Modeling Neutron Star Atmospheres

Abstract

Models of thermal emission of neutron stars, presumably formed in their atmospheres, are needed to infer the surface temperatures, magnetic fields, chemical composition, and neutron star masses and radii from the observational data. This information, supplemented with model equations of state and neutron star cooling models, is expected to move us further in understanding the fundamental properties of the superdense matter in the neutron star interiors. The neutron star atmospheres are very different from those of usual stars due to the immense gravity and huge magnetic fields. In this presentation we review the current status of the neutron star atmosphere modeling and present most important results.

10 pages, 13 color figures; to be published in Proceedings of the 270. Heraeus Seminar on Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Supernova Remnants, Bad Honnef (Germany), Jan. 21-25, 2002, eds. W. Becker, H. Lesch and J. Truemper

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• Partially ionized atmospheres of neutron stars with strong magnetic fields
• Modeling Phase-resolved Observations of the Surfaces of Magnetic Neutron Stars
• Discovery of X-ray cyclotron absorption lines measures the magnetic field of an isolated neutron star
• A Simple Model of Radiation from a Magnetized Neutron Star: Accreted Matter and Polar Hotspots