Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators

Details Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators

Feb 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994apjs...90..837h&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (ISSN 0067-0049), vol. 90, no. 2, p. 837-839

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

3

Accretion Disks, High Energy Interactions, Neutron Stars, Particle Acceleration, Gamma Rays, Magnetic Field Reconnection, Plasma Density, Plasma Layers, Plasma-Electromagnetic Interaction, Stellar Magnetic Fields, Stellar Magnetospheres

Scientific paper

Interaction of an accretion disk with the magnetic field of a neutron star produces large electromotive forces, which drive large conduction currents in the disk-magnetosphere-star circuit. Here we argue that such large conduction currents will cause microscopic and macroscopic instabilities in the magnetosphere. If the minimum plasma density in the magnetosphere is relatively low is less than or aproximately 109/cu cm, current-driven micro-instabilities may cause relativistic double layers to form, producing voltage differences in excess of 1012 V and accelerating charged particles to very high energies. If instead the plasma density is higher (is greater than or approximately = 109/cu cm, twisting of the stellar magnetic field is likely to cause magnetic field reconnection. This reconnection will be relativistic, accelerating plasma in the magnetosphere to relativistic speeds and a small fraction of particles to very high energies. Interaction of these high-energy particles with X-rays, gamma-rays, and accreting plasma may produce detectable high-energy radiation.

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