Highly magnetized neutron stars have magnetic fields of order of the critical field and can lead to measurable QED effects. We consider the Goldreich-Julian pulsar model with supercritical magnetic fields, induced subcritical electric fields, and a period of milliseconds. We then study the strong field physics, such as Schwinger pair production and the vacuum birefringence including the wrench effect, whose X-ray polarimetry will be observed in future space missions.
Categories: astro-ph.HE hep-ph