Angled pulsar magnetospheres
Maxim Lyutikov (Purdue University), Praveen Sharma (Purdue, University), Maxim Barkov (Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of, Sciences)

TL;DR
This paper investigates how internal twists in neutron star magnetic fields cause asymmetries in magnetosphere shape and wind, affecting spin-down rates and potentially leading to plasma ejections.
Contribution
It introduces analytical and numerical analysis of twisted magnetospheres, revealing asymmetries, altered spindown, and conditions for plasma ejection, advancing understanding of neutron star magnetospheres.
Findings
Magnetosphere becomes angled and asymmetric due to internal twists.
Twisted magnetospheres influence spin-down rates and wind properties.
Over-twisted magnetospheres are unstable and may eject plasma.
Abstract
We consider magnetospheric structure of rotating neutron stars with internally twisted axisymmetric magnetic fields. The twist-induced and rotation-induced toroidal magnetic fields align/counter-align in different hemispheres. Using analytical and numerical calculations (with PHAEDRA code) we show that as a result the North-South symmetry is broken: the magnetosphere and the wind become "angled", of conical shape. Angling of the magnetosphere affects the spindown (making it smaller for mild twists), makes the return current split unequally at the Y-point, produces anisotropic wind and linear acceleration that may dominate over gravitational acceleration in the Galactic potential and give a total kick up to km/s. We also consider analytically the structure of the Y-point in the twisted magnetosphere, and provide estimate of the internal twist beyond which no stable solutions…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGeophysics and Gravity Measurements · Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research · Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
