Title: Neutron Star Planets: Atmospheric processes and habitability,
Abstract: Of the roughly 3000 neutron stars known, only a handful have sub-stellar
companions. The most famous of these are the low-mass planets around the
millisecond pulsar B1257+12. New evidence indicates that observational biases
could still hide a wide variety of planetary systems around most neutron stars.
We consider the environment and physical processes relevant to neutron star
planets, in particular the effect of X-ray irradiation and the relativistic
pulsar wind on the planetary atmosphere. We discuss the survival time of planet
atmospheres and the planetary surface conditions around different classes of
neutron stars, and define a neutron star habitable zone. Depending on as-yet
poorly constrained aspects of the pulsar wind, both Super-Earths around
B1257+12 could lie within its habitable zone.