X-ray pulsars: accretion flow deceleration

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5953157

Miller, G S

X-ray pulsars are thought to be neutron stars that derive the energy for their x-ray emission by accreting material onto their magnetic polar caps. The accreting material and the x-ray pulsar atmospheres were idealized as fully ionized plasmas consisting only of electrons and protons. A high magnetic field (approx. 5 x 10/sup 12/ Gauss) permeates the atmospheric plasma, and causes the motion of atmospheric electrons perpendicular to the field to be quantized into discrete Landau levels. All atmospheric electrons initially lie in the Landau ground state, but in the author's calculations of Coulomb collisions between atmospheric electrons and accreting protons, he allows for processes that leave the electrons in the first excited Landau level. He also considers interactions between accreting protons and the collective modes of the atmospheric plasma. Division of the electromagnetic interaction of a fast proton with a magnetized plasma into single particle and collective effects is described in detail in Chapter 2. Deceleration of the accretion flow due to Coulomb collisions with atmospheric electrons and collective plasma effects was studied in a number of computer simulations. These simulations, along with a discussion of the physical state of the atmospheric plasma and its interactions with a past proton, are presented in Chapter 3. Details of the atmospheric model and a description of the results of the simulations are given in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 contains some brief concluding remarks, and some thoughts on future research.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5953157
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ACCELERATION
ATMOSPHERES
CORRECTIONS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
COULOMB CORRECTION
FLUIDS
FULLY IONIZED GASES
GASES
IONIZED GASES
NEUTRON STARS
PLASMA
PULSARS
STAR ACCRETION
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES