Revisiting field burial by accretion onto neutron stars

Abstract

The surface magnetic field strength of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is found to be about 4 orders of magnitude lower than that of garden variety radio pulsars (with a spin of $\sim 0.5-5$ s and $B\sim 10^{12}$G). The exact mechanism of the apparent reduction of field strength in MSPs is still a subject of debate. One of the proposed mechanisms is burial of the surface magnetic field under matter accreted from a companion. In this article we review the recent work on magnetic confinement of accreted matter on neutron stars poles. We present the solutions of the magneto-static equations with a more accurate equation of state of the magnetically confined plasma and discuss its implications for the field burial mechanism.

arXiv commentHas appeared in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy special issue on 'Physics of Neutron Stars and Related Objects', celebrating the 75th birth-year of G. Srinivasan

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• Detection and timing of gamma-ray pulsations from the $707$ Hz pulsar J0952$-$0607
• Asymmetric accretion and thermal `mountains' in magnetized neutron star crusts
• An Optical Study of the Black Widow Population
• Recycled pulsars with multipolar magnetospheres from accretion-induced magnetic burial
• Gravitational waves from magnetically-induced thermal neutron star mountains
• Magnetically confined mountains on accreting neutron stars with multipole magnetic fields
• Modelling spin-up episodes in accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars
• Quasi periodic whispers from a transient ULX in M\,101: signatures of a fast-spinning neutron star?
• Magnetically Confined Mountains on Accreting Neutron Stars in General Relativity