Physics of pulsar radio emission outside of the main pulse

TL;DR

This paper introduces a physical model explaining the precursor and interpulse components of pulsar radio profiles through propagation effects and induced scattering in the secondary plasma flow, aligning with observed spectral and polarization features.

Contribution

It is the first model to explain PR and IP components via induced scattering in pulsar plasma, linking propagation effects to observed profile features.

Findings

Induced scattering transfers significant energy from the main pulse to background components.

Scattered components are aligned with particle velocities in strong magnetic fields, matching PR and IP.

Spectral and polarization properties of the components agree with observational data.

Abstract

We for the first time propose a physical model of the precursor (PR) and interpulse (IP) components of the radio pulsar profiles. It is based on propagation effects in the secondary plasma flow of a pulsar. The components are suggested to result from the induced scattering of the main pulse (MP) into background. The induced scattering appears efficient enough to transfer a significant part of the MP energy to the background radiation. In the regimes of superstrong and moderately strong magnetic field, the scattered components are approximately parallel and antiparallel to the velocity of the scattering particles and can be identified with the PR and IP, respectively. The spectral evolution, polarization properties, and fluctuation behaviour of the scattered components are examined and compared with the observational results. The perspectives of the complex profile studies are outlined as well.