Joule heating in high magnetic field pulsars

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Joule heating in the crust of young neutron stars varies with magnetic field dissipation, showing it can significantly influence their surface temperature and magnetic properties, aligning with observational data.

Contribution

It demonstrates that inhomogeneous magnetic field dissipation in neutron star crusts can produce substantial Joule heating, explaining observed surface temperatures and magnetic fields.

Findings

Joule heating rate can surpass standard luminosity in young neutron stars.

Magnetic field dissipation is faster in low-density crust layers.

Results align with observational data on neutron star surface temperatures.

Abstract

We study the efficiency of Joule heating in the crustal layers of young neutron stars. It is shown that dissipation of the magnetic field is highly inhomogeneous in the crust with much faster dissipation in relatively low density layers. In young neutron stars, the rate of Joule heating in the crust can exceed the standard luminosity of non-magnetic star and can even be comparable to the luminosity of magnetars. The results of calculations are compared with the available observational data. We argue that the crustal field model can well account for the data on the surface temperature and magnetic field of young neutron stars.