Quasi-toroidal oscillations in rotating relativistic stars

Quasi-toroidal oscillations in slowly rotating stars are examined in the framework of general relativity. The oscillation frequency to first order of the rotation rate is not a single value even for uniform rotation unlike the Newtonian case. All the oscillation frequencies of the r-modes are purely neutral and form a continuous spectrum limited to a certain range. The allowed frequencies are determined by the resonance condition between the perturbation and background mean flow. The resonant frequency varies with the radius according to general relativistic dragging effect.Comment: 4 pages, Latex file without figure, submitted to Mon. Not. R. Astron. So

Gravitational Correction in Neutrino Oscillations

We investigate the quantum mechanical oscillations of neutrinos propagating in weak gravitational field. The correction to the result in the flat space-time is derived.Comment: 5 pages, Latex file without figures , accepted for publication in Modern Physics Letters

Twisted magnetosphere with quadrupolar fields in the exterior of a neutron star

The magnetar magnetosphere is gradually twisted by shearing from footpoint motion, and stored magnetic energy also increases at the same time. When a state exceeds a threshold, flares/outbursts manifest themselves as a result of a catastrophic transition. Axisymmetric static solutions for a relativistic force-free magnetosphere with dipole--quadrupole mixed fields at the surface have been calculated. The quadrupole component represents a kind of magnetic-field irregularity at a small scale. Locally twisted models are constructed by limiting current flow regions, where the small part originates from a dipole--quadrupole mixture. The energy along a sequence of equilibria increases and becomes sufficient to open the magnetic field in some models. In energetically metastable states, a magnetic flux rope is formed in the vicinity of the star. The excess energy may be ejected as a magnetar flare/outburst. The general relativistic gravity is sufficient to confine the flux rope and to store huge magnetic energy, and the mechanism is also discussed