Dependency of the electric current carried by the Alfvén wings, as a function of the distance. The distance corresponding to the light cylinder radius is indicated by a vertical line. The expressions of the electric current are taken from Mottez & Heyvaerts (2011b). These expressions depend on the geometry and the intensity of the magnetic field. The three upper lines correspond to bodies in the pulsar wind (with an aligned magnetic field), the three others are based on a dipole magnetic field of null inclination and a co-rotating plasma. (It is not plotted beyond the light cylinder radius, because at these distances, a co-rotating motion is not possible.). The real magnetic field and the Alfvén wing current inside the light cylinder are comprised in between these two approximations. For comparison, the current computed in Kramer et al. (2006), characterising the pulsar property P5, is indicated by a horizontal line.