Related papers: Probing the surface magnetic field structure in RX…
In the last few years considerable observational resources have been devoted to study the thermal emission from isolated neutron stars. Detailed XMM and Chandra observations revealed a number of features in the X-ray pulse profile, like…
Thermal surface radiation has been detected with X-ray instruments for several neutron stars with high spectral, spatial and timing resolution. These observations allow for direct study of fundamental properties of the source, but require…
RX J0720.4-3125 is an unidentified bright soft X-ray source which shows pulsations at a 8.39 s period and has a thermal spectrum. We present deep B and R band images of its X-ray localization. We find one possible counterpart in the X-ray…
The self-consistent approach to the magnetic field evolution in neutron star cores, developed recently, is generalised to the case of superfluid and superconducting neutron stars. Applying this approach to the cold matter of neutron star…
Magnetic field evolution in neutron-star crusts is driven by the Hall effect and Ohmic dissipation, for as long as the crust is sufficiently strong to absorb Maxwell stresses exerted by the field and thus make the momentum equation…
Deep Chandra LETG+HRC-S observations of the isolated neutron star candidate RX J1856.5-3754 have been analysed to search for metallic and resonance cyclotron spectral features and for pulsation behaviour. As found from earlier observations,…
A conducting cylinder with a uniform magnetic field along its axis and radial temperature gradient is considered at the stationary state. At large temperature gradients the azimuthal Hall electrical current creates the axial magnetic field…
We present results of the analysis of data collected in 57-ks XMM-Newton and 505-ks Chandra observations of the nearby ~= 120 pc isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754. We confirm most of the statements made by Burwitz et al. (2001) who…
The observed long-term spin-down evolution of isolated radio pulsars cannot be explained by the standard magnetic dipole radiation with a constant braking torque. However, how and why the torque varies still remains controversial, which is…
The evolution of the magnetic field in an accreting neutron star is investigated using a fully general relativistic treatment and assuming that initially the currents supporting the field are completely confined to the crust. We find that…
I describe work on two aspects of magnetic field evolution relevant for the "recycling" scenario for making millisecond radio pulsars. First, many of the theoretical ideas for bringing about accretion-induced field decay rely on dissipation…
We discuss efforts to determine the mass, radius, and surface composition of the nearby compact object RX J185635-3754 from its multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution. We compute non-magnetized model atmospheres and emergent spectra…
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…
We study the evolution of the field on the surface of proto-neutron stars in the immediate aftermath of stellar core collapse by analyzing the results of self-consistent, axisymmetric simulations of the cores of rapidly rotating high-mass…
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…
We investigate the stability of the Hall-MHD system and determine its importance for neutron stars at their birth, when they still consist of differentially rotating plasma permeated by extremely strong magnetic fields. We solve the…
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…
The enigma source, RX J1856.5-3754, is one of the so-called dim thermal neutron stars. Two puzzles of RXJ1856.5-3754 exist: (1) the observational X-ray spectrum is completely featureless; (2) the UV-optical intensity is about seven times…
We explore the structure of a dipole-type vacuum field of a slowly rotating magnetic star near the horizon of a supermassive black hole, where the structure of field lines becomes highly distorted by effects of strong gravity. Such a…
RX J0720.4-3125 is the third brightest neutron star in the soft X-ray sky and has been a source of mystery since its discovery, as its long 8-s period separates it from the population of typical radio pulsars. Three models were proposed for…