ASTRO-PROPELLER · Appearance and Evolution of Stars in the State of Propeller

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Project objective

The research topic of the project is the appearance of neutron stars in the state of subsonic propeller. Davies, Fabian and Pringle (1979) and Davies and Pringle (1981) were first who recognized the presence of this state and incorporated it into the evolutionary tracks of neutron stars. An improvement of their model recently suggested by Ikhsanov (2001a, 2001b, 2002, 2003) represents an indirect justification of the existence of subsonic propellers and raises a question about a possibility of their observational identification. The reconstruction of quantitative criteria for observational identification of stars in the subsonic propeller state is the main goal of the project. We intend to reconsider the equilibrium shape and stability of the magnetospheric boundary of a fast rotating magnetized compact star, to perform the quantitative analysis of the heating and cooling processes in the atmosphere surrounding the magnetosphere of a star in the state of propeller, and to simulate the spectrum of radiation emitted by these objects. These calculations will allow us to construct the quantitative model of stars in the subsonic propeller state and to suggest the criteria for their observational identification. The result will be applied to the reconstruction of the evolutionary tracks of magnetars and pulsars surrounded by planetary systems, and for the identification and interpretation of faint X-ray sources. The proposed training will allow us to establish a new research group within the European astrophysical network.

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Participants

• University of Cambridge · CambridgeCoordinatorUnited Kingdom

Links

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