2000/01/01 by Robert C. Duncan · 1 voice · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.1361651
In magnetic fields stronger than BQ≡me2c3/ℏe=4.4×1013 Gauss, an electron’s Landau excitation energy exceeds its rest energy. I review the physics of this strange regime and some of its implications for the crusts and magnetospheres of neutron stars. In particular, I describe how ultra-strong fields • render the vacuum birefringent and capable of distorting and magnifying images (“magnetic lensing”); • change the self-energy of electrons: as B increases they are first slightly lighter than me, then slightly heavier; • cause photons to rapidly split and merge with each other; • distort atoms into long, thin cylinders and molecules into strong, polymer-like chains; • enhance the pair density in thermal pair-photon gases; • strongly suppress photon-electron scattering, and • drive the vacuum itself unstable, at extremely large B. In a concluding section, I discuss the spindown of ultra-magnetized neutron stars and recent soft gamma repeater observations.