X-ray aurora in neutron star magnetospheres

Abstract

In this study we propose a new generic model for QPOs based on oscillation modes of neutron star magnetospheres. We argue that the interaction of the accretion disk with the magnetosphere can excite resonant shear Alfven waves in a region of enhanced density gradients. We demonstrate that depending on the distance of this enhanced density region from the star and the magnetic field strength, the frequency of the field line resonance can range from several Hz (weaker field, farther from star), to approximately kHz frequencies (stronger field, ~ 2-10 star radii from the star). We show that such oscillations are able to significantly modulate inflow of matter from the high density region toward the star surface, and possibly produce the observed X-ray spectrum. In addition, we show that the observed 2:3 frequency ratio of QPOs is a natural result of our model.