Radiative MHD simulations of photon bubbles in radiation-supported magnetized atmospheres of neutron stars with isotropic Thomson scattering

A major uncertainty in the structure and dynamics of magnetized, radiation pressure dominated neutron star accretion columns in X-ray pulsars and pulsating ultraluminous X-ray sources is that they are thought to be subject to the photon bubble instability. We present the results of two-dimensional radiation relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a non-accreting, static atmosphere to study...