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L.G. Titarchuk (George Mason University/SCS/CEOSR; Naval Research Laboratory), C.F. Bradshaw (George Mason University/SCS/CEOSR), K.S. Wood (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)
We present a method for determining the B-field around neutron stars based on observed kHz and viscous QPO frequencies used in combination with the best-fit optical depth and temperature of a Comptonization model. In the framework of the transition layer QPO model, we analyze magnetoacoustic wave (MAW) formation in the layer between a neutron star surface and the inner edge of a Keplerian disk. We derive formulas for the MAW frequencies for different regimes of radial transition layer oscillations. We demonstrate that our model can use the QPO as a new kind of probe to determine the magnetic field strengths for 4U 1728-42, GX 340+0, and Sco X-1 in the zone where the QPOs occur. Observations indicate that the dependence of the viscous frequency on the Keplerian frequency is closely related to the inferred dependence of the MAW frequency on the Keplerian frequency for a dipole magnetic field. The MAW dependence is based on a single parameter, the magnetic moment of the star as estimated from the field strength in the transition layer. The best-fit magnetic moment parameter is about (0.5-1)x 1025 G cm3 for all studied sources. From observational data, the magnetic fields within distances less than 20 km from the neutron star for all three sources are strongly constrained to be dipole fields with the strengths 107-8 G on the neutron star surface.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: lev@xip.nrl.navy.mil