On hard X-ray spectra of accreting neutron stars

Formation of the spectra of X-ray pulsars and gamma bursters is investigated. Interpretation of a hard X-ray spectrum of pulsars containing cyclotron lines is feasible on the basis of an isothermal model of a polar spot heated due to accretion to a neutron star. It has been ascertained that in the regions responsible for the formation of continuum radiation and lines the mode polarization is determined by a magnetized vacuum rather than by a plasma. Bearing this in mind, the influence of the magnetic field of a star on the wide wings of the cyclotron line and on its depth is discussed. The part played by the accreting column in the case of strong accretion (10¹⁹ el cm^–3) needed for long sustaining of the high level of X-rays from a neutron star-pulsar is studied. There occur the gaps in spectrum at frequencies close to the electron gyro-frequency and its harmonics due to the screening of the hot spot by the opaque gyro-resonant layers located within the accreting column. These gaps ensure the formation of cyclotron lines in absorption irrespective of the presence of such lines in the X-ray spectrum of a polar hot spot.The spectra of gamma-bursters recorded by Venus 11 and Venus 12 are interpreted in terms of a two-layer model of a polar hot spot. The estimates are given of the distance to some of the bursters, of the emission measure from a high-temperature layer responsible for continuum radiation and of the dispersion measure of a colder layer forming cyclotron lines in absorption. It is noted that the action of an accreting column leads generally to the radiation depression at frequencies below cyclotron lines. By the observed depression for one of the bursters the electron density of near-star accreting plasma during the burst has been directly estimated (4×10^–14 el cm^–3). Possible appearance of false cyclotron lines associated with cyclotron scattering in accreting column has been revealed.The problem of measuring the magnetic fields of neutron stars taking account of the gravitational redshift and the quantum recoil effect in emission and in absorption is discussed. Possibilty for a more precise measurement of the magnetic fields of those bursters whose spectrum contains both a cyclotron and an annihilation lines is noted.     

X-ray polarization signatures of Compton scattering in magnetic cataclysmic variables

Compton scattering within the accretion column of magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) can induce a net polarization in the X-ray emission. We investigate this process using Monte Carlo simulations and find that significant polarization can arise as a result of the stratified flow structure in the shock-ionized column. We find that the degree of linear polarization can reach levels up to ∼8 per cent for systems with high accretion rates and low white dwarf masses, when viewed at large inclination angles with respect to the accretion column axis. These levels are substantially higher than previously predicted estimates using an accretion column model with uniform density and temperature. We also find that for systems with a relatively low-mass white dwarf accreting at a high accretion rate, the polarization properties may be insensitive to the magnetic field, since most of the scattering occurs at the base of the accretion column where the density structure is determined mainly by bremsstrahlung cooling instead of cyclotron cooling.     

Stokes imaging of AM Her systems using 3D inhomogeneous models – I. Description of the code and an application to V834 Cen

Polars (or AM Her systems) are cataclysmic variables without a disc due to the strong magnetic field of the white dwarf. Most of their emission comes from the region where the accretion column impacts the white dwarf and cools through cyclotron and bremsstrahlung processes. We present a new code, cyclops , to model the optical emission from these systems including the four Stokes parameters. It considers a three-dimensional region with the electronic density and temperature varying following a shock-like profile and a dipolar magnetic field. The radiative transfer is solved in steps considering the solution with non-null input radiation. The footprint of the column in the white dwarf surface is determined by the threading region in the equatorial plane, i.e. the region from where the flow follows the magnetic lines. The extinction caused by the Thomson scattering above the emitting region is optionally included. The search for the model parameters that best fit an observational data set is carried out using a hybrid approach: a genetic algorithm is used to seek for the regions of the parameter space having the best models and then an amoeba code refines the search. An example of the application to multi-wavelength data of V834 Cen is presented. The fit found is consistent with previous parameter estimates and is able to reproduce the features of V834 data in three wavebands.     

Microwave emission from hot X-ray kernels in solar flares

Spectral and polarization characteristics of radio emission from hot X-ray kernels are considered. It is shown that the frequency spectrum of thermal cyclotron radio emission and bremsstrahlung from these regions may contain a set of lines at cyclotron harmonics and the maximum at plasma frequency. This makes possible the diagnostics of the X-ray kernel plasma and magnetic fields according to spectral and polarization observations of microwave radio emission in solar flares.     

Cyclotron Lines: From Magnetic Field Strength Estimators to Geometry Tracers in Neutron Stars

With forty years since the discovery of the first cyclotron line in Her X-1, there have been remarkable advancements in the field related to the study of the physics of accreting neutron stars – cyclotron lines have been a major torchbearer in this regard, from being the only direct estimator of the magnetic field strength, a tracer of accretion geometry and an indicator of the emission beam in these systems. The main flurry of activities have centred around studying the harmonic separations, luminosity dependence, pulse phase dependence and more recently, the shapes of the line and the trend for long-term evolution in the line energy. This article visits the important results related to cyclotron lines since its discovery and reviews their significance. An emphasis is laid on pulse phase resolved spectroscopy and the important clues a joint timing and spectral study in this context can provide, to build a complete picture for the physics of accretion and hence X-ray emission in accreting neutron stars.     

Determination of the magnetic fields of Magellanic X-ray pulsars

The 80 high-mass X-ray binary(HMXB) pulsars that are known to reside in the Magellanic Clouds(MCs) have been observed by the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray telescopes on a regular basis for 15 years,and the XMM-Newton and Chandra archives contain nearly complete information about the duty cycles of the sources with spin periods P_S 100 s.We have reprocessed the archival data from both observatories and we combined the output products with all the published observations of 31 MC pulsars with P_S 100 s in an attempt to investigate the faintest X-ray emission states of these objects that occur when accretion to the polar caps proceeds at the smallest possible rates.These states determine the so-called propeller lines of the accreting pulsars and yield information about the magnitudes of their surface magnetic fields.We have found that the faintest states of the pulsars segregate into five discrete groups which obey to a high degree of accuracy the theoretical relation between spin period and X-ray luminosity.So the entire population of these pulsars can be described by just five propeller lines and the five corresponding magnetic moments(0.29,0.53,1.2,2.9 and 7.3,in units of 10~(30) G cm~3).     

A theoretical analysis of the X-ray cyclotron absorption lines of the isolated neutron star 1E1207.4-5209

As revealed by recent observations, in the X-ray continuum of the radio quiet isolated neutron star 1E1207.4-5209 there exist several equidistant absorption lines, and their energies are, respectively, 0.7, 1.4 and 2.1 keV. According to the theory of quantum cyclotron radiation under the quadrupolar approximation developed in recent years, we have clarified some existing doubts and affirmed that these lines are electron cyclotron absorption lines instead of proton cyclotron lines. Besides, the spatial orientation of the spin axis of this neutron star has been theoretically determined.     

Perturbative analysis of two-temperature radiative shocks with multiple cooling processes

The structure of the hot downstream region below a radiative accretion shock, such as that of an accreting compact object, may oscillate because of a global thermal instability. The oscillatory behaviour depends on the functional forms of the cooling processes, the energy exchanges of electrons and ions in the shock-heated matter, and the boundary conditions. We analyse the stability of a shock with unequal electron and ion temperatures, where the cooling consists of thermal bremsstrahlung radiation which promotes instability, plus a competing process which tends to stabilize the shock. The effect of transverse perturbations is considered also. As an illustration, we study the special case in which the stabilizing cooling process is of order 3/20 in density and 5/2 in temperature, which is an approximation for the effects of cyclotron cooling in magnetic cataclysmic variables. We vary the efficiency of the second cooling process, the strength of the electron–ion exchange and the ratio of electron and ion pressures at the shock, to examine particular effects on the stability properties and frequencies of oscillation modes.     

The bottom magnetic field and magnetosphere evolution of neutron star in low-mass X-ray binary

The accretion-induced neutron star (NS) magnetic field evolution is studied through considering the accretion flow to drag the field lines aside and dilute the polar-field strength, and as a result the equatorial field strength increases, which is buried inside the crust on account of the accretion-induced global compression of star crust. The main conclusions of model are as follows: (i) the polar field decays with increase in the accreted mass; (ii) the bottom magnetic field strength of about 10⁸ G can occur when the NS magnetosphere radius approaches the star radius, and it depends on the accretion rate as     ; and (iii) the NS magnetosphere radius decreases with accretion until it reaches the star radius, and its evolution is little influenced by the initial field and the accretion rate after accreting  ∼0.01 M_⊙  , which implies that the magnetosphere radii of NSs in low-mass X-ray binaries would be homogeneous if they accreted the comparable masses. As an extension, the physical effects of the possible strong magnetic zone in the X-ray NSs and recycled pulsars are discussed. Moreover, the strong magnetic fields in the binary pulsars PSR 1831−00 and PSR 1718−19 after accreting about  0.5 M_⊙  in the binary-accretion phase,  8.7 × 10¹⁰  and  1.28 × 10¹² G  , respectively, can be explained through considering the incomplete frozen flow in the polar zone. As an expectation of the model, the existence of the low magnetic field  (∼3 × 10⁷ G)  NSs or millisecond pulsars is suggested.     

Collective Spectra of Resonant Inverse Compton Scattering of Assembly of Relativistic Electrons in Intense Magnetic Fields*

The resonant inverse Compton scattering (RICS) of relativistic electrons in intense magnetic fields is an efficient mechanism for producing the highenergy γ-rays. In our previous work it is suggested that the early-stage γ-ray radiation of γ-ray bursts (GRBs) may be mainly produced by this mechanism. By using this mechanism, some puzzles in the study of GRBs can be clarified, e.g., the origin of the Amati relation obtained from the statistics of observations, the formation of the observed two-segment (broken) power-law spectra, the relevant “deadline problem”, the polarization property, etc. Herein our discussion will be focused on the formation of the broken power-law spectra. Based on the formula of the RICS spectral power of individual fast electrons, we have derived the simplified analytical formula of the collective RICS radiation spectrum (RICS spectral luminosity) produced by the assembly of relativistic electrons in an intense magnetic field when they pass through the ambient low-frequency radiation field, and applied it to several typical low-frequency radiation fields (e.g., the black-body radiation field, power-law radiation field and thermal bremsstrahlung field) around the central neutron star, for the convenience of comparison with the observed spectra. Our calculations indicate that the RICS radiation mechanism has a very high efficiency in the hard X-ray and γ-ray wavebands, if the matching condition (i.e., the condition approximate to resonance) is satisfied, and that independent of the ambient radiation field, the produced spectra are commonly the two-segment power-law spectra. Additionally, it is suggested that the RICS mechanism might be an ideal highly-efficient radiation mechanism for the high-energy emissions (hard X-rays and γ-rays) of the GRBs, soft γ-ray repeated bursts (SGRs) and γ-ray pulsars (GRPs).     

对孤立中子星1E1207.4-5209 X-射线回旋吸收线的理论分析

近来的观测表明,在射电宁静孤立中子星1E1207．4-5209的X-射线连续谱中存在几条等间隔的吸收线,能量分别为0．7、1．4和2．1keV．根据近年发展的四极近似下的量子回旋辐射理论,澄清了目前的一些疑问,肯定了它们是电子回旋吸收线,而不是质子回旋线．并从理论上确定了该中子星自转轴的空间取向．     

Are the magnetic fields of millisecond pulsars ∼108 G?

It is generally assumed that the magnetic fields of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are ～10⁸ G. We argue that this may not be true and the fields may be appreciably greater. We present six evidences for this: (1) The ～10⁸G field estimate is based on magnetic dipole emission losses which is shown to be questionable; (2) The MSPs in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are claimed to have <10¹¹ G on the basis of a Rayleygh-Taylor instability accretion argument. We show that the accretion argument is questionable and the upper limit 10¹¹ G may be much higher; (3) Low magnetic field neutron stars have difficulty being produced in LMXBs; (4) MSPs may still be accreting indicating a much higher magnetic field; (5) The data that predict ～10⁸ G for MSPs also predict ages on the order of, and greater than, ten billion years, which is much greater than normal pulsars. If the predicted ages are wrong, most likely the predicted ～10⁸ G fields of MSPs are wrong; (6) When magnetic fields are measured directly with cyclotron lines in X-ray binaries, fields ?10⁸ G are indicated. Other scenarios should be investigated. One such scenario is the following. Over 85% of MSPs are confirmed members of a binary. It is possible that all MSPs are in large separation binaries having magnetic fields >10⁸ G with their magnetic dipole emission being balanced by low level accretion from their companions.     

Cyclotron lines in the spectra of solar flares and solar active regions

It was shown by Zheleznyakov and Zlotnik (1980a, b) that in complex configurations of solar magnetic fields (in hot loops above the active centres, in neutral current sheets in the preflare phase, in hot X-ray kernels in the initial flare phase) a system of cyclotron lines in the spectrum of microwave radiation is likely to be formed. Such a line was obtained by Willson (1985) in the VLA observations at harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency. This communication interprets these observations on the basis of an active region model in which thermal cyclotron radiation is produced by hot plasma filling the magnetic tube in the corona above a group of spots. In this model the frequency of the recorded 1658 MHz line corresponds to the third harmonic of electron gyrofrequency, which yields the magnetic field (196 ± 4) G along the magnetic tube axis. The linewidth f/f 0.1 is determined by the 10% inhomogeneity of the magnetic field over the cross-section of the tube; the line profile indicates the kinetic temperature distribution of electrons over the tube cross-section with the maximum value 4 × 10⁶ K. Analysis shows that study of cyclotron lines can serve as an efficient tool for diagnostics of magnetic fields and plasma in the solar active regions and flares.     

Thermal synchrotron radiation and its Comptonization in compact X-ray sources

We investigate the process of synchrotron radiation from thermal electrons at semirelativistic and relativistic temperatures. We find an analytic expression for the emission coefficient for random magnetic fields with an accuracy significantly higher than those derived previously. We also present analytic approximations to the synchrotron turnover frequency, treat Comptonization of self-absorbed synchrotron radiation, and give simple expressions for the spectral shape and the emitted power. We also consider modifications of the above results by bremsstrahlung.
We then study the importance of Comptonization of thermal synchrotron radiation in compact X-ray sources. We first consider emission from hot accretion flows and active coronae above optically thick accretion discs in black hole binaries and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We find that for plausible values of the magnetic field strength, this radiative process is negligible in luminous sources, except for those with hardest X-ray spectra and stellar masses. Increasing the black hole mass results in a further reduction of the maximum Eddington ratio from this process. Then, X-ray spectra of intermediate-luminosity sources, e.g. low-luminosity AGNs, can be explained by synchrotron Comptonization only if they come from hot accretion flows, and X-ray spectra of very weak sources are always dominated by bremsstrahlung. On the other hand, synchrotron Comptonization can account for power-law X-ray spectra observed in the low states of sources around weakly magnetized neutron stars.     

Atmospheres and spectra of strongly magnetized neutron stars

We construct atmosphere models for strongly magnetized neutron stars with surface fields     and effective temperatures     . The atmospheres directly determine the characteristics of thermal emission from isolated neutron stars, including radio pulsars, soft gamma-ray repeaters, and anomalous X-ray pulsars. In our models, the atmosphere is composed of pure hydrogen or helium and is assumed to be fully ionized. The radiative opacities include free–free absorption and scattering by both electrons and ions computed for the two photon polarization modes in the magnetized electron–ion plasma. Since the radiation emerges from deep layers in the atmosphere with     , plasma effects can significantly modify the photon opacities by changing the properties of the polarization modes. In the case where the magnetic field and the surface normal are parallel, we solve the full, angle-dependent, coupled radiative transfer equations for both polarization modes. We also construct atmosphere models for general field orientations based on the diffusion approximation of the transport equations and compare the results with models based on full radiative transport. In general, the emergent thermal radiation exhibits significant deviation from blackbody, with harder spectra at high energies. The spectra also show a broad feature     around the ion cyclotron resonance     , where Z and A are the atomic charge and atomic mass of the ion, respectively; this feature is particularly pronounced when     . Detection of the resonance feature would provide a direct measurement of the surface magnetic fields on magnetars.     

吸积双星脉冲星EXO2030+375中回旋吸收线的迹象

本文作者首次发现了EXO 2030+375的回旋吸收线迹象.这是迄今唯一一个同时有用回旋吸收线直接测量的磁场数据和用吸积演化方法间接测量的中子星磁矩数据的X射线脉冲星.两种测量方法的结果有很大差别,本文提出了可能导致这种差别的物理机制.     

Complex absorption and reflection of a multitemperature cyclotron–bremsstrahlung X-ray cooling shock in BY Cam

We re-analyse the ASCA Ginga X-ray data from BY Cam, a slightly asynchronous magnetic accreting white dwarf. The spectra are strongly affected by complex absorption, which we model as a continuous (power-law) distribution of covering fraction and column of neutral material. This absorption causes a smooth hardening of the spectrum below ∼ 3 keV, and is probably produced by material in the pre-shock column which overlies the X-ray emission region. The ASCA data show that the intrinsic emission from the shock is not consistent with a single-temperature plasma. Significant iron L emission coexisting with iron K shell lines from H- and He-like iron clearly shows that there is a wide range of temperatures present, as expected from a cooling shock structure. The Ginga data provide the best constraints on the maximum temperature emission in the shocked plasma, with kT _max = 21⁺¹⁸₋₄ keV. Cyclotron cooling should also be important; it suppresses the highest temperature bremsstrahlung components, so the X-ray data provide only a lower limit on the mass of the white dwarf of M  ≥ 0.5 M⊙. Reflection of the multitemperature bremsstrahlung emission from the white dwarf surface is also significantly detected.   We stress the importance of modelling all these effects in order to gain a physically self-consistent picture of the X-ray spectra from polars in general and BY Cam in particular.     

Soft X-ray spectroscopy of Compton-thick Seyfert 2 galaxies with BeppoSAX

We present an X-ray spectroscopic study of the bright Compton-thick Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 1068 and the Circinus Galaxy, performed with BeppoSAX . Matt et al. interpreted the spectrum above 4 keV as the superposition of Compton reflection and warm plasma scattering of the nuclear radiation. When this continuum is extrapolated downwards to 0.1 keV, further components arise. The NGC 1068 spectrum is rich in emission lines, mainly owing to K _α transitions of He-like elements from oxygen to iron, plus a K _α fluorescent line from neutral iron. If the ionized lines originate in the warm scatterer, its thermal and ionization structure must be complex. From the continuum and line properties, we estimate a column density, N _warm, of the warm scatterer less than a few×10²¹ cm⁻². In the Circinus Galaxy, the absence of highly ionized iron is consistent with a scattering medium with U _X≲5 and N _warm∼ a few×10²² cm⁻². In both cases the neutral iron line is most naturally explained as fluorescence in the medium responsible for the Compton reflection continuum. In NGC 1068 an optically thin plasma emission with kT ≃500 eV and strongly sub-solar metallicity is required, while such a component is only marginal in the Circinus Galaxy. We tentatively identify this component as emission of diffuse hot gas in the nuclear starbursts. Possible causes for the metal depletion are discussed.     

强磁场中相对论电子系集体的共振逆康普顿散射谱

强磁场中相对论电子的共振逆康普顿散射(RICS)是产生伽玛射线的有效机制.以前的工作曾论证,伽玛暴(GRB)的早期伽玛射线辐射可能主要由该机制产生.利用此辐射机制,伽玛暴研究中的一些困惑有可能得到较好的解释.例如,观测统计给出的"Amati关系"的起源,两段式(折断式)幂律谱的形成,特别是其中"死线问题"的解决方案,还有偏振的存在等.这里将重点讨论折断幂律谱形成问题.基于单个电子的RICS谱功率公式,导出了强磁场中大量相对论电子穿过周边低频辐射场时产生的集体RICS辐射谱(RICS谱光度)的简化解析公式,并将它应用于中子星周边几种典型的低频场(如黑体辐射场、幂律辐射场以及热轫致辐射场),以便与实际观测谱形比较.计算表明:在满足匹配条件(即近似共振条件)下,RICS辐射效率很高,其谱形普遍为两段式的幂律谱形式,与周边低频场性质无关.还论证RICS机制可能是伽玛暴、软伽玛重复暴和伽玛射线脉冲星在高能射线波段(硬X射线和伽玛射线)的一个理想的高效辐射机制.     

The radiation of a hot magnetized plasma accreted by degenerate stars with a strong magnetic field

The absorption coefficients for extraordinary and ordinary electromagnetic modes are found for a tenuous hot magnetized plasma, taking into account the collisions between plasma particles and the scattering of photons. An approach is suggested which generalizes collisionless and cold-plasma approximations. The simple formulae obtained are valid both near, and at a distance from, the cyclotron harmonics. In particular, the ordinary mode is shown to have resonance at the cyclotron frequency. The number of noticeable reasonances of absorption coefficient at cyclotron harmonics is estimated for both modes.Using the coefficients obtained, the intensity, Stokes parameters and polarization of radiation of a homogeneous plasma slab are calculated for conditions which may be realized in the heated regions of accreted plasma in an AM Herculis-type system. The large difference between the absorption coefficient of extra-ordinary and ordinary modes near the cyclotron harmonics may result in the emission of the broad polarized continuum together with the narrow cyclotron lines. The polarization of these lines has a complicated spectral dependence.The results obtained are shown to be useful for explaining the main properties of AM Herculistype objects.