Radiative properties of magnetic neutron stars with metallic surfaces and thin atmospheres

Understand

The goal of this work is to develop a simple analytic description of the emission properties (spectrum and polarization) of the condensed, strongly magnetized surface of neutron stars.

• We have improved the method of van Adelsberg et al.
• (2005) (arXiv:astro-ph/0406001) for calculating the spectral properties of condensed magnetized surfaces.
• Using the improved method, we calculate the reflectivity of an iron surface at magnetic field strengths B \sim (10^{12} - 10^{14}) G, with various inclinations of the magnetic field lines and radiation beam with respect to the surface and each other.