Related papers: Do pulsars rotate clockwise or counterclockwise?
The global structure of the current flows in pulsar magnetospheres is investigated, with rough calculations of the elements in the magnetospheric circuit. It is emphasized that the potential of critical field lines is the same as that of…
Highly magnetized neutron stars are promising candidates to explain some of the most peculiar astronomical phenomena, for instance, fast radio bursts, gamma-ray bursts, and superluminous supernovae. Pulsations of these highly magnetized…
Two entwined problems have remained unresolved since pulsars were discovered nearly 50 years ago: the orientation of their polarized emission relative to the emitting magnetic field and the direction of putative supernova ``kicks' relative…
Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, that radiate at the expense of their strong magnetic field and their high surface temperature. Five decades of multi-wavelength observations showed a large variety of physical parameters, such as…
Rotation-powered pulsars are excellent laboratories for study of particle acceleration as well as fundamental physics of strong gravity, strong magnetic fields, high densities and relativity. I will review the outstanding questions in…
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are short-period pulsars that are distinguished from "normal" pulsars, not only by their short period, but also by their very small spin-down rates and high probability of being in a binary system. These…
Pulsars are amongst the most stable rotators known in the Universe. Over many years some millisecond pulsars rival the stability of atomic clocks. Comparing observations of many such stable pulsars may allow the first direct detection of…
The long-standing assumption of symmetric radio emission beams from the two magnetic poles of pulsars is challenged by observational evidence of asymmetry and underfill. Direct testing of this symmetry remains difficult for most pulsars. As…
Understanding the physics of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars (MSPs) presents a number of challenges compared to that of the non-recycled pulsar population. Even though their fast rotation rates can produce high spin-down power and…
Pulsars play a crucial astrophysical role as the highly energetic compact radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray sources. Our previous works show that the radio pulsars found as the pulsing gamma sources by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the board…
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…
The relationship between pulsar-like compact stars and gravitational waves is briefly reviewed. Due to regular spins, pulsars could be useful tools for us to detect ~nano-Hz low-frequency gravitational waves by pulsar-timing array…
It is believed that cores of neutron stars provide a natural laboratory where exotic high baryon density QCD phases may exist.The theoretically well established {\it neutron superfluid phase} is also believed to be found only inside neutron…
The mechanism by which the radiation received from obliquely rotating neutron stars is generated remains an open question half a century after the discovery of pulsars. In contrast, considerable progress has recently been made in…
The number of pulsars with detected emission at X-ray and gamma-ray energies has been steadily growing, showing that beams of high-energy particles are commonly accelerated in pulsar magnetospheres, even though the location and number of…
Almost 40 years after the discovery of pulsars -- and despite a plethora of secured data on them -- pulsar theory is still beset by a number of fundamental inconsistencies. In this short contribution, I will argue that (i) magnetars do not…
Millisecond pulsar (MSP) binaries are unique laboratories for studying matter and radiation under extreme conditions that are unattainable on Earth. Recent detections of optical millisecond pulsations from three systems in distinct…
The large-scale magnetic field of our Galaxy can be probed in three dimensions using Faraday rotation of pulsar signals. We report on the determination of 223 rotation measures from polarization observations of relatively distant southern…
We consider the polarization properties of radiation emitted by relativistic charged particles while moving along the curved magnetic field lines in a pulsar manetosphere. We propose that the radiation emitted by positrons and electrons…
Spinning neutron stars, when observed as pulsars, are seen to undergo occasional spin-up events known as glitches. Despite several decades of study, the physical mechanisms responsible for glitches are still not well understood, but…