Kilohertz QPOs and strange stars

Abstract

The kilohertz quasi periodic oscillations (QPOs) discovered in several low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) are thought to occur at the orbital frequency in accretion discs whose inner edge corresponds to the innermost (marginally) stable orbit allowed by general relativity. These ideas have been applied to constrain the equation of state (e.o.s.) of the central neutron star. Here we discuss another possibility, that the central object is a strange star, and show how kHz QPOs constrain the e.o.s. of strange matter.

4 pages, Proceedings of the 3rd INTEGRAL Workshop