Exact and approximate solutions for the one-dimensional transfer of polarized radiation, and applications to X-ray pulsars

Abstract

The radiative transfer equations for one-dimensional propagation across a homogeneous slab of finite depth as well as for a semiinfinite atmosphere are examined. Exact and approximate solutions for the diffuse reflection and transmission coefficients in the case of coherent photon scattering are given. Attention is directed to photon opacities in a magnetized plasma, the effects of vacuum polarization and incoherence, and mode-exchange between the two polarizations. The results are applied specifically to the transfer problem in an X-ray pulsar which is idealized to that of a homogeneous radiating slab illuminated on one side by a blackbody flux.