Wind-driven ablation of accretion disks as a mechanism for state transitions in Be/X-ray binaries
A. Okazaki
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Pre-published on: March 19, 2026
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Abstract
Be/X-ray binaries (BeXRBs), comprising a Be star (a rapidly rotating massive star surrounded by a circumstellar disk) and a neutron star, represent the largest subclass of high-mass X-ray binaries. These systems undergo intermittent X-ray outbursts, while remaining quiescent during the majority of their orbital evolution. The conventional explanation for the transition to quiescence is the centrifugal inhibition of accretion, or the ``propeller effect,'' wherein the neutron star's rapidly rotating magnetosphere prevents inflow of matter. However, this scenario is observationally confirmed in only a few systems with short neutron star spin periods, and its applicability to systems with slowly rotating neutron stars remains uncertain.

In this study, we propose an alternative mechanism for the quiescent state in BeXRBs with misaligned geometries, where the Be disk is inclined relative to the orbital plane. Using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we demonstrate that the stellar wind from the Be star can ablate the accretion flow and suppress accretion onto the neutron star. Our results show that under typical Be disk conditions, accretion is strongly inhibited by the ram pressure of the stellar wind, effectively halting X-ray activity. A transient accretion disk, and thus an outburst, can only form if the mass-transfer rate is sufficiently high to produce a dense accretion disk capable of withstanding wind-driven ablation.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.493.0024
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