Related papers: The Coughing Pulsar Magnetosphere
The current state of the art in the modeling of pulsar magnetospheres invokes either the vacuum or force-free limits for the magnetospheric plasma. Neither of these limits can simultaneously account for both the plasma currents and the…
Force-free pulsar magnetospheres develop a large scale poloidal electric current circuit that flows along open magnetic field lines from the neutron star to the termination shock. The electric current closes through the interior of the…
Soon after the discovery of radio pulsars in 1967, the pulsars are identified as strongly magnetic (typically $10^{12}$G) rapidly rotating ($\sim 10^{2}-0.1$ Hz) neutron stars. However, the mechanism of particle acceleration in the pulsar…
We present numerical simulations of electron-positron pair cascades in the magnetospheres of magnetic neutron stars for a wide range of surface fields (B_p = 10^{12}--10^{15} G), rotation periods (0.1--10 s), and field geometries. This has…
We present three-dimensional force-free electrodynamics simulations of magnetar magnetospheres that demonstrate the instability of certain degenerate, high energy equilibrium solutions of the Grad-Shafranov equation. This result indicates…
We study the magnetospheric activity in the polar cap region of pulsars under stellar oscillations. The toroidal oscillation of the star propagates into the magnetosphere, which provides additional voltage due to unipolar induction, changes…
Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars and are the outcome of the collapse of the core of a massive star with a mass of the order of or larger than eight solar masses. This process releases a huge gravitational energy of about 10^{53}…
The quasiperiodic oscillations found in the three giant flares of soft gamma-ray repeaters observed to date have been interpreted as crustal oscillations caused by a starquake following a dramatic rearrangement of the stellar magnetic…
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…
We present a detailed analysis of the properties of twisted, force-free magnetospheres of non-rotating neutron stars, which are of interest in the modelling of magnetar properties and evolution. In our models the magnetic field smoothly…
We construct hydromagnetic neutron star equilibria which allow for a non-zero electric current distribution in the exterior. The novelty of our models is that the neutron star's interior field is in equilibrium with its magnetosphere, thus…
The extraordinary energetic activity of magnetars is usually explained in terms of dissipation of a huge internal magnetic field of the order of $10^{15-16}$G. How such a strong magnetic field can originate during the formation of a neutron…
We consider the motion of charged particles in the vacuum magnetospheres of rotating neutron stars with a strong surface magnetic field, B>10^(12) G. The electrons and positrons falling into the magnetosphere or produced in it are shown to…
We propose a catastrophic eruption model for magnetar's enormous energy release during giant flares, in which a toroidal and helically twisted flux rope is embedded within a force-free magnetosphere. The flux rope stays in stable…
Pulsar "standard model" of rotating magnetized conducting sphere surrounded by plasma is generalized in its essential parts for the case of oscillating star. Goldreich-Julian charge density, electromagnetic energy losses as well as polar…
The accretion induced neutron star magnetic field evolution is studied through considering the accretion flow to drag the field lines aside and dilute the polar field strength, and as a result the equatorial field strength increases and is…
Four significant events of rapid $^{14}$C increase have taken place within the past several thousand years. The physical origin of these rapid increases is still a mystery but must be associated with extremely energetic cosmic processes.…
The magnetosphere of strongly magnetized neutron stars, such as magnetars, can sustain large electric currents. The charged particles return to the surface with large Lorentz factors, producing a particle bombardment. We investigate the…
I give a brief overview of recent results from self-consistent modeling of electron-positrons cascades in pulsar polar caps. These results strongly suggest that the pulsar magnetosphere is a more complex system than was assumed before.
The guiding center formalism is employed to analyze the motion of a charged relativistic particle in an inhomogeneous magnetic field, subject to magnetic mirroring and energy loss due to cooling. The governing equation for the evolution of…