Models of Pulsars

Electrodynamics & Radiative Process

Moumita Aich
IUCAA
History
 The first pulsar was discovered in 1967, by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and
Antony Hewish of the University of Cambridge, UK. (PSR 1919+21).

 The suggestion that pulsars were rotating neutron stars was put forth
independently by Thomas Gold and Franco Pacini in 1968, and was
soon proven beyond doubt by the discovery of a pulsar with a very short
33-millisecond pulse period in the Crab nebula.

 In 1974, Joseph Taylor and Russell Hulse (1993 the Nobel prize )
discovered for the first time a pulsar in a binary system, PSR B1913+16.
This pulsar orbits another neutron star with an orbital period of just eight
hours.

 In 1982, a pulsar with a rotation period of just 1.6 milliseconds was

discovered, by Shri Kulkarni and Don Backer. Observations soon
revealed that its magnetic field was much weaker than ordinary pulsars,
while further discoveries cemented the idea that a new class of object,
the "millisecond pulsars" (MSPs) had been found.
 Classes of pulsars
Rotation-powered pulsars, where the loss of rotational energy of the star
powers the radiation.

Composite Optical/X-ray
image of the Crab Nebula The Vela Pulsar, a neutron star
pulsar, showing corpse left from a titanic stellar
surrounding nebular gases supernova explosion, shoots
stirred by the pulsar's through space powered by a jet
magnetic field and emitted from one of the neutron
radiation. star's rotational poles.
 Accretion-powered pulsar
(accounting for most but not all X-ray pulsars)
The gravitational potential energy of accreted matter is the energy source
(producing X-rays that are observable from Earth)
 Magnetars
The decay of an extremely strong magnetic field powers the radiation
causes emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic
radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.

Location of the
magnetar

SGR 1806-20
 Magnetic Dipole Model for Pulsar
Using Larmor’s formula for a magnetic dipole
2  2
E   |m
 |
3c 3

m  m cos  kˆ  m sin  (cos  iˆ  sin  ˆj )
  t

1 2   m sin  (  2 cos  iˆ   2 sin  ˆj )
m
Rotational K.E. E  I
2 
E  I 
 |m
 | 2
 m 2 sin 2  4

A pure magnetic dipole field at the

magnetic pole of the star, BP, is
related to m by B R 6
 4
sin 2

 Bp R3
E   P
| m | 6c 3
2
Energetics of Crab Pulsar (Gunn & Ostiker - 1969)

M  1.4 M  1/ 2
 
3
3Ic PP
R  12 km BP  2 
 8 R  6

I  1.4  10 gcm
45 2

E  2.5  10 erg
49

1 BP = 5.2 x 1012 G (sinα = 1)

E  6.4  10 ergs
38
 Non-vacuum Pulsar Models: The Aligned rotator
(Goldreich & Julian - 1969)
Goldreich –Julian model(1969) model of pulsar magnetosphere with parallel
magnetic & rotation axes.
 Particles attached to closed magnetic-field lines corotate with the
star & form corotating magnetosphere.

 Magnetic field lines that pass through the light cylinder are open
& are deflected back to form a toroidal field component. Charged
particles stream out along these lines.

 The critical filed line is at the same electric potential as the

exterior interstellar medium. This line divides regions of positive
and negative current flow from the star and the plus and minus
signs indicate the charge of particular regions of space.

 The diagonal dashed line is the locus of BP = 0, where the space

charge changes sign.

 The angle subtended by the polar cap region containing open

field lines is θP.
 Magnetic filed is largely dipolar 
| |
 
3
in the near zone; i.e. at m R
distances < vacuum B ~ 3
~ B P
, r  Rc
wavelength of the radiation r r
emitted, r < λ = c/Ω = Rc
BP is the field strength at the magnetic pole and R is the stellar radius.

At large r, magnetic field is an outgoing - wave filed associated with a perpendicular electric field

2
cB
of magnitude E ~ B and an outward Poynting energy flux S ~
4

Total rate of electromag netic emission, obtained by joining the fields at r ~  ~ R is

c
 2 2 6 4
c|m| BP R 

E ~  4 r S
2
 r ~ Rc
~
4
~
3
Rc c
Aligned dipole external magnetic field

B
(out)


 BP R


 3 cos 

r
3
erˆ 
sin 

2r
3
eˆ
 
 v  J
E   B 
c 
 
(in)   r (in)
E  B  0
c
Assuming there are no surface currents, both the normal & tangential

components of B are continuous across the stellar surface

B
(in)
 BP  cos  e rˆ 
sin 

2
eˆ 
E
(in)

R BP sin 

c
 sin 

2
erˆ  cos  eˆ 
Tangential component of E is continuous across the surface,

 
2
(out) R BP sin 
so just outside the star E    
 2c 
E
(out)
   R BP

3c
P2 (cos  ) 
Assuming for the moment, that the exterior region is a vacuum. Then

E
(out)
 

   0
5
BP  R
   3
P2 (cos  )  External electric field is a quadrupole field.
3c r

E .B  0  inside the star

 
7
 R R 2 3
E .B  BP cos   outside the star
c r

electric force eR BP / c 9

~
2
~ 10 1
gravitational force GMm / R
 Particles are torn off the surface & create a region of plasma around the star –
the magnetosphere. A vacuum solution for the region surrounding a rotating
neutron star is unstable.

 Inside the light cylinder, the plasma corotates with the star because of strong
magnetic field.

 The magnetosphere acts as an extension of the perfectly conducting interior, so

that E.B = 0 remain valid. The filed where the filed lines close beyond the light
cylinder, receives particles which are permanently lost to the star & satisfies E.B
≠ 0.

 In this model, a spinning neutron star has an aligned dipole external magnetic
field. Since such an axisymmetric configuration will not pulse, some obliquity
must be imagined to explain the pulsed emission. (Ref: 3)
Discussions
Crab pulsar's jets. The jets present evidence that the
magnetic and rotational axes of the pulsars are aligned.
Charged particles can only escape through the
magnetic field in the polar regions, so if the magnetic
and rotational axes were not aligned then the jets
would be cone shaped. The images argue against the
validity of the conventional rotational pulsar model,
since a rotating pulsar becomes disabled when the
axes are aligned.

The magnetic force between the poles of a magnetized sphere

is attractive. The force at the equator is repulsive, so the
magnetic field causes an equatorial bulge. Centrifugal force also
causes an equatorial bulge. The energetically preferred
orientation of the magnetic field is therefore parallel to the spin
axis.
 The oscillatory power calculation is based only on basic energy relationships, so
the energy discrepancy in this model may be due to mass ejection. In this model
the pulsar has an intense E field so that when in falling material becomes
ionized half the particles are ejected from the system. The other half collides
with the pulsar, creating more charged particles. At high energies a relatively
small mass flow could account for the computed energy transfer, but a more
likely explanation is that the equation badly overestimates the actual power
output if the pulsar ejects its own mass, which can happen in an electrostatic
field. The computed power output must therefore be taken as only an upper limit
until observational data on the pulsar's mass flow become available. Infrared
observations show that the pulsar is surrounded by a dust cloud, which may be
relevant to the energy flow equation.

Outer-gap model proposed by Zhang (2004).

 High-energy photons emitted by relativistic charged particles produce e±  pairs

through magnetic-pair production on their way from the outer gap to the neutron-
star surface, and these pairs produce the bulk of pulsed X-rays by the
synchrotron radiation.
References

 Black Holes, White dwarfs and neutron stars – Shapiro & Teukolsky

 Pulsars – Manchester & Taylor

 The non-aligned pulsar magnetosphere: An illustrative model for small

obliquity – L. Mestel & Y.M. Wang