Related papers: Pair-production multiplicities in rotation-powered…
We investigate the effect of a distorted neutron star dipole magnetic field on pulsar pair cascade multiplicity and pair death lines. Using a simple model for a distorted dipole field that produces an offset polar cap, we derive the…
We have used a Monte Carlo simulation of a Polar Cap (PC) model of gamma-ray pulsars to estimate light curves and phase-resolved spectra for sources whose rotational and magnetic axes are oriented so that only one of the magnetic poles…
Pair cascades in polar cap regions of neutron stars are considered to be an essential process in various models of coherent radio emissions of pulsars. The cascades produce pair plasma bunch discharges in quasi-periodic spark events. The…
In a strong magnetic field, a high-energy photon can be absorbed and then produce an electron-positron pair. The produced electron/positron will in turn radiate a high-energy photon via synchrotron radiation, which then initiates a cascade.…
Resonant inverse Compton scattering (RICS) of soft thermal photons by relativistic particles on closed magnetic field loops has been proposed to explain the hard emission observed up to, and beyond, 200 keV from magnetars. If particles…
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…
We modify polar cap cascade picture to include the ICS of the higher generation pairs. In such a ``full-cascade'' scenario, not only the perpendicular portion of the energy of the pairs goes to high energy radiation via SR, but the parallel…
A synthesis of the present knowledge on gamma-ray emission from the magnetosphere of a rapidly rotating neutron star is presented, focusing on the electrodynamics of particle accelerators. The combined curvature, synchrotron, 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…
Electron-positron pair production by collision of photons is investigated in view of application to pulsar physics. We compute the absorption rate of individual gamma-ray photons by an arbitrary anisotropic distribution of softer photons,…
The pulsar light curves and energy spectra are explored in dissipative pulsar magnetospheres with the Aristotelian electrodynamics (AE), where particle acceleration is fully balanced with radiation reaction. The AE magnetospheres with…
Electric currents j flow along the open magnetic field lines from the polar caps of neutron stars. Activity of a polar cap depends on the ratio \alpha=j/c\rho_GJ, where \rho_GJ is the corotation charge density. The customary assumption…
Recent developments in the study of pulsar radio emission revealed that the microphysics of quantum electrodynamic (QED) pair cascades at pulsar polar caps may be responsible for generating the observed coherent radio waves. However,…
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…
Electromagnetic cascades attract a lot of attention as an important QED effect that will reveal itself in various electromagnetic field configurations at ultrahigh intensities. We study cascade dynamics in rotating electric field…
Gamma-ray and electron-positron pair production will figure prominently in laser-plasma experiments with next generation lasers. Using a Monte Carlo approach we show that straggling effects arising from the finite recoil an electron…
The formation of $e^\pm$ plasmas within pulsar magnetospheres through quantum electrodynamics (QED) cascades in vacuum gaps is widely acknowledged. This paper aims to investigate the effect of photon polarization during the QED cascade…
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…
The dynamics of an electron bunch irradiated by two focused colliding super-intense laser pulses and the resulting gamma and electron-positron production are studied. Due to attractors of electron dynamics in a standing wave created by…
We review electrodynamics of rotating magnetized neutron stars, from the early vacuum model to recent numerical experiments with plasma-filled magnetospheres. Significant progress became possible due to the development of global…