The "sigma" problem of the Crab pulsar wind
Astrophysics
2007-05-23 v1
Abstract
The conversion of the Crab pulsar wind from one dominated by Poynting flux close to the star to one dominated by particle-born energy at the termination shock is considered. The idea put forward by Coroniti (1990) and criticised by Lyubarsky & Kirk (2001) that reconnection in a striped wind is responsible, is generalised to include faster prescriptions for the a priori unknown dissipation rate. Strong acceleration of the wind is confirmed, and the higher dissipation rates imply complete conversion of Poynting flux into particle-born flux within the unshocked wind.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0309573,
title = {The "sigma" problem of the Crab pulsar wind},
author = {J. G. Kirk and O. Skjaeraasen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0309573},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
4 pages, to appear in "Young Neutron Stars and Their Environments" (IAU Symposium 218, ASP Conference Proceedings), eds F. Camilo and B. M. Gaensler