Spectral Studies of Super-Eddington Accreting Neutron Stars in the Magellanic Clouds

Abstract

Major outbursts of BeXRBs offer a unique laboratory for studying accretion onto magnetized neutron stars (NSs) over a large dynamic range. The accreting material is entrained from the accretion disk by the strong magnetic field, and then channeled onto the NS, forming a so-called accretion column (AC). Physical simulation of the AC requires consideration of various physical processes occurring in strongly magnetized plasma, including complex multi-dimensional radiative transfer and the presence of a radiation-dominated shock. Analytical models based on the Becker and Wolff (2007) model have proven successful at reproducing the observed AC spectra in super-critical sources in which radiation pressure plays the dominant role in controlling the dynamics of the accreting material. In this study, we will apply the model to obtain spectra observed during super-Eddington outbursts of BeXRBs in the Magellanic Clouds.