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Electrodynamics of Magnetars: Implications for the Persistent X-ray Emission and Spindown of the Soft Gamma Repeaters and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars

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In this paper, the authors considered the structure of neutron star magnetospheres threaded by large-scale electrical currents and the effect of resonant Compton scattering by the charge carriers (both electrons and ions) on the emergent X-ray spectra and pulse profiles.
Abstract
(ABBREVIATED) We consider the structure of neutron star magnetospheres threaded by large-scale electrical currents, and the effect of resonant Compton scattering by the charge carriers (both electrons and ions) on the emergent X-ray spectra and pulse profiles. In the magnetar model for the SGRs and AXPs, these currents are maintained by magnetic stresses acting deep inside the star. We construct self-similar, force-free equilibria of the current-carrying magnetosphere with a power-law dependence of magnetic field on radius, B ~ r^(-2-p), and show that a large-scale twist softens the radial dependence to p < 1. The spindown torque acting on the star is thereby increased in comparison with a vacuum dipole. We comment on the strength of the surface magnetic field in the SGR and AXP sources, and the implications of this model for the narrow measured distribution of spin periods. A magnetosphere with a strong twist, B_\phi/B_\theta = O(1) at the equator, has an optical depth ~ 1 to resonant cyclotron scattering, independent of frequency (radius), surface magnetic field strength, or charge/mass ratio of the scattering charge. When electrons and ions supply the current, the stellar surface is also heated by the impacting charges at a rate comparable to the observed X-ray output of the SGR and AXP sources, if B_{dipole} ~ 10^{14} G. Redistribution of the emerging X-ray flux at the ion and electron cyclotron resonances will significantly modify the emerging pulse profile and, through the Doppler effect, generate a non-thermal tail to the X-ray spectrum. The sudden change in the pulse profile of SGR 1900+14 after the 27 August 1998 giant flare is related to an enhanced optical depth to electron cyclotron scattering, resulting from a sudden twist imparted to the external magnetic field.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Search for Mid-Infrared Flux Variations from the Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61

TL;DR: In this article, the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61 was observed by the Spitzer Imaging Unit from February 14 to 21, 2007 at 4.5 and 8.0 μm with the Infrared Array Camera.
Journal ArticleDOI

Temporal and spectral X-ray properties of magnetar SGR 1900+14 derived from observations with NuSTAR and XMM-Newton

TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported X-ray observations of a young magnetar SGR 1900+14 made in 2016, which is famous for a giant flare in 1998 August.
Journal ArticleDOI

Modeling the structure of magnetic fields in Neutron Stars: from the interior to the magnetosphere

TL;DR: In this article, a general formalism based on the simultaneous numerical solution of the general relativistic Grad-Shafranov equation and the Einstein equations is presented, and the properties of equilibrium models of magnetized neutron stars, and how internal and external currents can be related.
Journal ArticleDOI

Pulse frequency fluctuations of magnetars

TL;DR: In this article, the power spectra and torque noise strengths of magnetars were constructed for some of the sources, and it was shown that magnetar noise strength is similar to that of radio pulsars.
Journal ArticleDOI

Long-term timing and glitch characteristics of anomalous x-ray pulsar 1rxs j170849.0–400910

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented the results of detailed timing studies of an anomalous X-ray pulsar, 1RXS J170849.0-400910, using Rossi Xray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations spanning over ~6 yr from 2005 until the end of the RXTE mission.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Formation of very strongly magnetized neutron stars - Implications for gamma-ray bursts

TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that a convective dynamo can also generate a very strong dipole field after the merger of a neutron star binary, but only if the merged star survives for as long as about 10-100 ms.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Soft Gamma Repeaters as Very Strongly Magnetized Neutron Stars. II. Quiescent Neutrino, X-Ray, and Alfvén Wave Emission

TL;DR: In this article, the decay rate of the core field is a very strong function of temperature and therefore of the magnetic flux density, which is not present in the decay of the weaker fields associated with ordinary radio pulsars.
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