On the surface extraction of electrons in a pulsar

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new model for electron ejection in pulsars, where electrostatic oscillations near magnetic poles facilitate electron escape and influence pulsar spectra.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism involving interior electrostatic oscillations driven by magnetic field curvature for electron ejection in pulsars.

Findings

Electrostatic oscillations can eject electrons using self-fields.

Oscillations occur near magnetic poles with high curvature.

Photon emission along field lines affects pulsar spectra.

Abstract

We present a novel description of how energetic electrons may be ejected from the pulsar interior into the atmosphere, based on the collective electrostatic oscillations of interior electrons confined to move parallel to the magnetic field. The size of the interior magnetic field influences the interior plasma frequency, via the associated matter density compression. The plasma oscillations occur close to the regions of maximum magnetic field curvature, that is, close to the magnetic poles where the majority of magnetic flux emerges. Given that these oscillations have a density-dependent maximum amplitude before wave-breaking occurs, such waves can eject energetic electrons using only the self-field of the electron population in the interior. Moreover, photons emitted by electrons in the bulk of the oscillation can escape along the field lines by virtue of the lower opacity there (and the fact that they are emitted predominantly in this direction), leading to features in the spectra of pulsars.