ and $`\nu _K^2`$ with new positive constants $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$). The fit for Sco X-1 (solid line in Figure 1) by formula (16) demonstrates the agreement of the proposed model with the data. Indeed, for Sco X-1, we find $`C_0=\mathrm{\Omega }_0/2\pi =345`$ Hz, $`C_1=\alpha ^2=3.2910^2`$ Hz<sup>-1/3</sup>, $`C_2=2\alpha \beta =1.01710^5`$ Hz<sup>-5/3</sup> and $`C_3=\beta ^2=7.7610^{10}`$ Hz<sup>-3</sup> with high $`\chi ^2=37.6/39`$.

In our fitting procedure, $`C_0`$, $`C_1`$, $`C_2`$ and $`C_3`$ are treated as four free parameters, i.e., the relation between $`C_2`$ and the two constants $`C_1`$ and $`C_3`$ is not enforced. The fact that the derived $`C_2`$ indeed satisfies the relation $`C_2=2\sqrt{C_1C_3}`$ shows the internal consistency of the model.

Three available data points for the 4U 1702-429 source are consistent with a constant value of rotation frequency $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0/2\pi =380`$ Hz, but the small number of data points does not allow us to recover the profile of $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$. However, the fit of 4U 1608-52, shown in Figure 2, demonstrates that the excellent agreement between our model and observations for Sco X-1 is not accidental. For 4U 1608-52, we found $`C_0=\mathrm{\Omega }_0/2\pi =345`$ Hz, $`C_1=3.9110^2`$ Hz<sup>1/3</sup>, $`C_2=1.2310^5`$ Hz<sup>-5/3</sup> and $`C_3=9.4510^{10}`$ Hz<sup>-3</sup> with $`\chi ^2=12.02/13`$.

Sco X-1 allows us to check the prediction of the model for $`\omega _L`$ \[formula (10)\]. Taking the profile $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$, presented in Figure 1, we plot $`\nu _L=\omega _L/2\pi `$ in Figure 3. Choosing $`\delta =5.5^o`$, we found that our plot for $`\nu _L`$ and $`2\nu _L`$ fit the data for the observed frequencies of $`45`$ Hz and $`90`$ Hz, respectively. From these results, we conclude that the rotational axis of Sco X-1 and the normal to the plane of radial oscillations do not coincide but are separated by $`5.5^o`$.

## 4 Summary and Discussion

The main thrust of this work is based on the hypothesis that two of the observed frequencies in the upper part of the kHz QPO spectrum are the Keplerian frequency ($`\omega _K`$) and the upper hybrid frequency ($`\omega _h`$) of the Keplerian oscillator in the frame of reference rotating with the angular frequency $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. For three sources, we showed that $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ calculated according to the formula $`\mathrm{\Omega }=\sqrt{\omega _h^2\omega _K^2}/2`$ changes with $`\omega _K`$ significantly less than $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =\omega _h\omega _K`$, suggesting approximately constant rotation of the star’s magnetosphere. The detailed profile of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is successfully modeled as a function of $`\nu _K`$ within the dipole-quadrupole-octupole approximation of the magnetic field for Sco X-1 and for 4U 1608-52. For Sco X-1, the derived $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$ is used to compare predictions of the model for the lower branch frequency $`\omega _L/2\pi `$ with observations of $`45`$ Hz and $`90`$ Hz (presumably $`2\omega _L/2\pi `$). The last fit is done with only one unknown parameter $`\delta `$ (angle between the $`𝛀`$ and the normal vector to the plane of Keplerian oscillations).

A good fit for $`\omega _L`$ and $`2\omega _L`$ confirmed the suggested model and revealed the expectedly small angle $`\delta =5.5^o`$. The profile for $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\nu _K)`$ has been modeled strictly in the equatorial plane ($`\mu =0`$) for the ideally aligned rotator ($`\delta =0`$). With $`\delta 0`$, the next approximation will reveal the asymmetry of the QPO spectrum due to the quadrupole term. It has been shown (Osherovich, Tzur and Gliner, 1984) for the solar corona that the quadrupole term introduces North-South asymmetry in the makeup of the magnetic atmosphere surrounding a gravitating object. We shall pursue a similar study for the neutron star with the expectation of finding a signature of such asymmetry in the kHz QPO. Recent measurements show that the octupole field is comparable to the global dipole field near the sun, while the quadrupole field contributes $`2030\%`$ of the total field (Wang et al., 1997; Osherovich et al., 1999).

In this Letter, we restrict the scope of the work to a model for the linear Keplerian oscillator. The presence of the second harmonic ($`90`$ Hz) of the $`45`$ Hz mode, noticed by van der Klis et al. (1997 ), strongly suggests that a weakly nonlinear model is desirable. Some oscillations below $`\omega _L`$ (for Sco X-1 oscillations with frequencies $`1020`$ Hz) we attribute to the innermost edge of the Keplerian disk, which adjusts itself to the rotating central object (i.e., neutron star). The physics of these oscillations related to accreting matter with a large angular momentum is outside the scope of this Letter and it have been described in a separate paper (Titarchuk & Osherovich 1999).

We are grateful to J. Fainberg and R.F. Benson for help in the preparation of this paper and discussions and for fruitful suggestions by the referee. L.T. thanks NASA for support under grants NAS-5-32484 and RXTE Guest Observing Program and Jean Swank for support of this work. In particular, we are grateful to Michiel van der Klis and Mariano Mendez for the data which enabled us to make detailed comparisons of results of our model with the data.