Burial of the polar magnetic field of an accreting neutron star - II. Hydromagnetic stability of axisymmetric equilibria

The theory of polar magnetic burial in accreting neutron stars predicts that a mountain of accreted material accumulates at the magnetic poles of the star, and that, as the mountain spreads equatorward, it is confined by, and compresses, the equatorial magnetic field. Here, we extend previous, axisymmetric, Grad-Shafranov calculations of the hydromagnetic structure of a magnetic mountain up to accreted masses as high as M-a = 6 x 10(-4) M-circle dot, by importing the output from previous calculations (which were limited by numerical problems and the formation of closed bubbles to Ma < 10(-4) M-circle dot) into the time-dependent, ideal-magnetohydrodynamic code ZEUS-3D and loading additional mass on to the star dynamically. The rise of buoyant magnetic bubbles through the accreted layer is observed in these experiments. We also investigate the stability of the resulting hydromagnetic equilibria by perturbing them in ZEUS-3D. Surprisingly, it is observed that the equilibria are marginally stable for all M-a <= 6 x 10(-4) M-circle dot; the mountain oscillates persistently when perturbed, in a combination of Alfven and acoustic modes, without appreciable damping or growth, and is therefore not disrupted (apart from a transient Parker instability initially, which expels < 1 per cent of the mass and magnetic flux).