Honors College Senior Thesis Presentations
Simulations of Magnetar Spin-Down Lifetimes Using Magnetic Braking Models
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Physics
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Joshua Ridley
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
The beginnings of magnetar lifetimes are not very well understood. It is important to improve our understanding of magnetar origins in order to investigate possible evolutionary connections to other classes of NS, such as X-ray dim isolated NSs (XDINSs). Here we follow in the steps of another paper in modeling the spin evolution of magnetars, utilizing two avenues of evolution: one involving exponential B-field decay, and the other involving sub- and super-exponential B-field decay. We replicate the results of the paper, utilizing Monte Carlo methods to generate and evolve synthetic populations of magnetars, which are then compared to the current known magnetar population. We replicate the heat maps generated in their search for optimal model parameters; we also generate for other models heat maps that were not included in the original paper. We then investigate modifications to the B-field decay model in the case of sub-exponential decay, particularly investigating the introduction of a non-decaying core B-field
Fall Scholars Week 2024 Event
Honors College Senior Thesis Presentations
Simulations of Magnetar Spin-Down Lifetimes Using Magnetic Braking Models
The beginnings of magnetar lifetimes are not very well understood. It is important to improve our understanding of magnetar origins in order to investigate possible evolutionary connections to other classes of NS, such as X-ray dim isolated NSs (XDINSs). Here we follow in the steps of another paper in modeling the spin evolution of magnetars, utilizing two avenues of evolution: one involving exponential B-field decay, and the other involving sub- and super-exponential B-field decay. We replicate the results of the paper, utilizing Monte Carlo methods to generate and evolve synthetic populations of magnetars, which are then compared to the current known magnetar population. We replicate the heat maps generated in their search for optimal model parameters; we also generate for other models heat maps that were not included in the original paper. We then investigate modifications to the B-field decay model in the case of sub-exponential decay, particularly investigating the introduction of a non-decaying core B-field
