Neutron stars - thermal emitters

TL;DR

This paper reviews the theoretical models and observational data of thermal radiation from strongly magnetized neutron stars, aiming to understand their dense matter and magnetic plasma properties.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of the theory of thermal emission from neutron star surfaces and compares it with recent observational data, especially for nearby sources.

Findings

Clear thermal components detected in nearby neutron stars.

Modern models successfully explain observed spectra.

Insights into superdense matter and magnetic plasmas.

Abstract

Confronting theoretical models with observations of thermal radiation emitted by neutron stars is one of the most important ways to understand the properties of both, superdense matter in the interiors of the neutron stars and dense magnetized plasmas in their outer layers. Here we review the theory of thermal emission from the surface layers of strongly magnetized neutron stars, and the main properties of the observational data. In particular, we focus on the nearby sources for which a clear thermal component has been detected, without being contaminated by other emission processes (magnetosphere, accretion, nebulae). We also discuss the applications of the modern theoretical models of the formation of spectra of strongly magnetized neutron stars to the observed thermally emitting objects.