High energy processes in astrophysics

高能过程可以通过研究中子星来研究。中子星在我们的银河系中数量众多，是高能粒子和辐射的重要发电机。这是由于它们的强磁场(高达几万亿高斯)、强重力和快速自转速度(高达每秒600次)。利用地球轨道上的X射线望远镜观测中子星的高能辐射。然后，通过建立中子星周围的气体、辐射、重力和磁场的计算机模型，将这些结果与理论进行比较。观测的细节足够详细，可以从模型中推断出中子星及其环境的性质。例如，在双星系统大力神X-1中，吸积盘形状最近才被理解，而日食前的倾角还没有被理解，所以目前正在进行研究：这是一项鼓舞人心的新理论工作。除了中子星，夸克星的观测结果正在被研究，可能应用于软伽马射线中继器(SGR)、反常X射线脉冲星(XRP)和伽马射线暴(GRB)。另一个高能过程重要的位置是在超新星遗迹中：大质量恒星爆炸后产生的恒星喷出物、热空穴和外层致密壳。爆炸后几百到几千年，一颗横跨几到几十光年的超新星残骸在无线电波和X射线中闪耀着明亮的光芒。通过射电望远镜和X射线望远镜的新观测，超新星遗迹的性质现在得到了更好的理解。只有使用最新的x射线望远镜，这些仪器才足够好地获得关于百万度高温气体和也发出x射线的相对论粒子的详细信息。对超新星遗迹中的物理过程进行建模，正在引导我们对这些天体以及我们银河系中的气体和相对论粒子有一个新的理解。

High energy processes can be studied by studying neutron stars. Neutron stars are numerous in our galaxy and are significant generators of high energy particles and radiation. This is due to their strong magnetic fields (up to several thousand billion Gauss), strong gravity, and fast spin rates (up to 600 times per second). Observations of high energy radiation from neutron stars are carried out using x-ray telescopes in Earth orbit. These are then compared to theory by means of making computer models of the gas, radiation,gravity, and magnetic fields around the neutron star. The observations are of enough detail that the properties of the neutron star and its environment can be deduced from the models. For example, in the binary system Hercules X-1, the accretion disk shape has only been recently understood, and the pre-eclipse dips are not understood, so are currently being investigated: this is inspiring new theoretical work. In addition to neutron stars, observational consequences of quark stars are being studied with possible applications to soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGR), anomalous X-ray pulsars (XRP) and gamma-ray bursts (GRB).Another location where high energy processes are important is in a supernova remnant: the stellar ejecta, hot cavity and outer dense shell produced after a massive star explodes. A few hundred to several thousand years after the explosion a supernova remnant of a few to tens of lightyears across shines brightly in radiowaves and x-rays. The properties of supernova remnants are now being much better understood using new observations with radio telescopes and x-ray telescopes. Only with the latest x-ray telescopes have the instruments been good enough to get detailed information on the properties of the million degree hot gas and of the relativistic particles which also emit x-rays. Modeling of physical processes in supernova remnants is leading to a new understanding of these objects, and also of the gas and relativistic particles in our galaxy.