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The idea to hold a conference on the Evolution of Close-Binary
X-ray sources grew in the summer of 1984. At that time we were
hoping that some new results would be harvested in the months to
come which would stimulate further work. We were particularly
looking towards the Euro pean X-ray Observatory, EXOSAT, for new
contributions. How lucky we were; quite unexpected developments
took place. Just prior to the conference, quasi-periodic
oscillations (now known as QPO) were discovered in three bright
low-mass X-ray binaries: GX 5-1, Sco X-1, and Cyg X-2. They played
an important role at the meeting. The possibility that QPOs imply a
neutron star magnetic dipole field, and a neutron star rotation
period in the millisecond range, received a lot of attention. This
is not surprising, as it lends support to the idea, suggested
earlier, that the 6-msec binary radio pulsar PSR 1953+29 evolved
from a stage in which it was a bright low-mass X-ray binary. There
was special interest in the possibility of white dwarf collapse
into a neutron star. This is a. particularly attractive way to form
the bright low-mass X-ray binaries, often referred to as galactic
bulge sources. It would allow for the possibility of a very young
neutron star in a very old binary system. The relatively high
magnetic fields that one could infer from QPO could then be
explained."
Gas at temperatures exceeding one million degrees is common in the
Universe. Indeed it is likely that most of the gas in the Universe
exists in intergalactic space in this form. Such highly-ionized
gas, or plasma, is not restricted to the rarefied densities of
intergalactic space, but is also found in clusters of galaxies, in
galaxies themselves, in the expanding remnants of exploded stars
and at higher densities in stars and the collapsed remains of stars
up to the highest densities known, which occur in neutron stars.
The abundant lower-Z elements, at least, in such gas are completely
ionized and the gas acts as a highly conducting plasma. It is
therefore subject to many cooperative phenomena, which are often
complicated and ill-understood. Many of these processes are,
however, well-studied (if not so well-understood) in laboratory
plasmas and in the near environment of the Earth. Astronomers
therefore have much to learn from plasma physicists working on
laboratory and space plasmas and the parameter range studied by the
plasma physicists might in turn be broadened by contact with
astronomers. With that in mind, a NATO Advanced Research Workshop
on Physical Processes in Hot Cosmic Plasmas was organized and took
place in the Eolian Hotel, Vulcano, Italy on May 29 to June 2 1989.
This book contains the Proceedings of that Workshop.
The idea to hold a conference on the Evolution of Close-Binary
X-ray sources grew in the summer of 1984. At that time we were
hoping that some new results would be harvested in the months to
come which would stimulate further work. We were particularly
looking towards the Euro pean X-ray Observatory, EXOSAT, for new
contributions. How lucky we were; quite unexpected developments
took place. Just prior to the conference, quasi-periodic
oscillations (now known as QPO) were discovered in three bright
low-mass X-ray binaries: GX 5-1, Sco X-1, and Cyg X-2. They played
an important role at the meeting. The possibility that QPOs imply a
neutron star magnetic dipole field, and a neutron star rotation
period in the millisecond range, received a lot of attention. This
is not surprising, as it lends support to the idea, suggested
earlier, that the 6-msec binary radio pulsar PSR 1953+29 evolved
from a stage in which it was a bright low-mass X-ray binary. There
was special interest in the possibility of white dwarf collapse
into a neutron star. This is a. particularly attractive way to form
the bright low-mass X-ray binaries, often referred to as galactic
bulge sources. It would allow for the possibility of a very young
neutron star in a very old binary system. The relatively high
magnetic fields that one could infer from QPO could then be
explained."
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