Observations that can unravel the coherent radio emission mechanism in pulsars

TL;DR

This paper reviews observational evidence supporting the idea that pulsar radio emissions are caused by coherent curvature radiation, highlighting constraints and unresolved issues in understanding the emission mechanism.

Contribution

It synthesizes observational data to argue that coherent curvature radiation is the likely mechanism behind pulsar radio emissions.

Findings

Observations support coherent curvature radiation as the emission mechanism.

Constraints from data limit alternative models.

Remaining unresolved issues in pulsar emission physics.

Abstract

Searching for the physical mechanism that can excite the coherent radio emission in pulsars is still an enigmatic problem. A wealth of high quality observations exist, which over the years have been instrumental in putting stringent constraints to pulsar emission models. In this article we will discuss the observational results that strongly suggests that pulsar radio emission is excited by coherent curvature radiation. We will also mention issues that remain to be resolved.