Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2010-09-14
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
17 pages, 6 figures, Invited Review, Proceedings of the "ICREA Workshop on The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Sys
Scientific paper
I outline a new model of particle acceleration in the current sheet separating the closed from the open field lines in the force-free model of pulsar magnetospheres, based on reconnection at the light cylinder and "auroral" acceleration occurring in the return current channel that connects the light cylinder to the neutron star surface. I discuss recent studies of Pulsar Wind Nebulae, which find that pair outflow rates in excess of those predicted by existing theories of pair creation occur, and use those results to point out that dissipation of the magnetic field in a pulsar's wind upstream of the termination shock is restored to life as a viable model for the solution of the "$\sigma$" problem as a consequence of the lower wind 4-velocity implied by the larger mass loading.
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