Related papers: Charge densities above pulsar polar caps
We investigate a stationary pair production cascade in the outer magnetosphere of a spinning neutron star. The charge depletion due to global flows of charged particles, causes a large electric field along the magnetic field lines.…
An analytical model for oscillating pair creation above the pulsar polar cap is presented in which the parallel electric field is treated as a large amplitude, superluminal, electrostatic wave. An exact formalism for such wave is derived in…
We calculate the rate of energy emission by bremsstrahlung of neutrino pairs by electrons moving in the crystalline lattice of ions in dense matter in the crust of a neutron star. Since the periodic potential in the solid gives rise to…
We investigate self-consistent particle acceleration near a pulsar polar cap (PC) by the electrostatic field due to the effect of inertial frame dragging. Test particles gain energy from the electric field parallel to the open magnetic…
We consider the voltage structure in the open-field circuit and outer magnetosphere of a magnetar. The standard polar-cap model for radio pulsars is modified significantly when the polar magnetic field exceeds 1.8x10^{14} G. Pairs are…
The electric field accelerating electrons in the Timokhin-Arons polar-cap model as applied to millisecond pulsars is so high that the electron Lorentz factors are limited either by radiation reaction or by the Breit-Wheeler process. In the…
An electron-positron pair ($e^- e^+$) is created in vacuum above a critical electric field strength $E_{crt}$ which is quite large in the laboratory scale. The photon, thus the field, annihilates in the pair creation process. Here, we…
The problem of formation of the Ruderman-Sutherland type inner vacuum gap in neutron stars with ${\bf\Omega}\cdot{\bf B}<0$ is considered. It is argued by means of the condition $T_i/T_s>1$ (where $T_i$ is the critical temperature above…
In association with the Goldreich-Julian's magnetic braking mechanism to explain the luminosity of radio pulsars as a result of their spin-down, it is of some interest to explore how much of magnetic flux can actually penetrate the surface…
We revisit particle acceleration in the polar cap region of a neutron star by taking into account both general relativistic effects and the presence of toroidal oscillations at the star surface. In particular, we address the question of…
We explore particle accelerator electrodynamics in the magnetosphere of a rapidly rotating neutron star (NS). We address the importance of a self-consistent treatment of pair production, solving the Poisson equation describing the…
Despite the fact that pulsars have been observed for almost half a century, many questions have remained unanswered. We use the analysis of X-ray observations in order to study the polar cap region of radio pulsars. The size of the hot…
Pulsars have been identified as good candidates for the acceleration of cosmic rays, up to ultra-high energies. However, a precise description of the acceleration processes at play is still to be established. Using 2D particle-in-cell…
A number of disparate observational and theoretical pieces of evidence indicate that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, neutron stars' closed field lines are populated by dense, hot plasma and may be responsible for producing some radio…
We construct radiative equilibrium models for strongly magnetized (B > 10^13 G) neutron-star atmospheres taking into account magnetic free-free absorption and scattering processes computed for two polarization modes. We include the effects…
The problem of formation of the inner vacuum gap in neutron stars with ${\bf\Omega}\cdot{\bf B}<0$ is considered. It is argued by means of the condition $T_i/T_s>1$, where $T_i$ is the melting temperature of surface $^{56}_{26}$Fe ions and…
We have programmed a full simulation of the open field lines above the polar cap of a magnetized pulsar, using time dependent Particle In Cell (PIC) numerical code (Birdsall and Langdon 1991). We consider the case of free ejection of…
A new picture of pulsar high-energy emission is proposed that is different from both the traditional polar cap and outer gap models, but combines elements of each. The slot gap model is based on electron acceleration along the edge of the…
We investigate the particle accelerator that arises in a rotating neutron-star magnetosphere. Solving the Poisson equation for the electro-static potential, the Boltzmann equations for relativistic electrons and positrons, and the radiative…
Little attention has so far been paid to the division of the observed population between pulsars of the two spin directions that are possible. Almost all pulsars with positive corotational charge density at the polar caps are expected to…