Speaker: Samuel Lander
Title: The magnetic inclination angle of neutron stars and its effect on their spindown
Date/Time: Nov 1,2023, 13:40-14:30
Place: FENS G035 (Physical Only)
Abstract: The magnetic inclination angle separates a neutron star’s rotation axis from its magnetic-field symmetry axis. A common simplification in evolutions of rotating neutron stars is to assume this angle remains constant, but this misses much interesting physics.
This talk describes how to model the coupled evolution of a neutron star’s rotation and magnetic inclination angle. The evolution depends not only on the exterior electromagnetic torque, but also on the physics of the star’s interior: its complex internal fluid motions, viscous damping, and the interior magnetic field strength. We show how the evolving inclination angle has a strong influence on our chances of detecting radio emission from a neutron star, it affects the strength and nature of any electromagnetic emission at birth (relevant for some models of gamma-ray bursts), and dictates whether a neutron star is likely to be a good source of gravitational waves for future detectors. Furthermore, observations of inclination angles help us to probe aspects of neutron-star interior physics that are otherwise hard to constrain.
Bio:Following an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Warwick, Lander moved to the University of Southampton General Relativity group to study for a PhD with Ian Jones. After completing his doctorate, he worked in postdoctoral positions in Tübingen (Germany), Southampton, and finally secured a Marie Curie fellowship to work in the Copernicus Astronomical Centre in Warsaw. He also visited several other institutions for shorter collaborations, including the Albert Einstein Institute (Potsdam, Germany), Amsterdam, and Santiago (Chile). Finally, after the position in Warsaw he was appointed lecturer at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK).