Related papers: High-Altitude Particle Acceleration and Radiation …
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 revise the physics of primary electron acceleration in the "slot gap" (SG) above the pulsar polar caps (PCs), a regime originally proposed by Arons and Scharlemann (1979) in their electrodynamic model of pulsar PCs. We employ the…
We investigate the physical situation above the pulsar polar cap (PC) where the accelerating primaries (electrons) are not capable of producing sufficient numbers of electron-positron pairs at low altitudes (within 1-2 stellar radii above…
We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high-altitudes in the unscreened electric field of the slot gap reach…
The characteristics of the high-energy emission from polar cap accelerators will be discussed. Particles accelerated in the "slot gap" near the polar cap rim will reach altitudes of several stellar radii before initiating pair cascades,…
The study of pulsars in the three and a half decades since their discovery has highlighted a handful of issues critical to their understanding. To date there is no consensus on the physical mechanism for their radio radio emission, despite…
Forty years after the discovery of rotation-powered pulsars, we still do not understand many aspects of their pulsed emission. In the last few years there have been some fundamental developments in acceleration and emission models. I will…
We investigate the electrodynamics of an outer gap in the meridional plane of the aligned-rotator. The charge depletion from the Goldreich-Julian charge density causes a large electric field along the magnetic field line. The electrons or…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 spectral characteristics of the pulsed gamma-ray emission from outer-magnetospheric particle accelerators are investigated. Either positrons or electrons are accelerated outwards by the magnetic-field-aligned electric field to emit…
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.…
The X-ray and gamma-ray spectrum of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars is investigated in a model for acceleration and pair cascades on open field lines above the polar caps. Although these pulsars have low surface magnetic fields, their…
The study of physical processes associated with particle acceleration in the open field line region above the polar cap (PC) of an isolated neutron star (NS) plays a fundamental role in our understanding and interpretation of high-energy…
We investigate a stationary pair production cascade in the outer magnetosphere of a spinning neutron star. The charge depletion due to a global current, causes a large electric field along the magnetic field lines. Migratory electrons…