Related papers: PULSARS WITH STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS: POLAR GAPS, B…
In a strong magnetic field, B > 4x10^{12} G, gamma-rays emitted nearly along curved field lines adiabatically convert into bound electron-positron pairs (positronium atoms) rather that decaying into free pairs. This process may modify the…
The ability of the neutron star surface to supply all or only part of the charges filling the pulsar magnetosphere is crucial for the physics prevailing within it, with direct consequences for the possible formation of pair creation…
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…
I argue that the problem of electromagnetically driven electron-positron cascades in magnetospheres of neutron stars must be addressed starting from first principles. I describe a general numerical algorithm for doing self-consistent…
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 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…
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…
Following the early paper of Goldreich & Julian (1969), polar-cap models have usually assumed that the closed sector of a pulsar magnetosphere corotates with the neutron star. Recent work by Melrose & Yuen has been a reminder that in an…
We consider a model where the strong magnetic fields of magnetars arise from a high baryon density, magnetized core. In this framework magnetars are distinguished from pulsars by their higher masses and central density. For magnetars, as…
The intense magnetic fields of neutron stars naturally lead to strong anisotropy and polarization of radiation emanating from their surfaces, both being sensitive to the hot spot position on the surface. Accordingly, pulse phase-resolved…
We study electron-positron pair production in polar caps of energetic pulsars to determine the maximum multiplicity of pair plasma a pulsar can produce under the most favorable conditions. This paper complements and updates our study of…
In Ruderman & Sutherland (RS75) model, the normal neutron stars as pulsars bear a severe problem, namely the binding energy problem that both ions (e.g., ${}_{26}^{56}$Fe) and electrons on normal neutron star surface can be pulled out…
We propose a new mechanism to screen the electric field in the pulsar polar cap. Previous studies have shown that if an electron beam from the stellar surface is accelerated to energies high enough to create electron-positron pairs, the…
We investigate the conditions required for the production of electron-positron pairs above a pulsar polar cap (PC) and the influence of pair production on the energetics of the primary particle acceleration. Assuming space-charge limited…
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…
Neutron stars exhibit magnetic fields and densities far beyond those achievable in terrestrial laboratories, offering a natural probe of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions. Using observationally anchored mass-radius…
This paper continues a previous study of neutron stars with positive polar-cap corotational charge density in which free emission of ions maintains the surface electric-field boundary condition E.B = 0. The composition of the accelerated…
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 the effect of pulsar polar cap (PC) heating produced by positrons returning from the upper pair formation front. Our calculations are based on a self-consistent treatment of the pair dynamics and the effect of electric field…
Pulsars, or more generally rotation powered neutron stars, are excellent factories of antimatter in the Galaxy, in the form of pairs of electrons and positrons. Electrons are initially extracted from the surface of the star by the intense…