QPOs in compact sources as a non-linear hydrodynamical resonance: Determining spin of compact objects

Arghya Ranjan Das, Banibrata Mukhopadhyay

Published 2023-08-18Version 1

Origin of wide varieties of quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) observed in compact sources is still not well established. Its frequencies range from mHz to kHz spanning all compact objects. Are different QPOs, with different frequencies, originating from different Physics? We propose that the emergence of QPOs is the result of nonlinear resonance of fundamental modes present in accretion disks forced by external modes including that of the spin of the underlying compact object. Depending on the properties of accreting flow, e.g. its velocity and gradient, resonances, and any mode locking, take place at different frequencies, exhibiting low to high frequency QPOs. We explicitly demonstrate the origin of higher frequency QPOs for black holes and neutron stars by a unified model and outline how the same physics could be responsible to produce lower frequency QPOs. The model also predicts the spin of black holes, and constrains the radius of neutron stars and the mass of both.