The evolution of isolated neutron stars until accretion: the role of the initial magnetic field

Abstract

We study the evolution of isolated neutron stars on long time-scales and calculate the distribution of these sources in the main evolutionary stages: ejector, propeller, accretor and georotator. We make comparisons among different initial magnetic field distributions taking into account the possibility of magnetic field decay, and include in our calculations the stage of subsonic propeller. It is shown that though the subsonic propeller stage can be relatively long, initially highly magnetized neutron stars (B0≳ 1013 G) reach the accretion regime within the Galactic lifetime if their kick velocities are not too large. The fact that in previous studies made >10 yr ago such objects were not considered results in a slight increase of the accretor fraction in comparison with earlier conclusions. Most of the neutron stars similar to the Magnificent Seven are expected to become accreting from the interstellar medium after a few billion years of their evolution. They are the main predecessors of accreting isolated neutron stars.