Cyclotron features in X-ray spectra of accreting pulsars

The hard X-ray spectra of small subset of accreting pulsars show absorption-like line features in the range 10–100 keV. These lines, referred to as cyclotron lines or cyclotron resonance scattering features, are due to photons scattered out of the line of sight by electrons trapped in the 1012 G pulsar polar cap magnetic field. In this paper we present a review of observations, from the discovery of a cyclotron line in Hercules X-1 to recent results with RXTE and INTEGRAL.