Determine whether core-threaded fields make Landau-quantization heating sufficient

Determine whether Landau-quantization-enhanced Joule heating in neutron-star crusts with core-threaded magnetic fields is sufficient to overcome the enhanced cooling associated with those fields.

Background

The simulations assume that the magnetic field is confined to the crust, whereas core-threaded fields are considered more realistic. Core-threaded configurations can allow heat to flow more readily from the core to the surface along magnetic field lines, producing cooler stars. The authors suggest that this cooling could increase the relative importance of Landau-quantization-enhanced Joule heating, but they do not determine whether the additional heating can compensate for the enhanced cooling. Resolving this requires magnetothermal simulations that include core-threaded magnetic fields.

References

These result in cooler stars~\citep{Vigano2013}, since heat from the core can readily flow to the surface along the magnetic field. Like the abscence of impurities in the crust did in our simulations, this could perhaps also increase the importance of Landau quantization-enhanced Joule heating, although whether the enhanced heating is sufficient to overcome the enhanced cooling requires additional study.

— Magnetar magnetothermal evolution with Landau-quantized electrons: enhanced Joule heating due to free electron diamagnetism and the magnetar heating problem  (2609.24918 - Rau, 21 Sep 2026) in Discussion and Conclusion, Section 6