Radial diffusion in corotating magnetosphere of Pulsar PSR J0737-3039B

TL;DR

This paper models particle dynamics in Pulsar B's magnetosphere, revealing that betatron-induced diffusion and parametric instability explain observed plasma density and eclipse size, drawing parallels with planetary magnetospheres.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model of particle behavior in a pulsar magnetosphere using Mathieu's equation, highlighting the role of parametric instability and betatron effects.

Findings

Particles experience large radial variations due to parametric interactions.

The model accounts for high plasma density on closed field lines.

Eclipsing region size is smaller than hydrodynamic predictions.

Abstract

Rich observational phenomenology associated with Pulsar B in PSR J0737$-$3039A/B system resembles in many respects phenomena observed in the Earth and Jupiter magnetospheres, originating due to the wind-magnetosphere interaction. We consider particle dynamics in the fast corotating magnetosphere of Pulsar B, when the spin period is shorter than the third adiabatic period. We demonstrate that trapped particles occasionally experience large radial variations of the L-parameter (effective radial distance) due to the parametric interaction of the gyration motion with the large scale electric fields induced by the deformations of the magnetosphere, in what could be called a betatron-induced diffusion. The dynamics of particles from the wind of Pulsar A trapped inside Pulsar B magnetosphere is governed by Mathieu's equation, so that the parametrically unstable orbits are occasionally activated; particle dynamics is not diffusive per se. The model explains the high plasma density on the closed field lines of Pulsar B, and the fact that the observed eclipsing region is several times smaller than predicted by the hydrodynamic models.