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Electrodynamics of disk-accreting magnetic neutron starsWe have investigated the electrodynamics of magnetic neutron stars accreting from Keplerian disks and the implications for particle acceleration and gamma-ray emission by such systems. We argue that the particle density in the magnetospheres of such stars is larger by orders of magnitude than the Goldreich-Julian density, so that the formation of vacuum gaps is unlikely. We show that even if the star rotates slowly, electromotive forces (EMFs) of order 10(exp 15) V are produced by the interaction of plasma in the accretion disk with the magnetic field of the neutron star. The resistance of the disk-magnetosphere-star circuit is small, and hence these EMFs drive very large conduction currents. Such large currents are likely to produce magnetospheric instabilities, such as relativistic double layers and reconnection events, that can accelerate electrons or ions to very high energies.
Document ID
19950035996
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Miller, M. Coleman
(Univ. of Illinois at Urgana-Champaign, Urbana, IL US, United States)
Lamb, Frederick K.
(Univ. of Illinois at Urgana-Champaign, Urbana, IL US, United States)
Hamilton, Russell J.
(Univ. of Illinois at Urgana-Champaign, Urbana, IL US, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Volume: 90
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0067-0049
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
95A67595
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF PHY-91-00283
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-1583
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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