Abstract
This paper introduces the physics surrounding accretion onto a magnetised neutron star in a binary system. It focuses on the use of experimentally observed cyclotron spectral features to estimate the surface magnetic field strength of the neutron star. A semi-classical description of the cyclotron spectral lines is given, allowing the magnetic field close to the surface of the neutron star to be estimated without recourse to sophisticated quantum mechanics. The estimated values are compared to published literature values for a selection of five accreting binary systems and shown to agree to within 13%. The limitations of the semi-classical approach are also discussed. The work presented here is accessible to undergraduate university students and is suitable for inclusion into introductory undergraduate courses on the subject.
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