Magnetic field decay in isolated neutron stars

Three mechanisms that promote the loss of magnetic flux from an isolated neutron star - Ohmic decay, ambipolar diffusion, and Hall drift - are investigated. Equations of motions are solved for charged particles in the presence of a magnetic field and a fixed background of neutrons, while allowing fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Astrophysical journal Vol. 395; no. 1; pp. 250 - 258
Main Authors Goldreich, Peter, Reisenegger, Andreas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Legacy CDMS University of Chicago Press 10.08.1992
Subjects
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Late stages of stellar evolution (including black holes)
Neutron stars
Stars
Magnetic flux
Neutron star
Equation of motion
Magnetic star
Energy dissipation
Ambipolar diffusion
Charged particle
Hall effect
Magnetic field
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ISSN0004-637X
1538-4357
1538-4357
DOI10.1086/171646

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Summary:Three mechanisms that promote the loss of magnetic flux from an isolated neutron star - Ohmic decay, ambipolar diffusion, and Hall drift - are investigated. Equations of motions are solved for charged particles in the presence of a magnetic field and a fixed background of neutrons, while allowing for the creation and destruction of particles by weak interactions. Although these equations apply to normal neutrons and protons, the present interpretations of their solutions are extended to cover cases of neutron superfluidity and proton superconductivity. The equations are manipulated to prove that, in the presence of a magnetic force, the charged particles cannot be simultaneously in magnetostatic equilibrium and chemical equilibrium with the neutrons. The application of the results to real neutron stars is discussed.
Bibliography:CDMS
Legacy CDMS
ISSN: 0004-637X
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
1538-4357
DOI:10.1086/171646