Model X-ray spectra of magnetic neutron stars with hydrogen atmospheres

W. C. G. Ho
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

A. Y. Potekhin
Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, St.Petersburg 194021, Russia

G. Chabrier
Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, CRAL (UMR CNRS No. 5574), 46 allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France

We construct partially ionized hydrogen atmosphere models for magnetized neutron stars in radiative equilibrium with fixed surface fields between B=1012 and 1013 G and effective temperatures log Teff=5.5-6.8, as well as with surface B and Teff distributions around these values. The models are based on the latest equation of state and opacity results for magnetized, partially ionized hydrogen plasmas. The atmospheres directly determine the characteristics of thermal emission from the surface of neutron stars. We also incorporate these model spectra into XSPEC, under the model name NSMAX, thus allowing them to be used by the community to fit X-ray observations of neutron stars.

[Back to the Programme] [Seminar Home Page] [Department of Theoretical Astrophysics] [Ioffe Institute]

Page created on January 30, 2008.