On the Origin of Magnetar Fields: Chiral Magnetic Instability in Neutron Star Crusts

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Hauptverfasser: Dehman, Clara, Pons, José A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Dehman, Clara
Pons, José A.
author_facet Dehman, Clara
Pons, José A.
contents We investigate the chiral magnetic instability in the crust of a neutron star as a potential mechanism for amplifying magnetic fields. This instability may become active when small deviations from chemical equilibrium are sustained over decades, driven by the star's gradual spin-down or residual heat loss. Our findings suggest that this mechanism can produce strong, large-scale magnetic fields consistent with models that align with observational data. Additionally, this instability naturally generates magnetic helicity in the star's crust, which is crucial for forming and maintaining strong dipolar toroidal fields, often invoked to explain magnetar observational phenomena. Our results offer a microphysically-based alternative to classical hydrodynamical dynamos for the origin of magnetar magnetic fields, addressing a long-standing debate in the field.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_05281
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the Origin of Magnetar Fields: Chiral Magnetic Instability in Neutron Star Crusts
Dehman, Clara
Pons, José A.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
We investigate the chiral magnetic instability in the crust of a neutron star as a potential mechanism for amplifying magnetic fields. This instability may become active when small deviations from chemical equilibrium are sustained over decades, driven by the star's gradual spin-down or residual heat loss. Our findings suggest that this mechanism can produce strong, large-scale magnetic fields consistent with models that align with observational data. Additionally, this instability naturally generates magnetic helicity in the star's crust, which is crucial for forming and maintaining strong dipolar toroidal fields, often invoked to explain magnetar observational phenomena. Our results offer a microphysically-based alternative to classical hydrodynamical dynamos for the origin of magnetar magnetic fields, addressing a long-standing debate in the field.
title On the Origin of Magnetar Fields: Chiral Magnetic Instability in Neutron Star Crusts
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.05281