Strong toroidal magnetic fields sustained by the elastic crust in a neutron star

Abstract

ABSTRACT We investigate new solutions for magnetized neutron stars with a barotropic core in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium and a magnetoelastic crust, which was neglected by previous studies concerning stars in MHD equilibrium. The Lorentz force of the barotropic star is purely irrotational and the structures of magnetic fields are constrained. By contrast, a solenoidal component of the Lorentz force exists in the elastic crust and the structures of the magnetic fields are less restricted. We find that the minor solenoidal component in the elastic crust is important for sustaining the strong magnetic field in the core. Unlike previous studies, the toroidal magnetic field exists in the entire region of the core, and we obtain equilibrium states with large toroidal magnetic fields, where the toroidal magnetic energy is larger than the poloidal magnetic energy. The elastic force of the crust sustains an order of 1015 G toroidal magnetic field in the core, and the maximum strength of the toroidal magnetic field is approximately proportional to the crust thickness.