Published by
EDP Sciences
EDP Sciences Journals List
Subscriber Authentication Point
Home All issues Volume 442/ 2 Article
Free access
Issue A&A
Volume 442, Number 2, November I 2005
Page(s) 579 - 586
Section Stellar structure and evolution
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20053143



A&A 442, 579-586 (2005)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20053143

The coughing pulsar magnetosphere

I. Contopoulos

200 Akti Themistokleous Str., Piraeus 18539, Greece
    e-mail: icontop@academyofathens.gr

(Received 28 March 2005 / Accepted 28 June 2005 )

Abstract
Polar magnetospheric gaps consume a fraction of the electric potential that develops across open field lines. This effect modifies significantly the structure of the axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere. We present numerical steady-state solutions for various values of the gap potential. We show that a charge starved magnetosphere contains significantly less electric current than one with freely available electric charges. As a result, electromagnetic neutron star braking becomes inefficient. We argue that the magnetosphere may spontaneously rearrange itself to a lower energy configuration through a dramatic release of electromagnetic field energy and magnetic flux. Our results might be relevant in understanding the recent December 27, 2004 burst observed in SGR 1806-20.


Key words: magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) -- pulsars: general -- stars: magnetic fields -- gamma ray: bursts

SIMBAD Objects



© ESO 2005

What is OpenURL?

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.
  • If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
  • You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
  • You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.