AAS Meeting #193 - Austin, Texas, January 1999
Session 103. EUVE Observations and Modeling of X-Ray Sources
Display, Saturday, January 9, 1999, 9:20am-4:00pm, Exhibit Hall 1

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[103.07] A New Model for Soft X-ray Transients in Quiescence

J.K. Cannizzo (GSFC/LHEA/Univ. Space Res. Assoc.), W. Chen (GSFC/LHEA/Univ. of Md.)

We examine a scenario to account for the observations during quiescence of the soft X-ray transients within the context of the accretion disk limit cycle model. In our model the cooling front is not able to propagate completely to the inner edge of the accretion disk, so that a portion of the inner disk is always in the high state. We find that we are able to account for the ROSAT observation by McClintock et al. of A0620-00 in quiescence - i.e., both the inferred level of X-ray flux, and the temperature - if the critical radius within which the cooling front cannot travel lies at about 3\times 109 cm, or about 102 Schwarzschild radii. Possible physical mechanisms of blocking the propagation of the cooling front are also discussed.

JKC was supported through the long-term scientist program under the Universities Space Research Association (USRA contract NCC5-356) in the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at Goddard Space Flight Center.


The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: cannizzo@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov

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