Related papers: Are there two types of pulsars?
The pulsar magnetosphere is divided into a corotating region of closed field lines surrounded by open field lines that emanate from the two poles of the star, extend to infinity and are separated by an equatorial current sheet. The three…
Based on the exact dipolar solution of the pulsar equation the self-consistent two-fluid model of the pulsar magnetosphere is developed. We concentrate on the low-mass limit of the model, taking into account the radiation damping. As a…
The self-consistent two-fluid model of the pulsar magnetosphere is considered. We concentrate on the case of vanishingly small inertia of the particles. Our approach allows to obtain the realistic particle distributions sustaining the…
A good compromise between the resistive model and the PIC model is Aristotelian electrodynamics, which can include the back-reaction of the radiative photons onto particle motion and allow for a local dissipation where the force-free…
We present the magnetic and electric field structures as well as the currents and charge densities of pulsar magnetospheres which do not obey the ideal condition, ${\bf E \cdot B =0}$. Since the acceleration of particles and the production…
We perform first-principles relativistic particle-in-cell simulations of aligned pulsar magnetosphere. We allow free escape of particles from the surface of a neutron star and continuously populate the magnetosphere with neutral pair plasma…
In the canonical model of a pulsar, rotational energy is transmitted through the surrounding plasma via two electrical circuits, each connecting to the star over a small region known as a "polar cap." For a dipole-magnetized star, the polar…
The equatorial current sheet in pulsar magnetospheres is often regarded as an ideal site for particle acceleration via relativistic reconnection. Using 2D spherical particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate particle acceleration in the…
We argue that existing models of the ideal pulsar magnetosphere are incorrect because of the improper treatment of the singular current layer outside the light cylinder. We simulated the axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere in the Force-Free…
We consider the electrodynamics of in-spiraling binary pulsars, showing that there are two distinct ways in which they may emit radiation. On the one hand, even if the pulsars do not rotate, we show that in vacuo orbital rotation generates…
Recent advances in numerical algorithms and computational power have enabled first-principles simulations of pulsar magnetospheres using Particle-in-Cell (PIC) techniques. These ab-initio simulations seem to indicate that pair creation…
Rapidly rotating neutron stars blow a relativistic, magnetized wind mainly composed of electron-positron pairs. The free expansion of the wind terminates far from the neutron star where a weakly magnetized pulsar wind nebula forms, implying…
We present first-principles relativistic particle-in-cell simulations of the oblique pulsar magnetosphere with pair formation. The magnetosphere starts to form with particles extracted from the surface of the neutron star. These particles…
Most studies of the pulsar magnetosphere have assumed a pure magnetic dipole in flat spacetime. However, recent work suggests that the effects of general relativity are in fact of vital importance and that realistic pulsar magnetic fields…
All numerical solutions of the pulsar magnetosphere over the past 25 years show closed-line regions that end a significant distance inside the light cylinder, and manifest thick strongly dissipative separatrix surfaces instead of thin…
In view of recent efforts to probe the physical conditions in the pulsar current sheet, we revisit the standard solution that describes the main elements of the ideal force-free pulsar magnetosphere. The simple physical requirement that the…
With the neutron star rotating under a stationary magnetic field generating unipolar induction, charges are driven to the pulsar surface according to their signs, and are uploaded to the magnetosphere along the magnetic field lines. In the…
We want to understand what drives magnetospheric dissipation in the equatorial current sheet. Numerical simulations have limitations and, unless we have a clear a priori understanding of the physical processes involved, their results can be…
Magnetars are a kind of pulsars powered mainly by superhigh magnetic fields. They are popular sources with many unsolved issues in themselves, but also linked to various high energy phenomena, such as QPOs, giant flares, fast radio bursts…
Recent solution of a pulsar (although likely correct, as agreeing with phenomenology of weak pulsars without a single adjustable) is somewhat unsatisfactory on account of being heavily numerical. Here the main features of a pulsar -- (i)…