Galactic ultracompact X-ray binaries: Disk stability and evolution

Abstract

We study the mass-transfer rates and disk stability conditions of ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) using empirical time-averaged X-ray luminosities from Paper I and compiled information from the literature. The majority of UCXBs are consistent with evolutionary tracks for white dwarf donors. Three UCXBs with orbital periods longer than 40 minutes have mass-transfer rates above 10-10 M⊙ yr-1, inconsistent with white dwarf donor tracks. We show that if helium star donors can retain their initial high entropy, they can explain the observed mass-transfer rates of these UCXBs. Several UCXBs show persistent luminosities apparently below the disk instability limit for irradiated He accretion disks. We point out that a predominantly C and/or O disk (as observed in the optical spectra of several) lowers the disk instability limit, explaining this disagreement. The orbital period and low time-averaged mass-transfer rate of 2S 0918-549 provide evidence that the donor star is a low-entropy C/O white dwarf, consistent with optical spectra. We combine existing information to constrain the masses of the donors in 4U 1916-053 (0.064 ± 0.010 M ⊙) and 4U 1626-67 (<0.036 M⊙ for a 1.4 M ⊙ neutron star). We show that 4U 1626-67 is indeed persistent, and not undergoing a transient outburst, leaving He star models as the best explanation for the donor. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.