Surface emissivities of an optically thick, magnetized plasma and luminosities of accreting neutron stars.

The total energy flux radiated per unit area of an optically thick, isothermal plasma inside a strong magnetic field is calculated, assuming the plasma is homogeneous and electron density increases exponentially toward the center of the plasma. Analytic relations are obtained for limiting cases with respect to X-ray temperature; magnetic field strength; and electron density inside the plasma. For plasma parameters corresponding to an accreting neutron star, the dominance of scattering over absorption was associated with much lower plasma emissivity than in other X-ray sources.