Proton Acceleration in Neutron Star Magnetospheres
Smith, I. A., Katz, J. I., & Diamond, P. H.
To explain the emission of TeV and PeV gamma rays from accreting X-ray
binary sources, protons must be accelerated to several times the
gamma-ray energy.
It is shown here that at certain times, the plasma in the accretion column
of the neutron star may form a deep enough pool that the top portion becomes
unstable to convective motions in spite of the strong magnetic field.
The resulting turbulence produces fluctuations in the strength of the
magnetic field that travel up the accretion column, taking energy out
to the region of the energetic protons.
The protons resonantly absorb this energy and are accelerated to high energies.
Including the synchrotron radiation losses of the protons, it is shown that
they can be accelerated to energies that are high enough to explain the
gamma-ray observations.
Status:
1992, ApJ, 388, 148.
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