Dissipation of Alfv\'en Waves in Relativistic Magnetospheres of Magnetars

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Alfvén waves generated by magnetar flares dissipate energy in the magnetosphere, through turbulence, conversion, or crust penetration, using 3D force-free electrodynamics simulations to understand the dissipation timescales and mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed 3D simulations of Alfvén wave dissipation in magnetar magnetospheres, highlighting the slow dissipation process and the role of nonlinear wave interactions.

Findings

Magnetospheric dissipation via turbulence is relatively slow.

Energy primarily drains into the neutron star crust.

Spurious energy losses occur in certain simulation conditions.

Abstract

Magnetar flares excite strong Alfv\'{e}n waves in the magnetosphere of the neutron star. The wave energy can (1) dissipate in the magnetosphere, (2) convert to "fast modes" and possibly escape, and (3) penetrate the neutron star crust and dissipate there. We examine and compare the three options. Particularly challenging are nonlinear interactions between strong waves, which develop a cascade to small dissipative scales. This process can be studied in the framework of force-free electrodynamics (FFE). We perform three-dimensional FFE simulations to investigate Alfv\'{e}n wave dissipation, how long it takes, and how it depends on the initial wave amplitude on the driving scale. In the simulations, we launch two large Alfv\'{e}n wave packets that keep bouncing on closed magnetic field lines and collide repeatedly until the full turbulence spectrum develops. Besides dissipation due to the turbulent cascade, we find that in some simulations spurious energy losses occur immediately in the first collisions. This effect occurs in special cases where the FFE description breaks. It is explained with a simple one-dimensional model, which we examine in both FFE and full magnetohydrodynamic settings. We find that magnetospheric dissipation through nonlinear wave interactions is relatively slow and more energy is drained into the neutron star. The wave energy deposited into the star is promptly dissipated through plastic crustal flows induced at the bottom of the liquid ocean, and a fraction of the generated heat is radiated from the stellar surface.