Probing magnetar emission mechanisms with X-ray spectropolarimetry

This year, a new era of observations of compact objects in X-ray polarization is commencing. Among the key targets for the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission are the magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1RXS J170849.0-400910. Here, we present detailed predictions of the expected polarization from these sources that incorporate realistic models of emission physics at the surface (gaseous or condensed), the temperature distribution on the surface, general relativity, quantum electrodynamics, and scattering in the magnetosphere, accounting for the broad-band spectral energy distribution from below 1 keV to nearly 100 keV. We find that either atmospheres or condensed surfaces can account for the emission at a few keV. In both cases, either a small hot polar cap or scattering is required to account for the emission at 5–10 keV and, above 10 keV, scattering by a hard population of electrons can account for the rising power in the hard X-rays observed in many magnetars in quiescence. Although these different scenarios result in very similar spectral energy distributions, they generate dramatically different polarization signatures from 2 to 8 keV, which is the range of sensitivity of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Observations of these sources in X-ray polarization will therefore probe the emission from magnetars in an essentially new way.