Neutron star mass-radius relation with gravitational field shielding by a scalar field

The currently well-developed models for equations of state （EoSs） have been severely impacted by recent measurements of neutron stars with a small radius and/or large mass. To explain these measurements, the theory of gravitational field shielding by a scalar field is applied. This theory was recently developed in accor- dance with the five-dimensional （5D） fully covariant Kaluza-Klein （KK） theory that has successfully unified Einstein＇s general relativity and Maxwell＇s electromagnetic theory. It is shown that a massive, compact neutron star can generate a strong scalar field, which can significantly shield or reduce its gravitational field, thus making it more massive and more compact. The mass-radius relation developed under this type of modified gravity can be consistent with these recent measurements of neutron stars. In addition, the effect of gravitational field shielding helps explain why the supernova explosions of some very massive stars （e.g.9 40 MQ as measured recently） actually formed neutron stars rather than black holes as expected. The EoS models, ruled out by measurements of small radius and/or large mass neutron stars according to the the- ory of general relativity, can still work well in terms of the 5D fully covariant KK theory with a scalar field.

Gravitational waves from compact objects

Large ground-based laser beam interferometers are presently in operation both in the USA （LIGO） and in Europe （VIRGO） and potential sources that might be detected by these instruments are revisited. The present generation of detectors does not have a sensitivity high enough to probe a significant volume of the universe and, consequently, predicted event rates are very low. The planned advanced generation of interferometers will probably be able to detect, for the first time, a gravitational sig- nal. Advanced LIGO and EGO instruments are expected to detect few （some）： binary coalescences consisting of either two neutron stars, two black holes or a neutron star and a black hole. In space, the sensitivity of the planned LISA spacecraft constellation will allow the detection of the gravitational signals, even within a ＂pessimistic＂ range of possible signals, produced during the capture of compact objects by supermassive black holes, at a rate of a few tens per year.

RXTE /ASM and Swift /BAT observations of spectral transitions in bright X-ray binaries in 2005-2010

We have studied X-ray spectral state transitions that can be seen in the long- term monitoring light curves of bright X-ray binaries from the All-Sky Monitor （ASM） onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer （RXTE） and the Burst Alert Telescope （BAT） onboard Swift during a period of five years from 2005 to 2010. We have applied a program to automatically identify the hard-to-soft （H-S） spectral state transitions in the bright X-ray binaries monitored by the ASM and the BAT. In total, we identified 128 hard-to-soft transitions, of which 59 occurred after 2008. We also determined the transition fluxes and the peak fluxes of the following soft states, updated the measurements of the luminosity corresponding to the H-S transition and the peak luminosity of the following soft state in about 30 bright persistent and transient black hole and neutron star binaries following Yu ＆Yan, and found the luminosity correlation and the luminosity range of spectral transitions in data between 2008-2010 are about the same as those derived from data before 2008. This further strengthens the idea that the luminosity at which the H-S spectral transition occurs in the Galactic X-ray binaries is determined by non-stationary accretion parameters such as the rate-of-change of the mass accretion rate rather than the mass accretion rate itself. The correlation is also found to hold in data of individual sources 4U 1608-52 and 4U 1636-53.