Turolla, Roberto;
Taverna, Roberto;
Zane, Silvia;
Heyl, Jeremy;
(2024)
IXPE Observations of Magnetar Sources.
Galaxies
, 12
(5)
, Article 53. 10.3390/galaxies12050053.
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Abstract
Among the more than 60 sources observed in the first two years of operations, IXPE addressed four magnetars, neutron stars believed to host ultra-strong magnetic fields. We report here the main implication coming from IXPE measurements for the physics of magnetars. Polarimetric observations confirmed the expectations of high polarization degrees, up to ≈80%, values which have not been detected in any other source so far, providing further proof (independent from the P-P˙ estimate) that magnetars host indeed ultra-magnetized neutron stars. Polarization measurements also indicate that softer X-rays likely come from surface regions where the overlying atmosphere underwent magnetic condensation. The agreement of the phase-dependent polarization angle with a simple rotating vector model strongly supports the presence of vacuum birefringence around the star.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | IXPE Observations of Magnetar Sources |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/galaxies12050053 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/galaxies12050053 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Magnetars; neutron stars; polarimetry; X-rays sources |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197383 |
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