Pulsars are the quintessential dogs that don't bark in the night — their observed loss of rotational energy mostly disappears into the surrounding world while leaving few traces of that energy loss in observable photon emission. They are the prime example of compact objects which clearly lose their energy through a large scale Poynting flux.
In this chapter I survey recent successes in the application of relativistic MHD and force-free electrodynamics to the modeling of the pulsars rotational energy loss mechanism as well as to the structure and emission characteristics of Pulsar Wind Nebulae. I suggest that unsteady reconnection in the current sheet separating the closed from the open zones of the magnetosphere is responsible for the torque fluctuations observed in some pulsars, as well as for departures of the braking index from the canonical value of 3. I also discuss the theory of high energy pulsed emission from these neutron stars, emphasizing the significance of the boundary layer between the closed and open zones as the active site in the outer magnetosphere. I elaborate on the conflict between the models currently in use to interpret the gamma-ray and X-ray pulses from these systems with the electric current flows found in the spin down models. Because the polar cap “gap” is the essential component in the supply of plasma to pulsar magnetospheres and to pulsar wind nebulae, I emphasize the importance of high sensitivity gamma-ray observations of pulsars with core components of radio emission and high magnetospheric voltage, since observations of these stars will look directly into the polar plasma production region and will probe the basic plasma parameters of these systems. I also discuss the current state of understanding and problems in the shock conversion of flow energy into the spectra of the synchrotron emitting particles in the Nebulae, emphasizing the possible role of heavy ions in these processes. I comment on the prospects for future developments and improvements in all these areas.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aharonian, F., Akhperjanian, A.G., Bazer-Bachi, A.R., et al., 2006, A&A, 457, 899
Al'ber, Y.I., Krotova, Z.N., and Eidman, V.Y. 1975, Astrophys., 11, 189
Amato, E., and Arons, J., 2006, ApJ, 653, 325
Amato, E., Guetta, D., and Nlasi, P., 2003, A&A, 402, 827
Arons, J., 1981, ApJ, 248, 1099
Arons, J., 1981, in Proc. IAU Symp. No. 95 ‘PulsarsM’, W. Sieber and R. Wielebinski, eds.(Dordrecht: Reidel), 69
Arons, J., 1983, in Positron—Electron Pairs in Astrophysics (New York: AIP), 163
Arons, J., 1983, ApJ, 266, 215
Arons, J., 1998, Mem. Soc. Ast. It., 69, 989 (astro-ph/9809392)
Arons, J., 1998, in Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Thirty Years after the Discovery, N. Shibazaki et al., eds. (Tokyo: Universal Academy Press), 339, (astro-ph/9802198)
Arons, J., 2008, submitted to ApJ. A summary can be found in Arons, J. 2008, in 40 Years of Pulsars: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More, C.G. Bassa, Z. Wang, A. Cumming and V.M. Kaspi, eds., AIP Conference Proceedings vol. 983 (Melville, NY: AIP), 200–206 (astro-ph/0710.5261)
Arons, J., and Scharleman, E.T., 1979, ApJ, 231,854
Barnard, J.J., 1986, ApJ, 303, 280
Barnard, J.J., and Arons, J., 1986, ApJ, 302, 138
Bateman, G., 1978, MHD Instabilities. (Cambridge: MIT Press), 66–69
Bednarek, W., and Bartosik, M., 2003, A&A, 405, 689
Begelman, M., 1999, ApJ, 512,755
Benford, G., 1977, MNRAS, 179, 311
Bessho, N., and Bhattacharjee, A., 2005, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 245001
Bietenholz, M., Hester, J.J., Frail, D.A., and Bartel, N., 2004, ApJ, 615, 794
Birn, J., Drake, J.F., Shay, M.A., et al., 2001, JGR, 106, 3715
Blandford, R., 2002, in Lighthouses of the Universe, M. Gilfanov, R. Sumyaev and E. Churazov, eds. (New York: Springer), 381 (astro-ph/0202265)
Blandford, R., Applegate, J., and Hernquist, L., 1982, MNRAS, 204, 1025
Bogovalov, S.V., 1999, A&A, 349, 1017
Bogovalov, S.V., Chechetkin, V.M., Koldoba, A.V., and Ustyugova, G.V., 2005, MNRAS,358, 705
Bogovalov, S.V., and Khangoulian, D.V., 1999, MNRAS, 336, L53
Bucciantini, N., Amato, E., Bandiera, R., Blondin, J.M., and Del Zanna, L., 2004, A&A, 423,253
Bucciantini, N., and Del Zanna, L., 2006, A&A, 454, 393
Bucciantini, N., Thompson, T., Arons, J., et al., 2006, MNRAS, 368, 1717
Carson, J., 2006, astro-ph/0610960
Chang, P., Spitkovsky, A., and Arons, J., 2008, ApJ, 674, 378
Cheng, K.S., Ho, C., and Ruderman, M., 1986, ApJ, 300, 500 and 522
Chiang, J., and Romani, R., 1994, ApJ, 46, 754
Contopoulos, I., 2005, A&A, 442, 579
Contopulos, I., Kazanas, D., and Fendt, C., 1999, ApJ, 511, 351
Contopoulos, I., and Spitkovsky, A., 2006, ApJ, 643, 1139
Cordes, J., 1980, ApJ, 239, 640
Cordes, J., and Helfand, D.J., 1980, ApJ 239, 640
Coroniti, F., 1990, ApJ, 349, 538
de Jager, O., 2007, ApJ, 658, 1177
DeLaney, T., Gaensler, B., Arons, J., and Pivovaroff, M., 2006, ApJ, 640, 929
Del Zanna, L., Amato, E., and Bucciantini, N., 2004, A&A, 421, 397
Del Zanna, L., Volpi, D. Amato, E., and Bucciantini, N., 2006, A&A, 453, 621
Deshpande, A., and Rankin, J., 1999, ApJ, 524, 1008
Deutsch, A., 1955, Ann. d'Ap., 18, 1
Fawley, W.M., 1978, PhD Dissertation, UC Berkeley (Ann Arbor: http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/)
Funk, S., 2007, astro-ph/070147
Gaensler, B., Arons, J., Kaspi, V., et al., 2002, ApJ, 569, 878
Gaensler, B., and Slane, P., 2006, Ann. Rev. Astro. Astrophys., 44, 17
Gallant, Y.A., 2007, Ap&SS, 309, 197
Gallant, Y.A., and Arons, J., 1994, ApJ, 435, 230
Gallant, Y.A., Hoshino, M., Langdon, A.B., Arons, J., and Max, C.E., 1992, ApJ, 391, 73
Gallant, Y.A., van der Swaluw, E., Kirk, J.G., and Achterberg, A., 2002, in Neutron Stars in Supernova Remnants, P.O. SLane and B.M. Gaensler, eds. (San Francisco: ASP Conference Series Vol. 271), 99
Gehrels, N., and Michelson, P., 1999, Astroparticle Phys., 11, 277
Goldreich, P., and Julian, W.H., 1969, ApJ, 157, 869
Goodwin, S.P., Mestel, J., Mestel, L., and Wright, G., 2004, MNRAS, 349, 213
Gruzinov, A., 2005, Phys. Rev. Lett., 94, 021101
Harding, A.K., Muslimov, A.G., and Zhang, B., 2002, ApJ, 576, 366
Helfand, D.J., et al., 1980, ApJ, 237, 206
Hester, J.J., Mori, K., Burrows, D., et al., 2002, ApJ, 577, L49
Hester, J.J., Stone, J.M., Scowen, P.A., et al., 1996, ApJ, 456, 225
Hibschman, J.A., 2002, ApJ, 565, 1183
Hibschman, J.A., and Arons, J., 2001, ApJ, 546, 382
Hibschman, J.A., and Arons, J., 2001, ApJ, 546, 624
Hibschman, J.A., and Arons, J., 2001, ApJ, 560, 871
Hirotani, K., 2006, ApJ, 652, 1475
Holloway, N., 1973, Nat. Phys. Sci., 246, 6
Holloway, N., 1975, MNRAS, 171, 619
Horns, D., Aharonian, F., Santangelo, A., et al., 2006, A&A, 451, L54
Hoshino, M., Arons, J., Gallant, Y.A., and Langdon, A.B., 1992, ApJ, 390, 454
Hsu, P.-C., Hirotani, K., and Chang, H.K., 2006, in Proc. 363rd W.E. Heraeus Seminar “Neutron Stars and Pulsars”, W. Becker and H.H. Huang, eds. (Munich: MPE Report No. 291),141 (astro-ph/0612677)
Hurley, K., et al., 2005, Nature, 434, 1098
Jessner, A., Slowikowska, A., Klein, B., et al., 2005, Adv. Space Res., 35, 1166
Kanbach, G., Slowikowska, A., Kellner, S., and Stenle, H., 2005, in Astrophysical Sources of High Energy Particles and Radiation (New York: AIP Conference Proceedings), 306
Kaspi, V., Roberts, M., and Harding, A., 2006, in Compact Stellar X-ray SourcesW.Lewin and M. van der Klis, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 279–339 (astro-ph/0402136)
Kato, T.N., 2005, Phys. Plasmas, 12, 080705 (astro-ph/0501110)
Kennel, C.F., and Coroniti, F.V., 1984, ApJ, 283, 694; 283, 710
Keshet, U., and Waxman, E., 2005, Phys. Rev. Lett., 94, 111102
Kirk, J.G., Guthmann, A.W., Gallant, Y.A., and Achteberg, A., 2000, ApJ, 542, 235
Kirk, J.G., and Skjæraasen, O., 2003, ApJ, 591, 366
Komissarov, S., 2006, MNRAS, 367, 19
Komissarov, S., Barkov, M., Vlahakis, N., and Konigl, A., 2007, MNRAS, 380, 51
Komissarov, S., and Lyubarsky, Y., 2003, MNRAS, 344, L93; 2004, MNRAS, 349, 779
Kramer, M., Xilouris, K.M., Lorimer, D., et al., 1998, ApJ, 501, 270
Krause-Polstorff, J., and Michel, F.C., 1985, MNRAS, 213, 43
Langdon, A.B., Arons, J., and Max, C.E., 1988, Phys. Rev. Lett., 61, 779
Levinson, A., Melrose, D., Judge, A., and Luo, Q., 2005, ApJ, 631, 456
Livingstone, M., et al., 2005, ApJ, 619, 1046
Lyubarsky, Y., 1990, Pis'ma Astron. Zh., 16, 34 (Sov. Astron. Lett., 16, 16)
Lyubarsky, Y., 2002, MNRAS, 329, L34
Lyubarsky, Y., 2003, MNRAS, 345, 153; 2005, Adv. Space Res., 35, 1112
Lyubarsky, Y., 2005, MNRAS, 358, 113
Lyubarsky, Y., and Kirk, J., 2001, ApJ, 547, 437
McKinney, J.C., 2006, MNRAS, 368, L30
McKinnon, M.M., 1997, ApJ, 475, 763
McLaughlin, M., and Cordes, J., 2000, ApJ, 538, 818
Melikidze, G.I., Gil, J., and Szary, A., 2006, in Proceedings of the 363rd WE-Heraeus Seminar on: Neutron Stars and PulsarsW. Becker, H.H. Huang, eds., MPE Report 291, 157 (astro-ph/0612683)
Mestel, L., 1999, Stellar Magnetism (Oxford: Clarendon)
Mestel, L., Robertson, J., Wang, Y.M., and Westfold, K., 1985, MNRAS, 217, 443
Michel, F.C., 1969, ApJ, 158, 727
Michel, F.C., 1973, ApJ, 180, 207
Michel, F.C., 1973, ApJ, 180, L133
Michel, F.C., 1974, ApJ, 187, 585
Michel, F.C., 1975, Apj, 197, 193
Mori, K., et al., 2006, in 36th COSPAR Assembly (Beijing), http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/COSPAR2006/02615/COSPAR2006-A-02615.pdfand personal communication
Muslimov, A., and Harding, A., 2003, ApJ, 485, 735
Muslimov, A., and Harding, A., 2003, ApJ, 588, 430
Muslimov, A., and Harding, A., 2004, ApJ, 606, 1143
Niemic, J., and Ostrowski, M., 2006, ApJ, 641, 984
Ng, C.-Y., and Romani, R., 2004, 601, 479
Ostriker, J., and Gunn, J., 1969, ApJ, 157, 139
Pacini, F., 1967, Nature, 434, 1107
Petri, J., 2007, A&A, 464, 135 (astro-ph/0611936)
Petri, J., Heyvaerts, J., and Bonnazola, S., 2002, A&A, 384, 414
Petri, J., Heyvaerts, J., and Bonnazola, S., 2002, A&A, 387, 520
Petri, J., Heyvaerts, J., and Bonnazola, S., 2003, A&A, 411, 203
Palmer, D.M., et al., 2005, Nature, 434, 1107
Ramachandran, R., and Kramer, M., 2003, A&A, 407, 1085
Rankin, J., 1983, ApJ, 274, 333
Rankin, J., 1990, ApJ, 352, 247
Rankin, J., and Suleymanova, S.A., 2006, A&A, 453, 679
Rees, M.J., and Gunn, J.E., 1974, MNRAS, 167, 1
Romani, R., 1996, ApJ, 470, 469
Romani, R., Ng, C.-Y., Dodson, R., and Brisken, W., 2005, ApJ, 631, 480
Romani, R., and Yadigoroglu, I.A., 1995, ApJ, 438, 314
Ruderman M., and Sutherland, P., 1975, ApJ, 196, 51
Scargle, J., 1969, ApJ, 156, 401
Scharlemann, E.T., and Wagoner, R.V., 1973, ApJ, 182, 951
Shklovsky, I.S., 1968, Supernovae (New York: Wiley)
Slane, P., 2005, Adv. Space Res., 35, 1092
Spitkovsky, A., 2002, PhD dissertation, UC Berkeley
Spitkovsky, A., 2006, ApJ., 648, L51
Spitkovsky, A., 2008, ApJ, 673L, 39
Spitkovsky, A., and Arons, J. 2002, in Neutron Stars and Supernova RemnantsP.O. Slane and B.M. Gaensler, eds. (San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific), 81 (astro-ph/0201360)
Spitkovsky, A., and Arons, J., 2004, ApJ, 603, 669
Sturrock, P.A., 1971, ApJ, 164, 529
Tademaru, E., 1973, ApJ, 183, 625
Timokhin, A., 2006, MNRAS, 368, 1055
Thompson, D., 2000, Adv. Sp. Res., 25, 659
Yin, L., Coroniti, F.V., Pritchett, P.L., et al., 2000, JGR, 25, 345
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Arons, J. (2009). Pulsar Emission: Where to Go. In: Becker, W. (eds) Neutron Stars and Pulsars. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 357. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-76965-1_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-76965-1_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-76964-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-76965-1
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)