High-energy radiation from the pulsar Equatorial Current Sheet

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to model high-energy radiation from pulsar equatorial current sheets, improving understanding of pulsar magnetospheres by combining steady-state solutions with dissipation effects.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel approach to simulate particle acceleration and radiation in pulsar current sheets using a combination of force-free solutions and dissipation effects, validated against PIC simulations.

Findings

Realistic sky maps of high-energy radiation can be generated from the model.

The split-monopole solution beyond the light cylinder reproduces observed sky maps.

The equatorial current sheet is stabilized by the normal magnetic field component.

Abstract

Pulsars emit beams of radiation that reveal the extreme physics of neutron star magnetospheres. Yet, their understanding remains incomplete. Recent global Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations have raised several questions that led us to question their validity and their extrapolation to realistic particle Lorentz factors, electric and magnetic fields. We want to generate realistic sky maps of high-energy radiation from first principles. We propose a novel method to study the Equatorial Current Sheet (ECS) where most of the particle acceleration and the high-energy radiation is expected to originate. We first determine its shape and external magnetic field with a steady-state ideal force-free solution. Then, we consider the extra electric and magnetic field components that develop when dissipation is considered. Finally, we study the particle acceleration and radiation that is due to these extra field components for realistic field and particle parameters. We generate realistic sky maps of high-energy radiation and compare them with those obtained via PIC simulations. These sky maps may also be closely reproduced using the ECS of the split-monopole solution beyond the light cylinder. The ECS is probably stabilized by the normal magnetic field component that is due to the global magnetospheric reconnection. Our method helps us better understand the origin of the pulsed high-energy radiation in the pulsar magnetosphere.