Abstract
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 particle-in-cell simulations which capture particle acceleration, emission of high-energy photons, and electron-positron pair creation. The numerical experiments show from first principles how and where electric gaps form, and promise to explain the observed pulsar activity from radio waves to gamma-rays.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the International Space Science Institute in Bern for the invitation and hospitality during the Workshop on Jets and Winds in Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Gamma-ray Bursts in November 2015. BC acknowledges support from CNES and Labex OSUG@2020 (ANR10 LABX56). AMB pulsar research is supported by NASA grants NNX13AI34G and NNX15AU71G.
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Cerutti, B., Beloborodov, A.M. Electrodynamics of Pulsar Magnetospheres. Space Sci Rev 207, 111–136 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-016-0315-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-016-0315-7