Propagation in a shearing plasma. III. Magnetic field effects and pulsar microstructure periods

Journal Article · Thu Jan 15 04:00:00 EST 1981 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/158625· OSTI ID:6499373

Harding, A K; Tademaru, E

Effects of a magnetic field on wave and pulse propagation in a shearing plasma are investigated. Equations for the wave fields, are derived from Maxwell's equations and the Minkowski relations for an anisotropic medium, when the magnetic field is parallel to the shearing velocity. The independent propagation modes are elliptically polarized in the stationary frame and vary with the velocity of the medium. Numerical calculations are presented which show the propagation of waves and pulses through a plane-parallel shearing plasma in the case of weak and strong fields. We find that in a weak field, propagation effects are very similar to those previously found in field-free models: the transmitted pulses acquire temporal modulations whose period is frequency dependent. In a strong field, the period of the temporal modulations is independent of frequency. Transmitted pulses can also undergo polarization changes as a result of phase differences betwen modes. These results are discussed in their significance to propagation in a pulsar magnetosphere and, in particular, to a model for pulse microstructure.

• Research Organization: Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
• OSTI ID: 6499373
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 243:2; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
ATMOSPHERES
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EQUATIONS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MAXWELL EQUATIONS
MECHANICS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PLASMA
POLARIZATION
PULSARS
PULSATIONS
RADIATIONS
SHEAR
STAR MODELS
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
STELLAR MAGNETOSPHERES
WAVE EQUATIONS
WAVE PROPAGATION