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Absorption of gamma-ray photons in a vacuum neutron star magnetosphere: I. Electron-positron pair production

  • Nuclei, Particles, Fields, Gravitation, and Astrophysics
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Abstract

The production of electron-positron pairs in a vacuum neutron star magnetosphere is investigated for both low (compared to the Schwinger one) and high magnetic fields. The case of a strong longitudinal electric field where the produced electrons and positrons acquire a stationary Lorentz factor in a short time is considered. The source of electron-positron pairs has been calculated with allowance made for the pair production by curvature and synchrotron photons. Synchrotron photons are shown to make a major contribution to the total pair production rate in a weak magnetic field. At the same time, the contribution from bremsstrahlung photons may be neglected. The existence of a time delay due to the finiteness of the electron and positron acceleration time leads to a great reduction in the electron-positron plasma generation rate compared to the case of a zero time delay. The effective local source of electron-positron pairs has been constructed. It can be used in the hydrodynamic equations that describe the development of a cascade after the absorption of a photon from the cosmic gamma-ray background in a neutron star magnetosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 53, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    Ya. N. Istomin & D. N. Sob’yanin

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  1. Ya. N. Istomin
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  2. D. N. Sob’yanin
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Correspondence to Ya. N. Istomin.

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Original Russian Text © Ya.N. Istomin, D.N. Sob’yanin, 2011, published in Zhurnal Eksperimental’noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2011, Vol. 140, No. 4, pp. 681–695.

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Istomin, Y.N., Sob’yanin, D.N. Absorption of gamma-ray photons in a vacuum neutron star magnetosphere: I. Electron-positron pair production. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 113, 592–604 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776111090056

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776111090056

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