Magnetospheric shock discontinuities in pulsars. I - Analysis of the inertial effects at the light cylinder

Details Magnetospheric shock discontinuities in pulsars. I - Analysis of the inertial effects at the light cylinder Magnetospheric shock discontinuities in pulsars. I - Analysis of the inertial effects at the light cylinder

Jan 1976

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976apj...203..226a&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, vol. 203, Jan. 1, 1976, pt. 1, p. 226-232.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

26

Pulsar Magnetospheres, Pulsars, Shock Fronts, Stellar Atmospheres, Momentum Theory, Plasma Frequencies, Relativistic Theory, Shock Waves

Scientific paper

A relativistic version of the generalized Ohm's law is derived, and on the basis of this equation, the conditions for the validity of the magnetohydrodynamic approximation where the electric field plus the plasma streaming velocity (in terms of c) times the magnetic field equals zero in the limit where the Lorentz factor is much greater than unity are investigated. It is found that, independent of the relative magnitudes of the inertial and the magnetic forces, this approximation is applicable to the corotating part of the magnetosphere of a pulsar as long as a certain factor is much less than unity. From this result, the extent of the region of the magnetosphere within which the inertial forces come into effect is estimated, and it is shown that throughout this region - whose thickness is of the order of the mean free path of an electron in the plasma - the gradients of the various plasma variables are significantly large. It is then proposed that a solution of the plasma-electromagnetic field equations consistent with these conditions is one which entails the presence of a steady shock discontinuity at the light cylinder.

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