Journal article
The Physics of Accretion Onto Highly Magnetized Neutron Stars
Naval Research Laboratory1
Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics2
National Space Science and Technology Center3
University of Maryland, Baltimore County4
University of California at San Diego5
University of Tübingen6
University of California at Berkeley7
Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific8
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center9
Praxis, Inc.10
George Mason University11
Howard University12
European Space Astronomy Centre13
Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées14
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center15
Massachusetts Institute of Technology16
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark17
Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark18
...and 8 moreStudying the physical processes occurring in the region just above th emagnetic poles of strongly magnetized, accreting binary neutron stars is essential to our understanding of stellar and binary system evolution. Perhaps more importantly, it provides us with a natural laboratory for studying the physics of high temperature and high density plasmas exposed to extreme radiation, gravitational, and magnetic fields.
Observations over the past decade have shed new light on the manner in which plasma falling at velocities near the speed of light onto a neutron star surface is halted. Recent advances in modeling these processes have resulted in direct measurement of the magnetic fields and plasma properties. On the other hand, numerous physical processes have been identified that challenge our current picture of how the accretion process onto neutron stars works.
Observation and theory are our essential tools in this regime because the extreme conditions cannot be duplicated on Earth. This white paper gives an overview of the current theory, the outstanding theoretical and observational challenges, and the importance of addressing them in contemporary astrophysics research.
Language: | English |
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Year: | 2019 |
ISSN: | 23309458 and 00027537 |
Types: | Journal article |
ORCIDs: | Jaisawal, Gaurava Kumar |