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Equation 20 · Part 4 · A Neutron Star Is a Redshift Standard

Symbol c

ΔE/E≈veq/c=2πνR/c≈1.3×10−1(ν/500 Hz)(R/12 km)\Delta E/E \approx v_{eq}/c = 2\pi\nu R/c \approx 1.3\times10^{-1}(\nu/500\,\text{Hz})(R/12\,\text{km})
cc

What this part means

c is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

Its job in the formula

c is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

The passage around this formula

The mechanism behind that contradiction is simple enough to state in one line, and the paper’s authors compute it carefully because the commonly quoted version understates it by an order of magnitude. Surface rotation Doppler-broadens any spectral line by a fraction of its energy equal to the star’s equatorial velocity over the speed of light, Δ\Delta E/E ≈\approx veqv_{eq}/c = 2π\piν\nu R/c ≈\approx 1.3×\times10^{-1}(ν\nu/500\,Hz\text{Hz})(R/12\,km\text{km}) , where ν\nu is the star’s spin frequency and R its radius.

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Sources cited in the article section

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