Spectroscopic constraints on the surface magnetic field of the accreting neutron star EXO 0748-676

Gravitationally redshifted absorption lines of Fe XXVI, Fe XXV, and O VIII were inferred recently in the x-ray spectrum of the bursting neutron star EXO 0748-676. We place an upper limit on the stellar magnetic field based on the iron lines. The oxygen absorption feature shows a multiple component profile that is consistent with Zeeman splitting in a magnetic field of approximately (1-2) x 10(9) G and for which the corresponding Zeeman components of the iron lines are expected to be blended together. In other systems, a field strength > or approximately 5 x 10(10) G could induce a blueshift of the line centroids that would counteract gravitational redshift and complicate the derivation of constraints on the equation of state of the neutron star.