Physics of Plasmas -- April 1997 -- Volume 4, Issue 4, pp. 1132-1135

Generation of the electrostatic field in the pulsar magnetosphere plasma

T. A. Kahniashvili, G. Z. Machabeli, and I. S. Nanobashvili
Department of Theoretical Astrophysics, Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory, A. Kazbegi ave. 2a, 380060 Tbilisi, Georgia

(Received 22 July 1996; accepted 18 November 1996)

The behavior of a relativistic electron(dash)positron plasma in the pulsar magnetosphere is investigated. The equation of the motion of the magnetospheric plasma is discussed, from which it follows that, if the plasma particle radial velocity Vr > c/(square root of 2) (where c is the speed of light), the centrifugal acceleration changes its sign and the particle braking begins. The stability of the magnetospheric plasma with respect to the radially oriented potential perturbations is discussed and the possibility of the electrostatic field generation in this plasma along the pulsar magnetic field lines is shown. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

History Received: 22 July 1996; Accepted: 18 November 1996
Subject Stars
PACS
  • CODE: 97.60.Gb
    Stars : Late stages of stellar evolution (including black holes) : [Pulsars]
  • CODE: 97.10.Ex
    Stars : Stellar characteristics and properties : [Stellar atmospheres (photospheres, chromospheres, coronae, magnetospheres); radiative transfer; opacity and line formation]
  • CODE: 95.30.Qd
    Fundamental astronomy and astrophysics; instrumentation, techniques, and astronomical observations : Fundamental aspects of astrophysics : [Magnetohydrodynamics and plasmas]
  • CODE: 52.30.-q
    Physics of plasmas and electric discharges : Plasma flow; magnetohydrodynamics
  • CODE: 52.35.Py
    Physics of plasmas and electric discharges : Waves, oscillations, and instabilities in plasma : [Plasma macroinstabilities (hydromagnetic, e.g., kink, fire-hose, mirror, ballooning, tearing, trapped-particle, flute, Rayleigh(dash)Taylor, etc.)]
  • CODE: 52.35.Qz
    Physics of plasmas and electric discharges : Waves, oscillations, and instabilities in plasma : [Plasma microinstabilities (ion-acoustic, two-stream, loss-cone, beam-plasma, drift, ion- or electron-cyclotron, etc.)]
  • CODE: 52.60.+h
    Physics of plasmas and electric discharges : Relativistic plasma
  • YEAR: 1996-97
Keywords pulsars; astrophysical plasma; stellar magnetism; stellar atmospheres; plasma instability; plasma magnetohydrodynamics; electric fields; relativistic plasmas
Doc. Type Theoretical
Coden PHPAEN
PII S1070-664X(97)00403-5