Our distorted view of magnetars: application of the resonant cyclotron scattering model

Author: Rea Nanda   Zane Silvia   Lyutikov Maxim   Turolla Roberto  

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

ISSN: 0004-640X

Source: Astrophysics and Space Science, Vol.308, Iss.1-4, 2007-04, pp. : 61-65

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Abstract

The X-ray spectra of the magnetar candidates are customarily fitted with an empirical, two component model: an absorbed blackbody and a power-law. However, the physical interpretation of these two spectral components is rarely discussed. It has been recently proposed that the presence of a hot plasma in the magnetosphere of highly magnetized neutron stars might distort, through efficient resonant cyclotron scattering, the thermal emission from the neutron star surface, resulting in production of non-thermal spectra. Here we discuss the Resonant Cyclotron Scattering (RCS) model, and present its XSPEC implementation, as well as preliminary results of its application to Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters.