Surface structure of quark stars with magnetic fields

Abstract

We investigate the impact of magnetic fields on the electron distribution of the electrosphere of quark stars. For moderately strong magnetic fields of B ∼ 10 13 G, quantization effects are generally weak due to the large number density of electrons at surface, but can nevertheless affect the photon emission properties of quark stars. We outline the main observational characteristics of quark stars as determined by their surface emission, and briefly discuss their formation in explosive events termed as quark-novae, which may be connected to the r-process.