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Project Description:
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Magnetars are neutron stars that are some of the most intriguing compact objects in the Universe. There are around 30 known, with many of them exhibiting powerful outbursts of hard X rays. This project will develop two synergistic Monte Carlo simulations to describe this emission by modeling radiative transfer in magnetar magnetospheres. The codes will compute the interaction between X rays and hot, relativistic electrons in Compton scattering events, tracking their energy exchange and photon polarization. A precision physics formalism for the magnetic Compton cross section will be incorporated to account for the multiple cyclotron resonances that dominate the opacity.
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