Related papers: Polarized X-rays from Magnetized Neutron Stars
We examine properties of thermal radiation emitted by strongly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). In particular, we show that the pulsation amplitudes of the energy-integrated flux are an increasing function of the absorption column density to…
Isolated Neutron Stars are some of the most exciting stellar objects known to astronomers: they have the most extreme magnetic fields, with values up to $10^{15}$ G, and, with the exception of stellar-mass black holes, they are the most…
Non-accreting neutron stars display diverse characteristics, leading us to classify them into several groups. This chapter is an observational driven review in which we survey the properties of the different classes of isolated neutron…
Recent observations of X-ray pulsars at low luminosities allow, for the first time, to compare theoretical models for the emission from highly magnetized neutron star atmospheres at low mass accretion rates ($\dot{M} \lesssim 10^{15}$ g…
Was the Milky Way galaxy a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the past? Can we find traces of remnant structures supporting this idea? What is the three-dimensional arrangement of matter around our central supermassive black…
A model is constructed to predict the emission originating from axion-to-photon conversion in the strongly magnetized ultrarelativistic plasma of neutron stars. The acceleration and multiplicity of the charges are observed to shift the…
The results of numerical calculations of linear polarization from magnetized spherical optically thick and optically thin envelopes are presented. We give the methods how to distinguish magnetized optically thin envelopes from optically…
The available data on isolated X-ray pulsars, their wind nebulae, and the supernova remnants which are connected to some of these sources are analyzed. It is shown that electric fields of neutron stars tear off charged particles from the…
In this chapter, I present the main X-ray observational characteristics of black-hole binaries and low magnetic field neutron-star binaries, concentrating on what can be considered similarities or differences, with particular emphasis on…
X-ray binaries hosting a compact object have been among the main targets of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) since its launch, due to their high brightness in the 2-8 keV energy band. The spectropolarimetric analysis performed…
X-ray emission from the surface of isolated neutron stars (NSs) has been now observed in a variety of sources. The ubiquitous presence of pulsations clearly indicates that thermal photons either come from a limited area, possibly heated by…
Emission from X-ray binaries in the hard spectral state is dominated by high-energy radiation attributed to the Compton scattering of seed photons. The prevalent model of the Comptonization by hot electrons or pairs faces the problem of…
We report on IXPE, NICER and XMM-Newton observations of the magnetar 1E 2259+586. We find that the source is significantly polarized at about or above 20% for all phases except for the secondary peak where it is more weakly polarized. The…
Polarimetry is widely considered a powerful observational technique in X-ray astronomy, useful to enhance our understanding of the emission mechanisms, geometry and magnetic field arrangement of many compact objects. However, the lack of…
Magnetars are a unique class of neutron stars characterized by their incredibly strong magnetic fields. Unlike normal pulsars whose X-ray emission was driven by rotational energy loss, magnetars exhibit distinct X-ray emissions thought to…
Radiation emitted by unpolarized high-energy electrons penetrating crystals may be linearly polarized. This occurs when the particle velocity makes an angle, with respect to some major crystal axis, being sufficiently larger than the…
Detecting axionic dark matter (DM) could be possible in an X-ray spectrum from strongly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). We examine the possibility of axion-photon conversion in the magnetospheres of strongly magnetized NSs. In the current…
Hard X-rays observed in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are thought to originate from the Comptonization of the optical/UV accretion disk photons in a hot corona. Polarization studies of these photons can help to constrain the corona geometry…
Precise knowledge of the features of several X-ray sources from compact binary sources to galactic nuclei is gradually unveiling the physical parameters of relativistic neutron stars and black holes therein. Recent developments in theory,…
A neutron star low-mass X-ray binary is a binary stellar system with a neutron star and a low-mass companion star rotating around each other. In this system the neutron star accretes mass from the companion, and as this matter falls into…