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D.A. Leahy (University of Calgary), C. Cadeau, S. Morsink, S. Campbell (University of Alberta)
Light curves of X-ray pulsars reveal characteristics of the underlying neutron star and emission region, such as the star's mass and radius, and the inclinations of the emission region and observer. To accurately interpret observations of millisecond period X-ray pulsars, one requires theoretical models of such light curves which fully account for general relativity and timing effects. This is commonly done by employing one or more approximations, such as using an approximate spacetime, neglecting some time delay effects, or neglecting stellar oblateness. We have developed a new computer code to calculate these light curves which fully accounts for these effects, and obtain estimates on the accuracy of parameters obtained with a fitting method which uses a Schwarzschild approximation to the calculation of the light curve.
This work supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.