Related papers: Do we see accreting magnetars in X-ray pulsars?
Fast spinning neutron stars, recycled in low mass binaries, may have accreted a substantial amount of mass. The available relativistic measurements of neutron star masses, all clustering around 1.4 M_sun, however refer mostly to slowly…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are bright X-ray sources in nearby galaxies not associated with the central supermassive black hole. Their luminosities imply they are powered by either an extreme accretion rate onto a compact stellar…
Millisecond spinning, low magnetic field neutron stars are believed to attain their fast rotation in a 0.1-1 Gyr-long phase during which they accrete matter endowed with angular momentum from a low-mass companion star. Despite extensive…
A possible mechanism for screening of the surface magnetic field of an accreting neutron star, by the accreted material, is investigated. In particular, we investigate the nature of the evolution of the internal field configuration in the…
Soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are slowly rotating, isolated neutron stars that sporadically undergo episodes of long-term flux enhancement (outbursts) generally accompanied by the emission of short…
We review the observational properties of the class of young neutron stars known as "anomalous X-ray pulsars," emphasizing the tremendous progress that has been made in recent years, and explain why these objects, like the "soft gamma…
Two classes of X-ray/$\gamma$-ray sources, the Soft Gamma Repeaters and the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars have been identified with isolated, slowly spinning magnetars, neutron stars whose emission draws energy from their extremely strong…
The formation of a $2.7\ \rm M_{\odot}$ supermassive neutron star is explored, as the possible companion of PSR J0514--4002E. Magnetars may experience super-Eddington accretion. Observationally they may manifest themselves as ultraluminous…
Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) are interpreted as young highly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). Their X-ray luminosity in quiescence, exceeding 10^{35} erg s^{-1} cannot be explained as due to cooling of a…
We review recent results from the X-ray timing of accreting millisecond pulsars in Low Mass X-ray Binaries. This is the first time a timing analysis is performed on accreting millisecond pulsars, and for the first time we can obtain…
Magnetars are neutron stars in which a strong magnetic field is the main energy source. About two dozens of magnetars, plus several candidates, are currently known in our Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. They appear as highly variable…
The accretion flow around X-ray pulsars with a strong magnetic field is funnelled by the field to relatively small regions close to the magnetic poles of the neutron star (NS), the hotspots. During strong outbursts regularly observed from…
The amplitude of the gravitational radiation from an accreting neutron star undergoing polar magnetic burial is calculated. During accretion, the magnetic field of a neutron star is compressed into a narrow belt at the magnetic equator by…
We study the current sample of rapidly rotating neutron stars in both accreting and non-accreting binaries in order to determine whether the spin distribution of accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries can be reconciled with…
It is generally assumed that the magnetic fields of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are $\sim 10^{8}$G. We argue that this may not be true and the fields may be appreciably greater. We present six evidences for this: (1) The $\sim 10^{8}$ G…
Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters and Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars are extreme manifestations of the most magnetized neutron stars: magnetars. The phenomenology of their emission and spectral properties strongly support the idea that the magnetospheres…
The central compact objects are a newly-emerging class of young neutron stars near the centre of supernova remnants. From X-ray timing and spectral measurements, their magnetic fields are determined to be ~ 10^10-10^11 G, which is…
Neutron stars are extremely strong cosmic magnets which fields are expected to decay with time. Here we report on the simple test of this process. Adopting a novel approach, we have estimated surface magnetic fields $B$ for 76 radiopulsars…
We propose a unified picture of high magnetic field radio pulsars and magnetars by arguing that they are all rotating high-field neutron stars, but have different orientations of their magnetic axes with respective to their rotation axes.…
We consider combined rotational, magnetic, and thermal evolution of the neutron star during the accretion phase in a binary system. A rapid accretion-driven decay of the magnetic field decreases substantially the efficiency of angular…