Abstract
I give an overview of the most important observational tools to study the magnetospheres of accreting neutron stars, with a focus on accreting neutron stars in high mass X-ray binary systems. Topics covered are the different types of accretion onto neutron stars and the structure of the accretion column, and how models for these can be tested with observations.
Highlights
Accreting neutron stars in X-ray binaries provide direct observational information on the interaction of their strong (1012 G) magnetic fields with the stellar wind of their donor stars
Topics covered are the different types of accretion onto neutron stars and the structure of the accretion column, and how models for these can be tested with observations
Through observations of cyclotron lines – absorption line like features caused by the interaction of hard X-ray photons with quantized electrons in the magnetic field at the neutron star’s magnetic poles – these objects are our only opportunity for direct measurements of the strength of neutron star magnetic fields
Summary
Accreting neutron stars in X-ray binaries provide direct observational information on the interaction of their strong (1012 G) magnetic fields with the stellar wind of their donor stars. 2 I discuss the different ways how neutron stars in X-ray binary systems accrete matter from their donor stars, while Sect. For space reasons I will only briefly touch on subjects that are discussed elsewhere in this volume, such as ideas that the accretion column in neutron stars is several kilometers in length (leading to B-fields of ∼1014 G at the magnetic poles; see the contribution by Doroshenko et al.) and models explaining the cyclotron line variability as reflection from the neutron star surface (see the contribution by Mushtukov et al.)
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