SUPERLUMINAL WAVES IN PULSAR WINDS

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/745/2/108· OSTI ID:22011929

Arka, Ioanna ^[1]

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1. Current address: Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, UMR 5274, BP 53 F-38041 Grenoble, France. (France)

The energy lost by a rotation-powered pulsar is carried by a relativistic flow containing a mixture of electromagnetic fields and particles. In the inner regions, this is thought to be a magnetically dominated, cold, electron-positron wind that is well described by the MHD equations. However, beyond a critical radius r{sub cr}, the same particle, energy, and momentum fluxes can be transported by a strong, transverse electromagnetic wave with superluminal phase speed. We analyze the nonlinear dispersion relation of these waves for linear and circular polarization, and find the dependence of r{sub cr} on the mass-loading, magnetization, and luminosity of the flow, as well as on the net magnetic flux. We show that, for most isolated pulsars, the wind lies well outside r{sub cr} and speculate that superluminal modes play an important role in the dissipation of electromagnetic energy into nonthermal particles at the termination shock.

• OSTI ID: 22011929
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 745, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COSMIC ELECTRONS
COSMIC POSITRONS
DISPERSION RELATIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
LUMINOSITY
MAGNETIC FLUX
MAGNETIZATION
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
POLARIZATION
PULSARS
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
STARS
STELLAR WINDS