patch. The TTFT method allows us to compute NS light curves with arbitrary surface magnetic field and temperature distributions. In Section 3, we study various crustal magnetic field configurations, present the resulting surface effective temperature distributions, and apply the method of Section 2 to compute the pulse profiles and reproduce the observed high pulse fraction of the CCO in Kes 79. We discuss the results in Section 4, and conclude with Section 5.

Light Curve Calculation and the TTFT Method
===========================================

In this section we outline our method for computing X-ray light curves for NSs with arbitrary surface magnetic field and temperature distributions. Although our application focuses on the CCO in Kes 79 (Section 3), the method presented here is general and can be applied to other types of magnetic NSs with atmospheres. [^1]

Light Curve Calculation
-----------------------

The observed specific radiation flux $dF^o_\nu$ due to an infinitesimal patch (area $dA$) on the NS surface is given by $$dF^o_\nu = I^o_\nu d\Omega^o = {g\over{D^2}}I^e_\nu(\textbf{k})\cos\alpha\left|d\cos\alpha\over{d\mu}\right|dA,
\label{eq:dFonu1}$$ where $I^o_\nu$ is the observed specific intensity; $d\Omega^o$ is the observed angular size; $g$ is the gravitational redshift factor given by $g^2\equiv\left(1-2GM/Rc^2\right)$; $M$, $R$, and $D$ are the mass, radius, and distance to the NS; 