Impact of Resonant Compton Scattering on Magnetar X-Ray Polarization with QED Vacuum Resonance

TL;DR

This paper develops a semi-analytical model to study how resonant Compton scattering and QED vacuum resonance affect the energy-dependent X-ray polarization signatures of magnetars, aiding interpretation of upcoming polarization observations.

Contribution

It introduces a first-order approximation framework that incorporates magnetospheric plasma effects and vacuum resonance, simplifying the modeling of magnetar X-ray polarization without complex simulations.

Findings

Strong RCS can erase vacuum resonance-induced PA swings.

Magnetospheric plasma drift velocity significantly influences polarization signatures.

Relativistic plasma effects can cause additional 90° PA swings in the spectrum.

Abstract

Recent obeservations have revealed significant soft X-ray polarizations from several quiescent magnetars, including the intriguing $90^\deg$ polarization angle (PA) swing as a function of photon energy for some sources. We present a general semi-analytical framework for calculating energy-dependent soft X-ray polarization signatures from magnetars, consistently incorporating both QED vacuum resonance in the atmosphere and resonant Compton scattering (RCS) in the magnetosphere. Starting from the polarized radiative transfer equation for RCS and treating vacuum-resonance-induced mode conversion as an input, we employ a first-order approximation in RCS optical depth to evaluate the effect of different magnetospheric plasma density (which depends on magnetic twist), drift velocity and temperature, and viewing geometry on the observed radiation. Our analysis reveals that magnetic twist and plasma drift velocity are the critical parameters controlling the impact of RCS on both the absolute polarization degree and its variation across the soft X-ray spectrum. We find that sufficiently strong RCS can wash out the PA swing caused by vacuum resonance. Furthermore, in addition to the QED vacuum resonance effect, significant relativistic signatures arising from plasma drift velocity ($\beta_0 \gtrsim 0.5$) may introduce an extra $90^\circ$ PA swing in the spectrum. Our calculation framework, based on single-scattering approximation, bypasses the need for complex, multi-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations, providing an analytical pathway for modeling full-surface emission and rotational-phase-resolved radiation from magnetic neutron stars, in support of current and future X-ray polarization missions.