Evolution of the multipolar magnetic field in isolated neutron stars

The evolution of the multipolar structure of the magnetic field of isolated neutron stars is studied assuming the currents to be confined to the crust. We find that, except for multipoles of very high order ( l ≳25), the evolution is similar to that of a dipole. Therefore no significant evolution is expected in the pulse shape of isolated radio pulsars because of the evolution of the multipole structure of the magnetic field.     

Wave processes in nonlinear beams during propagation of waves in pulsar plasmas with different magnetic field orientations

The propagation of nonlinear three-dimensional waves in the form of gaussian beams in pulsars is examined. The defining equations for the wave motion of a plasma with high particle velocities, high electrical conductivity, high wave frequency, and high magnetic fields are the standard equations of magnetogas dynamics. Nonlinear, time-dependent equations are derived for relatively small perturbations of the medium and the orders of magnitude of the parameters of motion such that all the terms in the time-dependent equation are of the same order are written down. Various directions of the unperturbed magnetic field and of the wave propagation which may arise during plasma motion in quasars are considered. In a number of cases a closed analytic solution can be constructed for the propagation of axially symmetric gaussian beams. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 409–417 (August 2006).     

Fermion zero-mode influence on neutron-star magnetic field evolution

The quantum phenomenon of spectral flow which has been observed in laboratory superfluids, such as ³He-B, controls the drift velocity of proton type II superconductor vortices in the liquid core of a neutron star and so determines the rate at which magnetic flux can be expelled from the core to the crust. In the earliest and most active phases of the anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters, the rates are low and consistent with a large fraction of the active crustal flux not linking the core. If normal neutrons are present in an appreciable core matter-density interval, the spectral flow force limits flux expulsion in cases of rapid spin-down, such as in the Crab pulsar or in the propeller phase of binary systems.     

Flux predictions of high-energy neutrinos from pulsars

Young, rapidly rotating neutron stars could accelerate ions from their surfaces to energies of ∼1 PeV. If protons reach such energies, they will produce pions (with low probability) through resonant scattering with X-rays from the stellar surface. The pions subsequently decay to produce muon neutrinos. Here, we calculate the energy spectrum of muon neutrinos, and estimate the event rates at Earth. The spectrum consists of a sharp rise at ∼50 TeV, corresponding to the onset of the resonance, above which the flux drops with neutrino energy as  ε⁻²_ν  up to an upper energy cut-off that is determined by either kinematics or the maximum energy to which protons are accelerated. We estimate event rates as high as 10–100 km⁻² yr⁻¹ from some candidates, a flux that would be easily detected by IceCube. Lack of detection would allow constraints on the energetics of the poorly understood pulsar magnetosphere.     

Diamagnetic screening of the magnetic field in accreting neutron stars

A possible mechanism for screening of the surface magnetic field of an accreting neutron star, by the accreted material, is investigated. We model the material flow in the surface layers of the star by an assumed two-dimensional velocity field satisfying all the physical requirements. Using this model velocity we find that, in the absence of magnetic buoyancy, the surface field is screened (i.e. there is submergence of the field by advection) within the time-scale of material flow of the top layers. On the other hand, if magnetic buoyancy is present, the screening happens over a time-scale that is characteristic of the slower flow of the deeper (and hence, denser) layers. For accreting neutron stars, this longer time-scale turns out to be about 10⁵ yr, which is of a similar order of magnitude to the accretion time-scale of most massive X-ray binaries.     

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.     

The strong magnetic fields of the X-ray pulsars Hercules X-1 and 4U 1626–67 and their evolutionary scenarios

We consider the magnetic and spin evolution of the X-ray binary pulsars Her X-1 and 4U 1626–67, assuming that their magnetic fields are of crustal origin. We adopt the standard evolutionary model which implies that the neutron star passes through several phases in a binary system ('isolated pulsar' – propeller – wind accretion – Roche lobe overflow). In the framework of the model under consideration, the strong magnetic fields of relatively old pulsars like Her X-1 and 4U 1626–67 can naturally be understood if, at their birth, they had a sufficiently strong magnetic field, ∼3 × 10¹³ G, comparable to the maximal field observed in radio pulsars.     

Emission altitudes in young and old radio pulsars

This paper presents a comparison of emission altitudes in very young and very old radio pulsars. The author confirms that the altitudes at which radio emission at a given frequency is generated depend on the pulsar period and age, although the latter dependence is quite weak.     

Emergence of magnetic field due to spin-polarized baryon matter in neutron stars

A model of the ferromagnetic origin of magnetic fields of neutron stars is considered. In this model, the magnetic phase transition occurs inside the core of neutron stars soon after formation. However, owing to the high electrical conductivity the core magnetic field is initially fully screened. We study how this magnetic field emerges for an outside observer. After some time, the induced field that screens the ferromagnetic field decays enough to uncover a detectable fraction of the ferromagnetic field. We calculate the time-scale of decay of the screening field and study how it depends on the size of the ferromagnetic core. We find that the same fractional decay of the screening field occurs earlier for larger cores. We conjecture that weak fields of millisecond pulsars, B ∼10⁸–10⁹ G, could be identified with ferromagnetic fields of unshielded fraction ε ∼10⁻⁴–10⁻³ resulting from the decay of screening fields by a factor 1− ε in ∼10⁸ yr since their birth.     

Has the crab pulsar magnetic field grown after its birth?

We investigate the evolution of rotation period and spindown age of a pulsar whose surface magnetic field undergoes a phase of growth. Application of these results to the Crab pulsar strongly indicates that its parameters cannot be accounted for by the field growth theories.     

New pulsar rotation measures and the Galactic magnetic field

We measured a sample of 150 pulsar rotation measures (RMs) using the 20-cm receiver of the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. 46 of the pulsars in our sample have not had their RM values previously published, whereas 104 pulsar RMs have been revised. We used a novel quadratic fitting algorithm to obtain an accurate RM from the calibrated polarization profiles recorded across 256 MHz of receiver bandwidth. The new data are used in conjunction with previously known dispersion measures and the NE2001 electron-density model to study models of the direction and magnitude of the Galactic magnetic field.     

Wave beams in the magnetoelastic crust of pulsars

The propagation of axially symmetric magnetoelastic waves near the equatorial plane of the crust of a neutron star embedded in a transverse magnetic field is examined. The crust is treated as a solid-state plasma and waves are excited in it in the form of a transverse magnetic field applied to the inner boundary of the star’s crust. The time dependent equation is solved in a linear approximation assuming that the perturbing magnetic field is small compared to the unperturbed field. A simple, exact solution in the form of linear gaussian beams is obtained without additional conditions being imposed on the dissipation, dispersion, and narrowness of the beam, provided only that the velocity c_n of these waves depends weakly on position. This last condition is satisfied for the plasma in the crust of a neutron star. As it propagates to the star’s surface, the radius of the beam remains constant. The electric currents generated by the wave beam on the star’s surface are also calculated. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 547–556 (November 2007).     

The effect of the neutron-star crust on the evolution of a core magnetic field

We consider the expulsion of the magnetic field from the super-conducting core of a neutron star and its subsequent decay in the crust. Particular attention is paid to a strong feedback of the distortion of magnetic field lines in the crust on the expulsion of the flux from the core. This causes a considerable delay in the core flux expulsion if the initial field strength is larger than 10¹¹ G. It is shown that the hypothesis on the magnetic field expulsion induced by the neutron-star spin-down is adequate only for a relatively weak initial magnetic field B ≈10¹¹ G. The expulsion time-scale depends not only on the conductivity of the crust, but also on the initial magnetic field strength itself. Our model of the field evolution naturally explains the existence of the residual magnetic field of neutron stars. Its strength is correlated with the impurity concentration in neutron-star crusts and anticorrelated with the initial field strengths.     

The physics of strong magnetic fields in neutron stars

In this paper we present a new result, namely that the primal magnetic field of the collapsed core during a supernova explosion will, as a result of the conservation of magnetic flux, receive a massive boost to more than 90 times its original value by the Pauli paramagnetization of the highly degenerate relativistic electron gas just after the formation of the neutron star. Thus, the observed super-strong magnetic field of neutron stars may originate from the induced Pauli paramagnetization of the highly degenerate relativistic electron gas in the interior of the neutron star. We therefore have an apparently natural explanation for the surface magnetic field of a neutron star.     

A modified dipole emission model of pulsars

The successes and shortcomings of the magnetic dipole emission model of pulsars are reviewed and a modification of the model presented. A power-law relation is found statistically between the modifying factor and the time derivative of the period. The decay time scale of the modified field is greater than 10⁸ yr, consistent with the theoretical results. The relation given by the modified model is , which is just the observed gradient in the empirical plot above the spinning-up line.