The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars

In the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect decouples the polarization modes of photons leaving the NS surface. Both the total intensity and the intensity in each of the two modes is preserved along a ray's path through the n...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Heyl, J S, Shaviv, N J, Lloyd, D
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: 2003
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06521.x
http://cds.cern.ch/record/604056
_version_ 1780900057591054336
author Heyl, J S
Shaviv, N J
Lloyd, D
author_facet Heyl, J S
Shaviv, N J
Lloyd, D
author_sort Heyl, J S
collection CERN
description In the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect decouples the polarization modes of photons leaving the NS surface. Both the total intensity and the intensity in each of the two modes is preserved along a ray's path through the neutron-star magnetosphere. We analyze the consequences that this effect has on aligning the observed polarization vectors across the image of the stellar surface to generate large net polarizations. Counter to previous predictions, we show that the thermal radiation of NSs should be highly polarized even in the optical. When detected, this polarization will be the first demonstration of vacuum birefringence. It could be used as a tool to prove the high magnetic field nature of AXPs and it could also be used to constrain physical NS parameters, such as $R/M$, to which the net polarization is sensitive.
id cern-604056
institution Organización Europea para la Investigación Nuclear
language eng
publishDate 2003
record_format invenio
spelling cern-6040562019-09-30T06:29:59Zdoi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06521.xhttp://cds.cern.ch/record/604056engHeyl, J SShaviv, N JLloyd, DThe High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron StarsAstrophysics and AstronomyIn the presence of strong magnetic fields, the vacuum becomes a birefringent medium. We show that this QED effect decouples the polarization modes of photons leaving the NS surface. Both the total intensity and the intensity in each of the two modes is preserved along a ray's path through the neutron-star magnetosphere. We analyze the consequences that this effect has on aligning the observed polarization vectors across the image of the stellar surface to generate large net polarizations. Counter to previous predictions, we show that the thermal radiation of NSs should be highly polarized even in the optical. When detected, this polarization will be the first demonstration of vacuum birefringence. It could be used as a tool to prove the high magnetic field nature of AXPs and it could also be used to constrain physical NS parameters, such as $R/M$, to which the net polarization is sensitive.astro-ph/0302118CERN-TH-2003-027oai:cds.cern.ch:6040562003-02-06
spellingShingle Astrophysics and Astronomy
Heyl, J S
Shaviv, N J
Lloyd, D
The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title_full The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title_fullStr The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title_full_unstemmed The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title_short The High-Energy Polarization-Limiting Radius of Neutron Star Magnetospheres: 1, Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars
title_sort high-energy polarization-limiting radius of neutron star magnetospheres: 1, slowly rotating neutron stars
topic Astrophysics and Astronomy
url https://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06521.x
http://cds.cern.ch/record/604056
work_keys_str_mv AT heyljs thehighenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars
AT shavivnj thehighenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars
AT lloydd thehighenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars
AT heyljs highenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars
AT shavivnj highenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars
AT lloydd highenergypolarizationlimitingradiusofneutronstarmagnetospheres1slowlyrotatingneutronstars