Plasma infall and X-ray production in the magnetic funnel of an accreting neutron star

Details Plasma infall and X-ray production in the magnetic funnel of an accreting neutron star Plasma infall and X-ray production in the magnetic funnel of an accreting neutron star

Jan 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981a%26a....93..255w&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 93, no. 1-2, Jan. 1981, p. 255-268.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

62

Binary Stars, Magnetohydrodynamic Flow, Neutron Stars, Plasma Dynamics, Radiation Pressure, Stellar Mass Accretion, X Ray Sources, Cyclotron Radiation, Magnetohydrodynamic Stability, Nonuniform Magnetic Fields, Particle Collisions, Stellar Luminosity

Scientific paper

The plasma and radiation structure of the accretion funnel of a binary X-ray pulsar is investigated from a hydrodynamic viewpoint. Two-dimensional numerical computations are presented for the radiation-pressure and gravity-dominated region above the neutron star's surface, taking approximate account of the effect of a strong, nonuniform magnetic field on the radiative transfer. The velocity and radiation fields depend sensitively on the size of the polar cap and the strength and structure of the magnetic field, as well as on the accretion rate. In most cases the X-rays diffuse sideways and escape roughly perpendicular to, and close to the bottom of, the accretion channel (forming a fan beam). The structure of a collision-dominated regime near the star surface, which is the source of a relatively cool, blackbody radiation field (subsequently upgraded by inverse Compton scattering in the upper zone), is also discussed. It is suggested that strong cyclotron line emission could originate in a ring at the bottom of the accretion funnel, where the infalling plasma is stopped primarily by collisions.

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