Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21923708e&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #237.08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
The extremely efficient process of resonant Compton upscattering by relativistic electrons in high magnetic fields is believed to be a leading emission mechanism of high field pulsars and magnetars in the production of intense X-ray radiation. New analytic developments for the Compton scattering cross section using Sokolov and Ternov (S&T) states with spin-dependent resonant widths are presented. These new results display significant numerical departures from the traditional cross section using spin-averaged widths as well as from the spin-dependent cross section using the Johnson & Lippmann (J&L) basis states, thereby motivating the astrophysical deployment of this updated resonant Compton formulation with correct S&T states. Useful approximate analytic forms for the cross section near and at the cyclotron resonance are presented for S&T basis states. These physics calculations are applied to an inner magnetospheric model of the hard X-ray spectral tails in magnetars, recently detected by RXTE and INTEGRAL. Relativistic electrons cool rapidly near the stellar surface in the presence of intense baths of thermal X-ray photons. We present accurate resonant Compton cooling rates for electrons, and the resulting photon spectra for magnetic fields above the quantum critical value. These rates and spectra are computed as functions of the magnetospheric colatitude and altitude, demonstrating how this efficient scattering mechanism can produce the characteristically flat spectral tails observed in magnetars.
We are also grateful for the generous support of the National Science Foundation (grants AST- 1009731 and PHY/DMR-1004811), and the NASA Astrophysics Theory Program through grants NNX06AI32G, NNX09AQ71G and NNX10AC59A.
Baring Matthew G.
Eiles Matthew
Gonthier Peter L.
Wadiasingh Zorawar
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