Polarization Modes in a Strongly Magnetized Hydrogen Gas

Abstract

We investigate the properties of the normal modes in a strongly magnetized hydrogen gas for conditions expected in atmospheres of isolated neutron stars. We derive and compute the polarizations and absorption coefficients of the normal modes from the polarizabily tensor using both analytical approximations and numerical calculations. We find that the spectral features and anisotropy associated with the bound-bound and bound-free transitions in the magnetized hydrogen are manifested in the polarization characteristics, which affects substantially the spectral and angular dependences of the absorption coefficients of the normal modes and the transfer of radiation in neutron star atmospheres.