THERMAL RADIATION FROM MAGNETIZED NEUTRON STARS: A look at the Surface of a Neutron Star.

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic fields influence surface temperature variations and thermal emission in neutron stars, using observational data to constrain models of their surface properties and heat flow.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of crustal magnetic fields on neutron star surface temperature distribution and emission characteristics, challenging simple blackbody assumptions.

Findings

Large surface temperature differences inferred from pulsations.

Energy dependence of modulation constrains surface emission models.

Incompatibility of Geminga's data with blackbody emission models.

Abstract

Surface thermal emission has been detected by ROSAT from four nearby young neutron stars. Assuming black body emission, the significant pulsations of the observed light curves can be interpreted as due to large surface temperature differences produced by the effect of the crustal magnetic field on the flow of heat from the hot interior toward the cooler surface. However, the energy dependence of the modulation observed in Geminga is incompatible with blackbody emission: this effect will give us a strong constraint on models of the neutron star surface.