Conditions for jet formation in accreting neutron stars: the magnetic field decay

Federico García, Deborah N. Aguilera and Gustavo E. Romero.

Serie: Trabajos publicados del IAR ; no. 1085

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. Buenos Aires, September 13-17, 2010 editado por G. E. Romero, R. A. Sunyaev & T. Belloni.

Resumen: Accreting neutron stars can produce jets only if they are weakly magnetized (B [aprox.] 10[elevado a la] G). On the other hand, neutron stars are compact objects born with strong surface magnetic fields (B [aprox.] 10[elevado a la]12G). In this work we study the conditions for jet formation in a binary system formed by a neutron star and a massive donor star once the magnetic field has decayed due to accretion. We solve the induction equation for the magnetic field diffusion in a realistic neutron star crust and discuss the possibility of jet launching in systems like the recently detected Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients