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The Magnetic Fields of Pulsars
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 February 2017
Abstract
Two generation mechanisms of magnetic fields in pulsars are considered.
If the temperature of a star is more than 108K, the star consists of a normal fluid of neutrons, protons and electrons. Because the angular velocity of pulsars is not constant dω/dt ≠0, inertia effects can occur, and generate magnetic fields through the relative motion of charged particles with different masses. The kinematic viscosity of electrons is 30 times larger than that of protons; hence electrons move with the crust, but the proton-neutron fluid will move relative to the electrons. The magnetic momentum can be calculated by the following formula where Meff = Mp + Mn(Nn/Np), R = radius of the star, σ = conductivity. For typical neutron stars we have dω/dt~ 10-8 s-2, R~106 cm, σ~1029 s-1 and we get a magnetic field of the order of 1010 G.
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- Part III: Accretion of Matter and X-Ray Sources
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- Copyright © Reidel 1974