Abstract
THE basic difficulty with the theories of pulsar radiation is that there is as yet no self-consistent model of the large scale structure of the plasma atmosphere of the pulsar1,2. The lack of such a model is perhaps most strikingly exemplified by the fact that there is no consistent explanation of how an aligned rotating magnetised neutron star can maintain a net zero current from its surface—that is, how either a finite current loop in its atmoshere, or an ‘infinite’ loop to the nebula, is established consistent with the space charge and the electromagnetic fields3,4. This letter will be limited to a discussion of how current loops are established when the rotational and magnetic axes are aligned.
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References
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JACKSON, E. Pulsar atmospheric current loops. Nature 259, 25–26 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/259025a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/259025a0
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