Joule heating and the thermal evolution of old neutron stars
We consider Joule heating caused by dissipation of the magnetic field in the neutron star crust. This mechanism may be efficient in maintaining a relatively high surface temperature in very old neutron stars. Calculations of the thermal evolution show that, at the late evolutionary stage ($t \geq 10$ Myr), the luminosity of the neutron star is approximately equal to the energy released due to the field dissipation and is practically independent of the atmosphere models. At this stage, the surface temperature can be of the order of $3 \times 10^{4} - 10^{5}$K. Joule heating can maintain this high temperature during extremely long time ($\geq 100$ Myr), comparable with the decay time of the m…
Crust-magnetosphere coupling during magnetar evolution and implications for the surface temperature
We study the coupling of the force-free magnetosphere to the long-term internal evolution of a magnetar. We allow the relation between the poloidal and toroidal stream functions - that characterizes the magnetosphere - to evolve freely without constraining its particular form. We find that, on time-scales of the order of kyr, the energy stored in the magnetosphere gradually increases, as the toroidal region grows and the field lines expand outwards. This continues until a critical point is reached beyond which force-free solutions for the magnetosphere can no longer be constructed, likely leading to some large-scale magnetospheric reorganization. The energy budget available for such events …
On the convexity of Relativistic Hydrodynamics
The relativistic hydrodynamic system of equations for a perfect fluid obeying a causal equation of state is hyperbolic (Anile 1989 {\it Relativistic Fluids and Magneto-Fluids} (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)). In this report, we derive the conditions for this system to be convex in terms of the fundamental derivative of the equation of state (Menikoff and Plohr 1989 {\it Rev. Mod. Phys.} {\bf 61} 75). The classical limit is recovered.
Numerical relativistic hydrodynamics: Local characteristic approach.
We extend some recent Ishock capturing methodsR designed to solve nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws and which avoid the use of artifical viscosity for treating strong discontinuities to a relativistic hydrodynamics system of equations. Some standard shock-tube problems and radial accretion onto a Schwarzschild black hole are used to calibrate our code.
Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics: Renormalized eigenvectors and full wave decomposition Riemann solver
We obtain renormalized sets of right and left eigenvectors of the flux vector Jacobians of the relativistic MHD equations, which are regular and span a complete basis in any physical state including degenerate ones. The renormalization procedure relies on the characterization of the degeneracy types in terms of the normal and tangential components of the magnetic field to the wavefront in the fluid rest frame. Proper expressions of the renormalized eigenvectors in conserved variables are obtained through the corresponding matrix transformations. Our work completes previous analysis that present different sets of right eigenvectors for non-degenerate and degenerate states, and can be seen as…
Accurate Evaluation of Fermi-Dirac Integrals and Their Derivatives for Arbitrary Degeneracy and Relativity
The equation of state of an ideal Fermi gas is expressed in terms of Fermi-Dirac integrals. We give formulae for evaluation the Fermi-Dirac integrals of orders 1/2, 3/2, and 5/2 and their derivatives in various limits of non- and extreme degeneracy and relativity. We provide tables and a Fortran subroutine for numerical evaluation of the integrals and derivatives when a limit does not apply. The functions can be evaluated to better than 1% accuracy for any temperature and density using these methods.
Convection in the Surface Layers of Neutron Stars
During some phases of a neutron star's evolution, the temperature gradient in the surface layers, calculated assuming only radiative and conductive transport, may exceed the adiabatic gradient. This superadiabatic gradient is the necessary (but not sufficient) condition for convective instability. The present paper examines the sufficiency condition for the onset of convection in neutron stars in the presence of a strong magnetic field. It is shown that the large fields typically found in neutron stars—about 1011 to 1013 G—stabilize the atmosphere against convection. Convective instability can arise only in neutron stars with very weak magnetic fields, ≤108-109 G. Convective motions in such…
Spectral evolution of superluminal components in parsec-scale jets
27 pages, 18 figures, 1 table, 1 appendix.-- Pre-print archive.
The force-free twisted magnetosphere of a neutron star – II. Degeneracies of the Grad–Shafranov equation
We extend our previous study of equilibrium solutions of non-rotating force-free magnetospheres of neutron stars. We show that multiple solutions exist for the same sets of parameters, implying that the solutions are degenerate. We are able to obtain configurations with disconnected field lines, however, in nearly all cases these correspond to degenerate higher energy solutions. We carry out a wide parametric search in order to understand the properties of the solutions. We confirm our previous results that the lower energy solutions have up to $\sim 25\%$ more energy than the vacuum case, helicity of the order of $\sim 5$ (in some defined units), maximum twist of $\sim 1.5$ rad, and a dipo…
Evolution of Proto-Neutron stars with kaon condensates
We present simulations of the evolution of a proto-neutron star in which kaon-condensed matter might exist, including the effects of finite temperature and trapped neutrinos. The phase transition from pure nucleonic matter to the kaon condensate phase is described using Gibbs' rules for phase equilibrium, which permit the existence of a mixed phase. A general property of neutron stars containing kaon condensates, as well as other forms of strangeness, is that the maximum mass for cold, neutrino-free matter can be less than the maximum mass for matter containing trapped neutrinos or which has a finite entropy. A proto-neutron star formed with a baryon mass exceeding that of the maximum mass …
The force-free twisted magnetosphere of a neutron star
We present a detailed analysis of the properties of twisted, force-free magnetospheres of non-rotating neutron stars, which are of interest in the modelling of magnetar properties and evolution. In our models the magnetic field smoothly matches to a current-free (vacuum) solution at some large external radius, and they are specifically built to avoid pathological surface currents at any of the interfaces. By exploring a large range of parameters, we find a few remarkable general trends. We find that the total dipolar moment can be increased by up to $40\%$ with respect to a vacuum model with the same surface magnetic field, due to the contribution of magnetospheric currents to the global ma…
Long-term evolution of the force-free twisted magnetosphere of a magnetar
We study the long-term quasi-steady evolution of the force-free magnetosphere of a magnetar coupled to its internal magnetic field. We find that magnetospheric currents can be maintained on long timescales of the order of thousands of years. Meanwhile, the energy, helicity and twist stored in the magnetosphere all gradually increase over the course of this evolution, until a critical point is reached, beyond which a force-free magnetosphere cannot be constructed. At this point, some large-scale magnetospheric rearrangement, possibly resulting in an outburst or a flare, must occur, releasing a large fraction of the stored energy, helicity and twist. After that, the quasi-steady evolution sho…
The nonadiabatic general-relativistic stellar oscillations
We have derived the equations which govern the linear nonadiabatic general-relativistic radial oscillations. The perturbation produces a heat flux that is coupled with the geometry, through the Einstein field equations of a stellar configuration. The classical limit is recovered. The stability conditions are examined by means of a simplified one-zone model.
Upwind Relativistic MHD Code for Astrophysical Applications
We describe the status of devolpment of a 2.5D numerical code to solve the equations of ideal relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. The numerical code, based on high-resolution shock-capturing techniques, solves the equations written in conservation form and computes the numerical fluxes using a linearized Riemann solver. A special procedure is used to force the conservation of magnetic flux along the evolution.
Numerical 3+1 general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics: a local characteristic approach
We present a general procedure to solve numerically the general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) equations within the framework of the 3+1 formalism. The work reported here extends our previous investigation in general relativistic hydrodynamics (Banyuls et al. 1997) where magnetic fields were not considered. The GRMHD equations are written in conservative form to exploit their hyperbolic character in the solution procedure. All theoretical ingredients necessary to build up high-resolution shock-capturing schemes based on the solution of local Riemann problems (i.e. Godunov-type schemes) are described. In particular, we use a renormalized set of regular eigenvectors of the flux Jac…
Stellar hydrodynamics with glaister's riemann solver: An approach to the stellar collapse
La resolution de Remann approximee de la solution des equations d'Euler de la dynamique des gaz 1 D, developpee par Glaister P. (1988, J. Comput. Phys., 74) est introduite dans un code hydrodynamique lagrangien et appliquee a l'effondrement stellaire a symetrie spherique
Hyperbolic character of the angular moment equations of radiative transfer and numerical methods
We study the mathematical character of the angular moment equations of radiative transfer in spherical symmetry and conclude that the system is hyperbolic for general forms of the closure relation found in the literature. Hyperbolicity and causality preservation lead to mathematical conditions allowing to establish a useful characterization of the closure relations. We apply numerical methods specifically designed to solve hyperbolic systems of conservation laws (the so-called Godunov-type methods), to calculate numerical solutions of the radiation transport equations in a static background. The feasibility of the method in any kind of regime, from diffusion to free-streaming, is demonstrat…
Convective instability in proto-neutron stars
The linear hydrodynamic stability of proto-neutron stars (PNSs) is considered taking into account dissipative processes such as neutrino transport and viscosity. We obtain the general instability criteria which differ essentially from the well-known Ledoux criterion used in previous studies. We apply the criteria to evolutive models of PNSs that, in general, can be subject to the various known regimes such as neutron fingers and convective instabilities. Our results indicate that the fingers instability arises in a more extended region of the stellar volume and lasts a longer time than expected.
Neutron star formation with presence of hyperons
We study the influence of hyperons during the early stages of the birth of a neutron star (Kelvin-Helmholtz phase), employing neutrino opacities calculated consistently with the equation of state by considering all possible neutrino-hyperon reactions. Our results from numerical simulations of newly born neutron stars, or proto-neutron stars, show an increasingly important influence of hyperons at later times. It is remarkable the existence of metastable stars, which are stable at birth but become unstable during the evolution as the deleptonization proceeds and the hyperon concentration increases. We also present results from hydrodynamical simulations of the collapse to a black hole of met…