Neutron stars theory and observation : [proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Neutron Stars : an interdisciplinary field, Agia Pelagia, Crete, Greece, September 3-14, 1990

Some twenty-three years after the discovery of pulsars and their identification as rotating neutron stars, neutron star physics may be regarded as comingofage. Pul­ sars and accreting neutron stars have now been studied at every wavelength, from the initial radio observations, through optical, X-, and "{-ray, up to the very recent observations in the TeV region, while theorists have studied in some detail relevant physical processes both outside and inside neutron stars. As a result, comparisonof theory with observation provides a test ofour theoretical ideas in fields as diverse as neutron and nuclear matter, superfluidity and superconductivity, the acceleration of high energy particles, and the generation and maintenance of intense magnetic fields. For example, through observations of glitches and post glitch behavior of pulsars, it has become possible to establish the presence ofsuperfluid neutron mat­ ter in the inner crust of neutron stars, and to determine some of its properties, while neutron stars in compact binary systems offer one ofthe most efficient energy generation mechanisms known. It is in fact the interactive interpretation of these ,diverse pieces of information that can lead to major advances in our understanding of the physics of these exotic objects, and justifies the characterization of neutron stars as hadron physics laboratories. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 An Introduction to Matter at Subnuclear Densities....Pages 3-20 The High Density Interiors of Neutron Stars....Pages 21-36 Pairing Interactions in Neutron Stars....Pages 37-48 Superfluid Dynamics in Neutron Stars....Pages 49-56 Neutron Stars as Cosmic Hadron Physics Laboratories: What Glitches Teach Us....Pages 57-70 Neutron Star Plate Tectonics....Pages 71-86 Thermal Emission of Pulsars....Pages 87-100 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 The Formation of Neutron Stars in The Galaxy....Pages 103-123 Core Collapse Supernovae and Neutron Star Formation....Pages 125-141 Neutron Star Formation in Close Binary Systems....Pages 143-170 Evolution of Close Binaries and the Formation of Millisecond Radio Pulsars....Pages 171-196 Vaporizing Neutron Stars in Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries and the Statistics of Millisecond Pulsars....Pages 197-202 Companion Winds Excited by Neutron Star Radiation in LMXBs and Millisecond Pulsars....Pages 203-218 The Evolution of Neutron Star Magnetic Fields....Pages 219-233 Electrical Conductivity of Neutron Star Cores and Evolution of Internal Magnetic Fields....Pages 235-242 Front Matter....Pages 243-243 Neutron Stars in X-Ray Binaries....Pages 245-287 Optical Light Curves of X-Ray Binaries....Pages 289-317 Observations of Z and Atoll Sources....Pages 319-346 Front Matter....Pages 347-347 An Empirical Theory of Pulsar Emission....Pages 349-362 Plasma Physics of Accreting Neutron Stars....Pages 363-444 Front Matter....Pages 347-347 Unified Model of X-Ray Spectra and QPOs in Low Mass Neutron Star Binaries....Pages 445-481 Accreting Pulsars, Gamma-Ray Bursters and LMXB as High Energy Polarized Sources....Pages 483-492 Accretion Flows on to Neutron Stars....Pages 493-500 Soft X-Ray Transients....Pages 501-514 Slowly Accreting Neutron Stars (“Sans”)....Pages 515-527 Front Matter....Pages 529-529 X-Ray Bursts....Pages 531-544 Gamma-Ray Bursts....Pages 545-560 Annihilation Radiation in Strong Magnetic Fields and Gamma-Ray Burst Spectra....Pages 561-569 The Search for TeV Emission from Neutron Stars....Pages 571-577 Back Matter....Pages 579-592 Some twenty-three years after the discovery of pulsars and their identification as rotating neutron stars, neutron star physics may be regarded as comingofage. PulƯ sars and accreting neutron stars have now been studied at every wavelength, from the initial radio observations, through optical, X-, and "{-ray, up to the very recent observations in the TeV region, while theorists have studied in some detail relevant physical processes both outside and inside neutron stars. As a result, comparisonof theory with observation provides a test ofour theoretical ideas in fields as diverse as neutron and nuclear matter, superfluidity and superconductivity, the acceleration of high energy particles, and the generation and maintenance of intense magnetic fields. For example, through observations of glitches and post glitch behavior of pulsars, it has become possible to establish the presence ofsuperfluid neutron matƯ ter in the inner crust of neutron stars, and to determine some of its properties, while neutron stars in compact binary systems offer one ofthe most efficient energy generation mechanisms known. It is in fact the interactive interpretation of these, diverse pieces of information that can lead to major advances in our understanding of the physics of these exotic objects, and justifies the characterization of neutron stars as hadron physics laboratories Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Neutron Stars: An Interdisciplinary Field, Agia Pelagia, Crete, Greece, September 3-14, 1990 Edited By Joseph Ventura, David Pines.