Quantum Plasma Creation near a Magnetar

Magnetars in quiescent states continue to emit hard X-rays with a power far exceeding the loss of rotational energy. It has recently been noted that this hard X-ray continuum may bear a direct signature of quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects in magnetic fields stronger than the Schwinger field (BQ = 4.4× 10¹³ G). When the current flowing into the magnetosphere is driven by narrow structures in the solid crust, the e^± pair plasma supporting the current relaxes to a collisional and trans-relativistic state. The decay of a pair into two photons produces a broad, bremsstrahlung-like spectrum of hard X-rays, similar to that observed and extending up to $0.5-1$ MeV. The conversion of two gamma rays to a pair is further enhanced by a factor ~ B/BQ. Monte Carlo calculations of pair creation in a dipole magnetic field are presented. Non-local particle injection is found to be strong enough to suppress the high voltage that otherwise would accompany polar magnetic twist; the hard X-rays are mostly emitted away from the magnetic poles. Some of the pairs annihilate in an optically thin surface layer. The prototypical anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 2259$+$586, which shows a hard X-ray continuum but relatively weak torque noise, slow spindown, and no radio emission, is a Rosetta Stone for understanding the magnetar circuit, consistent with the picture advanced here. For a $15-60$ keV luminosity as low as 10³⁴ erg s⁻¹, the polar flux of sub-relativistic pairs produces an optical depth $3-30$ to electron cyclotron scattering in the $1-10$ keV band, reducing the net X-ray polarization.