Accreting neutron stars before and after IXPE
Abstract
Accretion-powered X-ray pulsars are highly magnetized neutron stars that accrete material from a companion star. They have complex emission geometries, dominated by the strong magnetic field, which might change with accretion state. X-ray polarimetry is going to be a powerful tool in breaking the degeneracies in current theoretical models as it provides two additional observables, polarization degree and angle, that are extremely sensitive to the geometry of the emission regions and magnetic fields. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, which was launched in December and is scheduled to observe several X-ray pulsars by July of this year, will revolutionize our understanding of their accretion geometry and their physics.
- Publication:
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44th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 16-24 July
- Pub Date:
- July 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022cosp...44.1850C