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Equation 20 · Part 9 · A Neutron Star Is a Redshift Standard

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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})
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What this part means

Approximately equal to; the equality is not exact.

Its job in the formula

Approximately equal to; the equality is not exact.

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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Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

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Sources cited in the article section

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