Abstract
The luminosity L of radio pulsars due to synchrotron radiation by the primary beam at the magnetosphere periphery is derived. There is a strong correlation between the observed optical luminosities of radio pulsars and the parameter \(\dot P/P^4\) (where P is the pulsar period). This correlation predicts appreciable optical emission from several dozen pulsars, in particular, from all those with P<0.1 s. Agreement with optical observations can be achieved for Lorentz factors of the secondary plasma γp=2–13. Plasma with such energies can be produced only when the magnetic-field structure near the neutron-star surface deviates substantially from a dipolar field. The peak frequency of the synchrotron spectrum should shift toward higher values as the pulsar period P decreases; this is, in agreement with observational data for 27 radio pulsars for which emission has been detected outside the radio band.
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Translated from Astronomicheski\(\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}{l}\) Zhurnal, Vol. 78, No. 11, 2001, pp. 990–996.
Original Russian Text Copyright © 2001 by Malov.
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Malov, I.F. Pulsed optical emission by radio pulsars. Astron. Rep. 45, 865–871 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1416275
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1416275