Recent models of spectral formation in magnetars called renewed attention on electron-photon scattering in the presence of ultra-strong magnetic fields. Investigations presented so far mainly focussed on mildly relativistic particles and magnetic scattering was treated in the non-relativistic (Thomson) limit. This allows for consistent spectral calculations up to a few tens of keVs, but becomes inadequate in modelling the hard tails (<200 keV) detected by INTEGRAL from magnetar sources. In this paper, the second in a series devoted to model the X-/soft gamma-ray persistent spectrum of magnetar candidates, we present explicit, relatively simple expressions for the magnetic Compton cross-section at resonance which account for Landau-Raman scattering up to the second Landau level. No assumption is made on the magnetic field strength. We find that sensible departures from the Thomson regime can bealready present at B ~5E12 G. The form of the magnetic cross section we derived can be easily implemented in Monte Carlo transfer codes and a direct application to magnetar spectral calculations will be presented in a forthcoming study.
A principal candidate for quiescent non-thermal gamma-ray emission from magnetars is resonant inverse Compton scattering in the strong fields of their magnetospheres. This paper outlines expectations for such emission, formed from non-thermal electrons accelerated in a pulsar-like polar cap potential upscattering thermal X-rays from the hot stellar surface. The resultant spectra are found to be strikingly flat, with fluxes and strong pulsation that could be detectable by GLAST.
The X-ray spectra of the magnetar candidates are customarily fitted with an empirical, two component model: an absorbed blackbody and a power-law. However, the physical interpretation of these two spectral components is rarely discussed. It has been recently proposed that the presence of a hot plasma in the magnetosphere of highly magnetized neutron stars might distort, through efficient resonant cyclotron scattering, the thermal emission from the neutron star surface, resulting in the production of non-thermal spectra. Here we discuss the Resonant Cyclotron Scattering (RCS) model, and present…
(Abridged) We present a systematic fit of a model of resonant cyclotron scattering (RCS) to the X-ray data of ten magnetars, including canonical and transient anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), and soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). In this scenario, non-thermal magnetar spectra in the soft X-rays (i.e. below ~10 keV) result from resonant cyclotron scattering of the thermal surface emission by hot magnetospheric plasma. We find that this model can successfully account for the soft X-ray emission of magnetars, while using the same number of free parameters than the commonly used empirical blackbody plus…
Although the surface of a magnetar is a source of bright thermal X-rays, its spectrum contains substantial non-thermal components. The X-ray emission is pulsed, with pulsed fractions that can be as high as ~ 70%. Several properties of magnetars indicate the presence of persistent, static currents flowing across the stellar surface and closing within the magnetosphere. The charges supporting these currents supply a significant optical depth to resonant cyclotron scattering in the 1-100 keV band. Here we describe a Monte Carlo approach to calculating the redistribution of thermal seed photons in…
It is known that vacuum polarization can modify the photon propagation modes in the atmospheric plasma of a strongly magnetized neutron star. A resonance occurs when the effect of vacuum polarization on the photon modes balances that of the plasma. We show that a photon (with energy $E\go$ a few keV) propagating outward in the atmosphere can convert from one polarization mode into another as it traverses the resonant density, $ρ_{res}\simeq Y_e^{-1}η^{-2}(B/10^{14} G)^2(E/1 keV)^2$ g cm$^{-3}$, where $Y_e$ is the electron fraction, and $η\sim 1$ is a slowly varying function of the magnetic fie…
We present time-dependent axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of a relativistic magnetized wind produced by a proto-magnetar with a surrounding stellar envelope, in the first $\sim 10$ seconds after core collapse. We inject a super-magnetosonic wind with $\dot E = 10^{51}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ into a cavity created by an outgoing supernova shock. A strong toroidal magnetic field builds up in the bubble of plasma and magnetic field that is at first inertially confined by the progenitor star. This drives a jet out along the polar axis of the star, even though the star and th…
Magnetars are a sizable subclass of the neutron star census. Their very high magnetic field strengths are thought to be a consequence of rapid (millisecond) rotation at birth in a successful core-collapse supernova. In their first tens of seconds of existence, magnetars transition from hot, extended ``proto-''magnetars to the cooled and magnetically-dominated objects we identify $\sim10^4$ years later as Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anamolous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs). Millisecond proto-magnetar winds during this cooling phase likewise transition from non-relativistic and thermally-driven to…
General relativistic bending of light dramatically alters the variability of X-ray emission originating from the surfaces of ultramagnetic neutron stars. We construct radiative equilibrium models of such strongly magnetic cooling neutron stars with light-element atmospheres to compute the angle- and energy-dependent intensity emerging from their surfaces and find that the beaming of surface emission is predominantly non-radial. The combination of this radiation pattern with the calculations of light bending yields pulse amplitudes that vary non-monotonically with the neutron star compactness a…
We begin by reviewing the theory of thermal, neutrino-driven proto-neutron star (PNS) winds. Including the effects of magnetic fields and rotation, we then derive the mass and energy loss from magnetically-driven PNS winds for both relativistic and non-relativistic outflows, including important multi-dimensional considerations. With these simple analytic scalings we argue that proto-magnetars born with ~ millisecond rotation periods produce relativistic winds just a few seconds after core collapse with luminosities, timescales, mass-loading, and internal shock efficiencies favorable for produc…
The anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma-repeaters are peculiar high-energy sources believed to host a magnetar, i.e. an ultra-magnetized neutron star. Their persistent, soft X-ray emission (~1-10 keV)is usually modeled by the superposition of a blackbody and a power-law tail. It has been suggested that this spectrum forms as the thermal photons emitted by the star surface traverse the magnetosphere. Magnetar magnetospheres are likely different from those of ordinary radio-pulsars, since the external magnetic field may acquire a toroidal component as a consequence of the deformation of the s…
We consider the voltage structure in the open-field circuit and outer magnetosphere of a magnetar. The standard polar-cap model for radio pulsars is modified significantly when the polar magnetic field exceeds 1.8x10^{14} G. Pairs are created by accelerated particles via resonant scattering of thermal X-rays, followed by the nearly instantaneous conversion of the scattered photon to a pair. A surface gap is then efficiently screened by e+- creation, which regulates the voltage in the inner part of the circuit to ~10^9 V. We also examine the electrostatic gap structure that can form when the ma…
We calculate the structure and neutron content of neutrino-heated MHD winds driven from the surface of newly-formed magnetars (``proto-magnetars'') and from the midplane of hyper-accreting disks, two of the possible central engines for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and hyper-energetic supernovae (SNe). Both the surface of proto-magnetars and the midplane of neutrino-cooled accretion flows (NDAFs) are electron degenerate and neutron-rich (neutron-to-proton ratio n/p >> 1). If this substantial free neutron excess is preserved to large radii in ultra-relativistic outflows, several important observation…
(Abridged) We propose that giant flares on Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters produce relativistic, strongly magnetized, weakly baryon loaded magnetic clouds, somewhat analogous to solar coronal mass ejection (CME) events. Flares are driven by unwinding of internal non-potential magnetic fields which leads to slow build-up of magnetic energy outside of the neutron star. For large magnetospheric currents, corresponding to a large twist of external magnetic field, magnetosphere becomes dynamically unstable on \Alfven crossing times scale of inner magnetosphere, $t_A \sim R_{NS}/c \sim 30 μ$sec. Released m…
Some special features of magnetically deformed multi-electron atoms in the crustal region of strongly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars) are studied with the relativistic version of semi-classical Thomas-Fermi model. An analytical solution of Poisson's equation with cylindrical symmetry is obtained. The variation of atomic dimension with magnetic field strength is also studied. An expression for atomic quadrupole moment, appears because of magnetic deformation is derived. The effect of atomic quadrupole-quadrupole interaction in the equation of state of crustal matter of magnetar is briefly …
We review here recent numerical results concerning the acceleration and collimation of relativistic outflows from neutron stars, and we discuss their implications for models of magnetars in their hypothesized initial high rotation states. New results with different injection conditions and extending to much larger distance from the central star are also presented and discussed, showing that, only in the case of weakly magnetized winds, collimated outflows are indeed possible. We finally comment on the possibility that newly born magnetars might trigger GRBs, and we show that numerical results …
We present the analysis of six XMM-Newton observations of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar CXOU J010043.1-721134, the magnetar candidate characterized by the lowest interstellar absorption. In contrast with all the other magnetar candidates, its X-ray spectrum cannot be fit by an absorbed power-law plus blackbody model. The sum of two (absorbed) blackbody components with kT1=0.30 keV and kT2=0.7 keV gives an acceptable fit, and the radii of the corresponding blackbody emission regions are R1=12.1 km and R2=1.7 km. The former value is consistent with emission from a large fraction of a neutron star s…
The gamma-ray burst (GRB) 060218 has ~ 10^5 times lower luminosity than typical long GRBs, and is associated with a supernova (SN). The radio afterglow displays no jet break, so that this burst might arise from a mildly-relativistic spherical outflow produced by the SN shock sweeping the stellar surface. Since this model is energetically difficult, we propose that the radio afterglow is produced by a non-relativistic phase of an initially collimated outflow (jet). Our jet model is supported by the detection of optical linear polarization in the SN component. We also show analytically that the …
We present the first self-consistent theoretical models of magnetar spectra that take into account the combined effects of the stellar atmosphere and its magnetosphere. We find that the proton cyclotron lines that are already weakened by atmospheric effects become indistinguishable from the continuum for moderate scattering optical depths in the magnetosphere. Furthermore, the hard excess becomes more pronounced due to resonant scattering and the resulting spectra closely resemble the observed magnetar spectra. We argue that while the absence of proton cyclotron lines in the observed spectra a…
Evidence is growing for a class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) characterized by an initial ~0.1-1 s spike of hard radiation followed, after a ~3-10 s lull in emission, by a softer period of extended emission lasting ~10-100 s. In a few well-studied cases, these ``short GRBs with extended emission'' show no evidence for a bright associated supernova (SN). We propose that these events are produced by the formation and early evolution of a highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron star (a ``proto-magnetar'') which is formed from the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a white dwarf (WD), the merger…
In the seconds after core collapse and explosion, a thermal neutrino-driven wind emerges from the cooling, deleptonizing newly-born neutron star. If the neutron star has a large-scale magnetar-strength surface magnetic field and millisecond rotation period, then the wind is driven primarily by magneto-centrifugal slinging, and only secondarily by neutrino interactions. The strong magnetic field forces the wind to corotate with the stellar surface and the neutron star's rotational energy is efficiently extracted. As the neutron star cools, and the wind becomes increasingly magnetically-dominate…
X-ray activity of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters may result from the heating of their magnetic corona by direct currents dissipated by magnetic reconnection. We investigate the possibility that X-ray flares and bursts observed from AXPs and SGRs result from magnetospheric reconnection events initiated by development of tearing mode in magnetically-dominated relativistic plasma. We formulate equations of resistive force-free electrodynamics, discuss its relation to ideal electrodynamics, and give examples of both ideal and resistive equilibria. Resistive force-free current…
A number of disparate observational and theoretical pieces of evidence indicate that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, neutron stars' closed field lines are populated by dense, hot plasma and may be responsible for producing some radio and high energy emission. This conclusion is based on eclipse modeling of the binary pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B (Lyutikov & Thompson 2005), a quantitative theory of Crab giant pulses (Lyutikov 2007) and a number of theoretical works related to production of non-thermal spectra in magnetars through resonant scattering. In magnetars, dense pair plasma is …
In this paper we report on the early evolution of core-collapse supernova explosion following the birth of a magnetar with the dipolar magnetic field of B=10^{15}G and the rotational period of 2ms, which was studied by means of axisymmetric general relativistic MHD simulations. The numerical models exhibit highly collimated magnetically-driven jets very early on. The jets are super-Alfvenic but remain sub-fast until the end of the simulations (t=0.2s). The power released in the jets is about 3x10^{50}erg/s which implies the spin-down time of ~37s. The total rotational energy of the magnetar, E…
The recent report of X-ray Fe features in the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 991216 may provide important clues for identifying the nature of its progenitor and constraining the burst mechanism. We argue that the strong line emission can be attributed to the interaction of a continuing (but decaying) post-burst relativistic outflow from the central engine with the progenitor stellar envelope at distances less than a light-hour. Only a small mass of Fe is then required, which could have been readily produced by the star itself.
Soft Gamma Repeaters and the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars are believed to contain slowly spinning "magnetars". The enormous energy liberated in the 2004 Dece 27 giant flare from SGR 1806-20, together with the likely recurrence time of such events, points to an internal magnetic field strength ~ 10^{16} G. Such strong fields are expected to be generated by a coherent alpha-Omega dynamo in the early seconds after the Neutron Star formation, if its spin period is of a few milliseconds at most. A substantial deformation of the NS is caused by such fields and a newborn millisecond-spinning magnetar woul…
We find numerical solutions of the coupled system of Einstein-Maxwell's equations with a linear approach, in which the magnetic field acts as a perturbation of a spherical neutron star. In our study, magnetic fields having both poloidal and toroidal components are considered, and higher order multipoles are also included. We evaluate the deformations induced by different field configurations, paying special attention to those for which the star has a prolate shape. We also explore the dependence of the stellar deformation on the particular choice of the equation of state and on the mass of the…
(ABBREVIATED) We consider the structure of neutron star magnetospheres threaded by large-scale electrical currents, and the effect of resonant Compton scattering by the charge carriers (both electrons and ions) on the emergent X-ray spectra and pulse profiles. In the magnetar model for the SGRs and AXPs, these currents are maintained by magnetic stresses acting deep inside the star. We construct self-similar, force-free equilibria of the current-carrying magnetosphere with a power-law dependence of magnetic field on radius, B ~ r^(-2-p), and show that a large-scale twist softens the radial dep…
We calculate the coupled thermal evolution and magnetic field decay in relativistic model neutron stars threaded by superstrong magnetic fields (B > 10^{15} G). Our main goal is to evaluate how such ``magnetars'' evolve with time and how field decay modifies the transitions to core superfluidity and cooling dominated by surface X-ray emission. Observations of a thermal X-ray spectral component and fast timing noise place strong constraints on the presence of a superfluid core. We find that the transition to core superfluidity can be significantly delayed by field decay in the age range ~ 10^3-…
We solve the 1D neutrino-heated non-relativistic MHD wind problem for conditions that range from slowly rotating (spin period P > 10 ms) protoneutron stars (PNSs) with surface field strengths typical of radio pulsars (B < 10^13 G), to "proto-magnetars" with B ~ 10^14-10^15 G in their hypothesized rapidly rotating initial states (P ~ 1 ms). We use the simulations of Bucciantini et al. (2006) to map our monopole results onto a more physical dipole geometry and to estimate the spindown of PNSs when their winds are relativistic. We then quantify the effects of rotation and magnetic fields on the m…
We model the interaction between the wind from a newly formed rapidly rotating magnetar and the surrounding supernova shock and host star. The dynamics is modeled using the two-dimensional, axisymmetric thin-shell equations. In the first ~10-100 seconds after core collapse the magnetar inflates a bubble of plasma and magnetic fields behind the supernova shock. The bubble expands asymmetrically because of the pinching effect of the toroidal magnetic field, just as in the analogous problem of the evolution of pulsar wind nebulae. The degree of asymmetry depends on E_mag/E_tot. The correct value …
We examine the effects of a relativistic wind on the spin down of a neutron star and apply our results to the study of Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs), thought to be neutron stars with magnetic fields > 10^{14} G. We derive a spin-down formula that includes torques from both dipole radiation and episodic or continuous particle winds. We find that if SGR1806-20 puts out a continuous particle wind of 10^{37} {\rm erg} {\rm s}^{-1}, then the pulsar age is consistent with that of the surrounding supernova remnant, but the derived surface dipole magnetic field is only 3 \times 10^{13} G, in the range o…
Qualitatively new aspects of the (linear and non-linear) stability of sheared relativistic (slab) jets are analyzed. The linear problem has been solved for a wide range of jet models well inside the ultrarelativistic domain (flow Lorentz factors up to 20; specific internal energies $\approx 60c^2$). As a distinct feature of our work, we have combined the analytical linear approach with high-resolution relativistic hydrodynamical simulations, which has allowed us i) to identify, in the linear regime, resonant modes specific to the relativistic shear layer ii) to confirm the result of the linear…
The energy source powering the X-ray emission from anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) is still uncertain. In one scenario, the presence of an ultramagnetized neutron star, or ``magnetar'', with B on the order of 10^{14} - 10^{15} G is invoked. To investigate this hypothesis, we have analyzed archival ASCA data for several known AXPs and SGRs, and fitted them with a model in which all or part of the X-ray flux originates as thermal emission from a magnetar. Our magnetar spectral model includes the effects of the anisotropy of the heat flow through an ultramagneti…
We present an empirical spectral modelling of the high energy emission of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+614, based on simultaneous Swift and INTEGRAL observations from X to gamma-ray energies. We adopted models contained in the XSPEC analysis package, as well as models based on recent theoretical studies, and restricted ourselves to those combinations of up to three components which produce a good fit while requiring the lowest number of free parameters. Only three models were found to fit satisfactorily the 0.5-250keV spectrum of 4U 0142+614: i) a ~0.4keV blackbody and two power-laws, ii…
We investigate torsional Alfvén modes of relativistic stars with a global dipole magnetic field. It has been noted recently (Glampedakis et al. 2006) that such oscillation modes could serve as as an alternative explanation (in contrast to torsional crustal modes) for the SGR phenomenon, if the magnetic field is not confined to the crust. We compute global Alfvén modes for a representative sample of equations of state and magnetar masses, in the ideal MHD approximation and ignoring $\ell \pm 2$ terms in the eigenfunction. We find that the presence of a realistic crust has a negligible effect on…
A relativistic degenerate neutron gas in equilibrium with a background of electrons and protons in a magnetic field exerts its pressure anisotropically, having a smaller value perpendicular than along the magnetic field. For critical fields the magnetic pressure may produce the vanishing of the equatorial pressure of the neutron gas. Taking it as a model for neutron stars, the outcome could be a transverse collapse of the star. This fixes a limit to the fields to be observable in stable neutron star pulsars as a function of their density. The final structure left over after the implosion might…
