Cyclotron Resonance in Accreting Pulsars
Abstract
Cyclotron Resonance Absorption/Scattering features provide direct measurement of magnetic field strength in the line forming region. This has enabled the estimation of magnetic field strengths of nearly two dozen neutron stars in accreting high mass binary systems. With improved spectroscopic sensitivity, new X-ray observatories such as NuSTAR, Astrosat and Hitomi are opening the doors to studying detailed features such as the line shape and phase dependence with high significance. Such studies will help understand the nature of matter accumulation in, and outflow from, the magnetically confined accretion column on the neutron star. This talk will describe the results of MHD simulations of the matter flow in such systems, the diagnostics of such flows using cyclotron lines, and comparison with recent observations from NuSTAR and Astrosat.
- Publication:
-
41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016cosp...41E.191B