Pair Cascades in Magnetar Magnetospheres

TL;DR

This paper models pair cascades in magnetar magnetospheres, revealing complex spectra and high polarization signals that explain observed high-energy emissions and polarization in magnetars.

Contribution

It introduces a Monte Carlo simulation of pair cascades in magnetar fields, highlighting the spectral and polarization features resulting from photon splitting and pair production.

Findings

Cascade spectra dominated by pair synchrotron and split photons

Synchrotron spectra are highly polarized (40%-80%)

Spectral features can explain observed high polarization in magnetars

Abstract

Resonant inverse Compton scattering (RICS) of soft thermal photons by relativistic particles on closed magnetic field loops has been proposed to explain the hard emission observed up to, and beyond, 200 keV from magnetars. If particles injected at the base of the loops have Lorentz factors >= 10^2, the RICS spectra will be attenuated by both one-photon pair production and photon splitting in the ultra-strong magnetar fields, producing additional spectral components from pair synchrotron radiation and split photons that produce further generations of pairs and split photons. We investigate such cascades initiated by the primary injected electrons through a Monte Carlo simulation and study the cascade spectra and pair distributions. For most observer angles, the pair synchrotron and split photon spectra dominate the RICS primary spectra and produce complex polarization signals. In particular, the synchrotron spectra are highly polarized with degree 40% - 80%, are softer than the RICS spectra and may account for the high polarization of some magnetar spectra observed by IXPE above 3 keV.