Related papers: Do we see accreting magnetars in X-ray pulsars?
Recent measurements of young accreting binary neutron stars are determining more precise magnetic field and accretion parameters. A low magnetic field accreting, millisecond pulsar has finally been found in a binary burster. At least 20…
X-ray pulsars shine thanks to the conversion of the gravitational energy of accreted material to X-ray radiation. The accretion rate is modulated by geometrical and hydrodynamical effects in the stellar wind of the pulsar companions and/or…
The application of standard accretion theory to observations of X-ray binaries provides valuable insights into neutron star properties, such as their spin period and magnetic field. However, most studies concentrate on relatively old…
Neutron Stars are among the most exotic objects in the Universe. A neutron star, with a mass of 1.4-2 Solar masses within a radius of about 10-15 km, is the most compact stable configuration of matter in which degeneracy pressure can still…
We suggest a new method of estimating distances to X-ray pulsars and their magnetic fields. Using observations of fluxes and period variations in the model of disk accretion one can estimate the magnetic momentum of a neutron star and the…
Quasi-spherical subsonic accretion can be realized in slowly rotating wind-fed X-ray pulsars (XPSRs) at X-ray luminosities <4 10^{36} erg/s. In this regime the accreting matter settles down subsonically onto the rotating magnetosphere,…
Based on the accretion induced magnetic a field decay model, in which a frozen field and an incompressible fluid are assumed, we obtain the following results. (1) An analytic relation between the magnetic field and spin period, if the…
We present a simple model for the evolutionary states of neutron stars in pre-low-mass X-ray binaries during the main sequence stage of donor stars. It is shown that for typical parameters some of the neutron stars in these systems can not…
The recent discovery of the "weak field, old magnetar", the soft gamma repeater SGR 0418+5729, whose dipole magnetic field is less than 7.5 \times 10^{12} G, has raised perplexing questions: How can the neutron star produce SGR-like bursts…
The appearance of subsonic propellers situated in a strong wind is discussed. We show that it is similar to the appearance of anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) provided the mass and the magnetic moment of neutron stars are 1.4 solar masses,…
Many pulsars are formed with a binary companion from which they can accrete matter. Torque exerted by accreting matter can cause the pulsar spin to increase or decrease, and over long times, an equilibrium spin rate is achieved. Application…
As many as $10^9$ neutron stars populate the Galaxy, but only $\approx 10^3$ are directly observed as pulsars or as accreting sources in X-ray binaries. In principle also the accretion of the interstellar medium may make isolated neutron…
We explore the possibility that neutron stars accreting from the winds of main-sequence stellar companions account for a significant fraction of low-luminosity, hard X-ray sources (L_X <~ 10^35 ergs/s; 1-10 keV) in the Galaxy. This work was…
How the accreted mass settling on the surface of a neutron star affects the topology of the magnetic field and how the secular evolution of the binary system depends on the magnetic field change is still an open issue. We report evidence…
Millisecond pulsars, with magnetic fields weaker by three to four orders compared to those of ordinary pulsars, are presumed to be neutron stars spun up by binary accretion. We expect the magnetic field to get screened by the accreted…
Ultramagnetized neutron stars or magnetars have been invoked to explain several astrophysical phenomena. We examine how the magnetic field of a magnetar will decay over time and how this decay affects the cooling of the object. We find that…
Studying the physical processes occurring in the region just above the magnetic poles of strongly magnetized, accreting binary neutron stars is essential to our understanding of stellar and binary system evolution. Perhaps more importantly,…
The aim of this paper is to investigate the transition of a strongly magnetized neutron star into the accretion regime with very low accretion rate. For this purpose we monitored the Be-transient X-ray pulsar GRO J1008-57 throughout a full…
Isolated neutron stars are higly magnetized, fast rotating end points of stellar evolution. They are now becoming directly observable through X-ray astronomy, owing to their high surface temperatures. In particular, features in their X-ray…
Weakly magnetic, millisecond spinning neutron stars attain their very fast rotation through a 1E8-1E9 yr long phase during which they undergo disk-accretion of matter from a low mass companion star. They can be detected as accretion-powered…