Radio Emission and Electric Gaps in Pulsar Magnetospheres

Abstract

The origin of pulsar radio emission is one of the old puzzles in theoretical astrophysics. In this Letter we present a global kinetic plasma simulation which shows from first-principles how and where radio emission can be produced in pulsar magnetospheres. We observe the self-consistent formation of electric gaps which periodically ignite electron-positron discharge. The gaps form above the polar-cap, and in the bulk return-current. Discharge of the gaps excites electromagnetic modes which share several features with the radio emission of real pulsars. We also observe the excitation of plasma waves and charge bunches by streaming instabilities in the outer magnetosphere. Our numerical experiment demonstrates that global kinetic models can provide deep insight into the emission physics of pulsars, and may help interpret their multi-wavelength observations.

9 pages, accepted ApJL

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Cited by in corpus (13)

• Scaling up global kinetic models of pulsar magnetospheres using a hybrid force-free-PIC numerical approach
• Particle-in-cell simulations of pulsar magnetospheres: transition between electrosphere and force-free regimes
• OSIRIS-GR: General relativistic activation of the polar cap of a compact neutron star
• Poynting flux transport channels formed in polar cap regions of neutron star magnetospheres
• Nonlinear Alfvén-wave Dynamics and Premerger Emission from Crustal Oscillations in Neutron Star Mergers
• Polarized QED Cascades over Pulsar Polar Caps
• Interlinking internal and external magnetic fields of relativistically rotating neutron stars
• Origin of radio polarization in pulsar polar caps
• The 3D pulsar magnetosphere with machine learning: first results
• General-relativistic and non-ideal radiative cooling in neutron star magnetospheres
• Revealing the Unseen: The Discovery of Long-Awaited Radiation from the Intermittent Pulsar PSR B1931+24
• Superluminal Wave Activation at Relativistic Magnetized Shocks
• High Sensitivity Methodologies to Detect Radio Band Gravitational Waves